Sharing a room on a Flash Pack adventure: everything you need to know

One of the unsung delights of traveling on a group adventure is the ability to share a twin room, paving the way to beautiful hotels in extraordinary locations worldwide. Even if you’re somewhat cautious about the idea beforehand, most travelers end up reveling in the opportunity to connect with like-minded people and have a roomie to rely on.

Naturally, we get asked about a lot, so – drum roll, please – here is a comprehensive list of everything you need to know about room-sharing, including insight and tips from fellow travelers. Got more questions? Speak to a member of our team. 

Why does Flash Pack do shared rooms?

Around the globe, solo travelers are often charged a premium – known as “the single supplement” – when you book a hotel room alone. It essentially means you pay the same price a couple would, even though you’re single-handedly covering all the costs. Our system of shared rooms allows our community of adventurers to skip that punitive, often-prohibitive charge and enjoy some of the world’s most unique hotels. 

We’re talking places like the award-winning Feynan Ecolodge, deep in the heart of Jordan‘s desert, the incredible Jetwing Lagoon in Sri Lanka or Hotel Rangá, a luxury adventure lodge in remote Iceland, with its own stargazing observatory. This is exactly the kind of hotel that may be trickier to access if you’re flying solo.

The group dynamic is also really important to Flash Pack trips: our global tribe of like-minded solo travelers is at the core of everything we do. We find that room-sharing is an aspect of our adventures that travelers love and helps in forming the kind of deep, lasting friendships that our brand is best known for.

How do shared rooms work?

Travelers are sorted into pairs on a single-sex basis and then allocated twin rooms wherever in the world we happen to be staying. Often, these are located in boutique hotels with rooftop bars, infinity pools or group-gathering communal spaces.

Our hotel choices may also have a standout twist that goes beyond your average room: think luxury mesh tents on a private island in the Philippines or a converted Land Rover safari cabin in Tanzania. 

When you book a Flash Pack trip, you’ll be sent a questionnaire to work out who in your group is a good match for you (and vice versa). We can’t promise we’ll find your future soulmate, but we do obsess over group dynamics and work hard to ensure roommates get on well and share similar routines.

How do I get matched with a roommate? 

The room-sharing survey that goes out will ask you questions such as if you’re a smoker, a snorer, whether you’d describe yourself as a chatty person and what kind of time you like to get up in the morning. We even go into detail such as whether or not you prefer cool air temperatures at night and if you’re generally quite a messy person – or would rather things are neat. 

We ask travelers to be as honest as possible in their responses, as the extra info helps us to match you with someone you’ll find it really easy to be around.

Do roommates generally get on? 

Absolutely, yes. Our feedback shows that, even when travelers are unsure about the concept of room-sharing before they depart, it’s an experience they come to enjoy and appreciate. Sharing your digs with another traveler is helpful in lots of little ways, such as sharing phone chargers or deciding what to wear for the day. It provides a nice, low-key layer of extra camaraderie. 

It’s also worth bearing in mind that Flash Pack adventures are brimming with standout experiences and activities, so you likely won’t spend much time in your hotel room. While we do schedule in lots of spare time, travelers tend to spend it exploring the local area or grabbing a pew by the nearest pool. 

Added to this is the fact that the group dynamic is the main reason why we have so many returning Flashpackers who book trips over and again. Our community of professionals in their 30s and 40s share similar values (openness to adventure, an easygoing attitude) which means they bond quickly, with friendships that stand the test of time.

In 2019, our group dynamic score was rated 8.9/10 and a recent survey showed that 60% of Flash Pack travelers have kept in touch – meeting up regularly with reunion events or trips of their own.

Can I book a room of my own instead? 

Of course. We have a single-supplement option, whereby you can choose to pay extra to get your own room for the entire trip. So, if you do have any conditions or preferences which may preclude you from sharing a room, please speak to one of our travel experts about a single supplement when you book and we can give you prices per trip. There are a few Flash Pack adventures where the single supplement isn’t available, but we can advise you on a case-by-case basis.

If I have a problem, what should I do? 

Your first port of call is your Pack Leader or guide, who’ll be your point person throughout your trip. They can chat with you and help you sort any issues. All Flash Pack guides are seasoned local experts with years of experience and knowledge around their destination countries. 

They are also a much-appreciated part of the Flash Pack approach: we have guides who end up sharing photos and updates with Flashpackers on WhatsApp chats for months, even years, after a trip has ended.

Room-sharing: the Flashpacker view...

American traveler, Melissa Capocci, 45, shared a room on a Flash Pack trip to Australia.

“Sharing a room was a wonderful thing. Flash Pack does a great job of getting to know their people beforehand and paired us based on that understanding. My roomie Jennifer and I had so much in common, it was uncanny. I actually met her before the rest of the group and we walked around Sydney, talking over ice-cream about which parts of the trip we were most looking forward to. It really helped me to open up before I met the rest of the group. 

With so many people and personalities on the adventure, we often ended up hanging out in each others’ rooms anyway. I never felt crowded by sharing with Jennifer. We actually didn’t spend that much time in our rooms apart from when we were sleeping or getting ready. But when we were there, we managed to weave our bath and bedtime schedules together easily. 

My advice to future travelers is not to worry about room-sharing because everyone on the trip is like-minded. Jennifer and I quickly became friends and we saved money by room-sharing, too.”

Canadian traveler, Andrea Westaway, 38, shared a room on a Flash Pack trip to Africa. 

“I had absolutely no reservations about sharing a room. While exploring a new part of the world was a driving factor in booking the adventure, meeting new people was a huge part of it, too.

I met my roommate and fellow Canadian, Stacy, the day I arrived in Africa. She’d arrived a day earlier from Australia and was relaxing by the pool. I’d just travelled for 29 hours and was very jet-lagged, so she immediately told me to have a nap and let me have the room for a few hours. I knew we’d get on right away. 

We bonded most about being Canadian and got to reminiscing about our childhoods in the Great White North. We both had easygoing personalities and were eager to make the absolute most of this great adventure. 

I think the best thing anyone can do when approaching sharing a room is go in with an open mind, lead with kindness and don’t sweat the small stuff.”

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Images: Flash Pack