June 25, 2006
 

These Trips Are for Singles Hoping to Become Doubles

By Beverly Bayette
Los Angeles Times

IRIET SCHULMAN of Hollywood went to Israel this spring and fell in love with the country.

It "definitely exceeded my expectations," said Schulman, 30, a bead artist.

And the man she met on the trip wasn't bad either.

In fact, just an hour after checking into the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv, she met Josh Gartenberg, 31, a New York filmmaker, and from then on, they "were pretty much inseparable."

Schulman's trip was organized by JDate, the largest online dating service for Jewish singles. She and about 130 others who traveled to Israel were attracted by the special-interest singles website's promise of adventure with the like-minded.

Romance is definitely part of the draw for those signing up for trips sponsored by singlesinparadise.com too. The company is based in Carlsbad and sponsors numerous trips to far-flung destinations in conjunction with its sister organization, Athletic Singles Assn.

"On one of our trips to Tahiti, about one-third of the people connected," said Ed Reder, company founder and president. "People were hitting it off left and right, walking down the street hand in hand."

Access to the Internet as well as a growing population of singles has fueled the boom in such travel. About 43% of adult Californians are unmarried, according to Unmarried America, a singles information service (www.unmarriedamerica.org) that extrapolated this figure from 2004 U.S. Census Bureau figures.



In the L.A. metropolitan area, there are 668,000 Jews, according to the American Jewish Committee, — and JDate boasts about 44,000 members in L.A.

"It's not like we had to schlep people thousands of miles to meet other Jews," said David Siminoff, chief executive of Spark Networks, JDate's parent company. It was "more of a pilgrimage," a way for JDate to "reconnect our community with … our cultural heart."

Schulman felt the bond immediately. "As soon as you stepped off the plane," she said, "you could feel the connection — being at home."

And, as it turned out, reconnection and romance went hand in hand for Schulman.

She and Gartenberg quickly became part of a circle of five other couples, all Americans, who clicked. She has visited Gartenberg in New York and, she said, the five couples plan a reunion in Atlanta in late July.

Lavinia Evans, site manager for JDate.com, who was on the trip, said the three buses were organized by age groups to help things along.

While in Israel, trip-takers partied with Israeli JDaters, swam in the Dead Sea, enjoyed a boat party on the Sea of Galilee, over-nighted at a kibbutz in upper Galilee, kayaked on the Jordan River, lunched in a Bedouin tent and viewed the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem.

They toured old Jaffa, dined at a hip Tel Aviv restaurant, visited a winery in northern Israel and toured old and modern Jerusalem.

Before long, "there were numerous couples," Evans said. "It was rather romantic."

Betty Bruckel, a business owner in her 40s who lives in Agoura Hills, made the trip to make a spiritual connection with the birthplace of Judaism and to meet other singles. Of the latter, she said, "I think all of us, in the bottom of our hearts, were totally looking for that."

Bruckel didn't meet the man of her dreams. But, she said, "if I got great friendships out of it, I'm happy with that."

If JDate sponsors another trip to Israel, she said, "I'd be the first camper out there."

Israel was an atypical destination for JDate, which sponsors four trips a year. Past adventures have included a European cruise, a ski weekend in Vermont and outings to Hawaii, Jamaica, the Turks and Caicos, and Cancún, Mexico. "Those trips," said founder Siminoff, "are about partying, having fun and drinking really good margaritas."

If experience is an indicator, some courtships will spring from the annual cruise sponsored by Laguna Niguel-based CatholicSingles.com.

David Nevarez, president of Catholic Singles' parent company, Catholic Sites Inc., says the cruise, from the East Coast or the West Coast, typically attracts 50 to 100 travelers, including some from Europe, and is open to nonmembers.

"We get people who are Catholic, non-Catholic and preparing to be Catholic," he said. The cruises do have a religious component, with a priest participating and onboard seminars.

But there is also a romance component. "At least one couple got engaged on one of our cruises," Nevarez said.

Athletic Singles has been sponsoring trips for two decades. Now, joint trips with its newer sister, Singles in Paradise, bring together athletes and couch potatoes for travel to such places as Costa Rica, Russia and China.

For the athletic types, Reder said, there are the adventure destinations such as South America. For the others, there's Europe and its museums, where "it doesn't matter if you're athletic."

Singles trips tend to be competitively priced. The cost for the Israel trip from Los Angeles, all inclusive, was $3,149 per person for double rooms, $3,849 for single rooms. A trip to Panama in July, sponsored by Singles in Paradise, will cost $1,389 based on double occupancy, including airfare from Los Angeles. The group's river cruise in Russia in August will be $2,745, all inclusive, based on double occupancy.

There are trips for singles centered around interests, religious affiliation and age. (JMatch, another Jewish online dating service, also sponsors travel.)

One central resource is the not-for-profit membership organization Solo Traveler Network (www.cstn.org), founded in 1990 and based in British Columbia, Canada. The website has a selective calendar of singles tours and cruises. Membership ($30 for one year, $48 for two) includes a calendar, monthly electronic newsletter and single-friendly travel directory.

Founder Diane Redfern says single travel has grown substantially as it sheds its "swinging singles" connotation. "People are beginning to understand that you can just travel with a group of like-minded people," she says, "and you won't feel like a bump on a log in a group of couples."

In checking out travel sites, she says, singles should be wary if the website doesn't list a toll-free phone number and a street address. And, she says, travelers should read the fine print, especially regarding refunds. The tour operator probably won't be sympathetic "if someone's had a fight with his girlfriend and decided he doesn't want to go."

With two decades of experience in singles travel, Singles in Paradise's Reder has some pragmatic advice for travelers: Check out the age range of fellow travelers and their compatibility.

"It might be a group that's kind of on the wild-party side," he says.

But, he adds, "the biggest issue we have is snoring."