• Everything you need to know about breaking the ice when you meet new people

    Solo travel is always a daunting prospect. From meeting new people to making friends, gearing up for a solo adventure comes with its own host of anxieties. Even the most seasoned of solo travellers can be filled with dread at the thought of how to break the ice when they’re meeting people for the first…

  • The wellbeing benefits of sex and solo travel

    The wellbeing benefits of sex and solo travel

    Solo travel is booming right now, but on the downside, we’re in the midst of a “sex recession”. Weirdly enough, the two things come with very similar benefits. So, if you’re not getting enough of one, maybe the other will do (or hey, go wild and do both!). Here’s a few major reasons why sex…

  • Why people who live single are often the least selfish of us all

    Why people who live single are often the least selfish of us all

    With more and more people flying solo around the world, being single has evolved from a life stage to a state of being. Increasingly, it’s something that people are actively seeking out, as a means of finding fulfilment and purpose. Read more: Can adventure help you live longer? And yet, a common myth persists: that…

  • Single in your 30s: the beauty of being selfish

    Single in your 30s: the beauty of being selfish

    I was listening to a podcast recently when the presenter used the phrase ‘positively selfish.’ It’s a phrase that seems to keep cropping up in my world, now becoming a mainstream term. I then began to ask myself if ‘positively selfish’ could be an empowering way of describing the advantages of being a single 30-something.…

  • Tired of Tinder? Stop dating and just connect with people

    Tired of Tinder? Stop dating and just connect with people

    Dating these days is, frankly, a bit of a disappointment. Sure, you might end up marrying your Tinder match (we all know at least one person who’s done this). But equally, you risk feeling forever frustrated and bored – despite a never-ending stream of new faces. You ride a gauntlet of emotion: lingering hope, excitement and…

  • This productivity hack will change your life

    Ever wondered why you found it so damn hard to focus? At the point where you most need to get down to it, your brain finds every excuse not to: “Maybe I’ll paint the bathroom…” “Hmm, those plants are looking a little dry” “I wonder what that person I met 15 years ago at drama…

  • Can being single help you live longer?

    Can being single help you live longer?

    Anyone who’s ever been single in their 30s and 40s will be familiar with the titled head gaze. The domain of well-meaning relatives, this time-honoured gesture is often accompanied by the words, “Shouldn’t you be settling down by now?” (Side note – never feel obliged to do anything that starts with the word “should”). What…

  • All hail Sweden, the world’s single living capital

    All hail Sweden, the world’s single living capital

    If you relish being single, you’ll find strength in numbers in Sweden. Our Nordic neighbour has more solo dwellers than anywhere else in the world. Around 47% of households have just one occupant – typically a child-free, single adult. Of course, living alone doesn’t always mean being single. Some solo dwellers may be in long-term relationships. Many…

  • Why do we idolise ‘The One’? Friends are far more valuable

    Why do we idolise ‘The One’? Friends are far more valuable

    There’s a beautiful moment in the film About A Boy when it suddenly dawns on teenager Marcus that he and his single mum need the support of their community. “Suddenly I realized; two people isn’t enough,” he says. “You need backup. If you’re only two people, and someone drops off the edge, then you’re on your own. Two isn’t a large enough number. You need three at least.” In…

  • “Why I quit my city job to train as a ski instructor”

    “Why I quit my city job to train as a ski instructor”

    Frankie Flower, 31, was firmly entrenched in the London rat race last year, when she suddenly decided she needed a change of scene. Having lived in the capital for nearly a decade, she decided to quit her corporate job and instead pursue a passion for skiing in the Canadian Rockies. Now six weeks into her…

  • Men are the most stressed at work – here’s why

    Some bad news if you have an X and Y chromosome and get paid for a living: men aged between 25 and 34 and work in finance are the most stressed workers in the UK, according to the 2018 UK Workplace Stress Report. Surveying over 3,000 workers, the new research also revealed that the most…

  • Anti-Valentine’s cards for singles everywhere

    Anti-Valentine’s cards for singles everywhere

    Contrary to common perception, single people don’t tend to wallow around in their PJs eating ice-cream (or if they do, it’s not *because* they’re single). But if ever there was an occasion to break out the Ben and Jerry’s, it’s the countdown to Valentine’s Day. This annual festival of mass-produced romance love is pretty much guaranteed…

  • It’s official: adventure makes you smarter and sexier

    It’s official: adventure makes you smarter and sexier

    Contrary to popular belief, it’s not only fictional adventurers who tend to be smart and handsome, cheekbones as razor-sharp as their wit. It turns out adventure can make us all more attractive and intelligent (as if the appeal of big trails, climbs, quad-biking and the rest of it were not life enhancing enough). “But how,”…

  • Fine quotes on friendship from Winnie the Pooh

    Fine quotes on friendship from Winnie the Pooh

    To mark the birthday of A. A. Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh and his beloved gaggle of woodland pals, we take a look at his heartwarming prose. Way before Taylor Swift’s #squadgoals became a thing, the likes of Pooh Bear, Piglet and co. were showing us how true friendship works. They knew the value…

  • No dating, no drama: just single people travelling together

    No dating, no drama: just single people travelling together

    Here at Flash Pack, 80% of our customers are single. We specialise in holidays for solo travellers, drawn together in the framework of a group. Yet, our adventures are about as far from a messy singles getaway to Magaluf as you can hope to get. Why? The people who join our trips aren’t looking for…

  • Being single makes you a brilliant traveller

    Being single makes you a brilliant traveller

    There are no black and whites in life. Married people might be deliriously happy and single people miserable, or vice versa. Modern life also brings with it a labyrinth of flexible relationship options. We might live alone, with a lover, or in shared housing (with our lover nearby). But as more and more of us…

  • Meet the woman, 74, who traded love for lifelong travel

    Meet the woman, 74, who traded love for lifelong travel

    Love the notion of lifelong travel? If you needed any further inspiration to get out and see the world, let this be it. A 74-year-old woman has recalled how she turned down a string of men and at least one marriage proposal to spend her life on the road. Carmel Murray from Dublin now has…

  • How holidays alone in your 30s and 40s can massively improve your mindset

    How holidays alone in your 30s and 40s can massively improve your mindset

    Feeling a bit blue? We’ve all been there. You’ve been working hard for years. Friends are getting married and having kids. Your days follow the same, self-perpetuating routine: get up, work, sleep. It’s getting colder and colder, and when your fried brain finally gets a spare moment you find yourself dreaming of far-flung beaches. Snow-capped mountains. Crystal clear waters on a nameless island.  There’s…

  • How I put my whole life on hold to travel alone

    Here’s Rakhee’s story on her amazing experiences when she decided to travel alone: Amazing career? Tick. Man of her dreams? Tick. Winning at life? Most definitely. So why did Rakhee Parma, put everything on hold to go travelling… by herself? Rakhee Parmar, best friend of our Co-founder Radha Vyas and all-round awesome gal, came along to Flash Pack…