Beating the Single Supplement charge?
 

I saw a great deal on Budget Travel about an 11-day multi city tour of Turkey for ~$1,300. However, with the single supplement, it comes out to nearly $2k!

My friends and I are young, so the chances of them going overseas with me are quite low. Is there any way around this? Aside from paying someone else to come with me?

The single supplement is the difference between single occupancy and double occupancy. I can't imagine there is any way to beat it other than to have someone else with you.

Thats ridiculous, and certainly wasnt a 'budget' tour, but a tour full of old couples.

All reputable adventure companies such as Intrepid, Gap, Imaginative Traveller, Tucan, Explore, Exodus or Geckos, etc do not require a single supplement, you end up sharing a room.

check out intrepidtravel.com, gapadventures.com and trekescapes.com

I looked at both Intrepid & Gap Adventures & none of their packages included airfare.

Adding in RT airfare, it probably would have come out all the same.

Also, check out Contiki. They specialise in groups for the 18-35 set. I went when I was younger and they would arrange for you to be a roommate with another single traveller to help reduce costs.

I've heard that their Europe trips can be a bit wild, but I went to Turkey back in 2000 and had a great time

Some places will let you negotiate away the single supplement if they are lightly booked.

Note that there is a big difference between a Contiki-style tour, which is oriented to socializing (read: drinking) and a GAP-style tour, which is about the destination.

Most tour operators have a "give me a roommate" option. You have no control over who you get. (You can usually assume it will be someone of the same sex, and they may let you state a smoking preference.)