The makings of a great solo trip depend on who you ask. Through my own solo travels over the years, I’ve decided it’s all about the amount of cafés and friendly people. Others will say it’s the ability to eat to your heart’s content (also a noble motivation). And some will even say it’s the total isolation, like being on a desert island.
If you’re thinking about taking a trip by yourself anytime soon, you’re a part of a rapidly growing trend. Pinterest’s 2024 Travel Report found that searches for “solo travel” have increased by 35 percent since last year.
Sourced from research and anecdotes by well-traveled Afar staffers, these nine places around the world boast plenty of reasons to be on your radar and are excellent for solo travelers.
1. Japan
Best for: foodies gone solo
A 2022 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions report by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare found that the one-person household is the most common household structure in the country, comprising more than 30 percent of all households. Add that to Japan’s well-regarded reputation for food, and you have a recipe for a fantastic solo foodie destination. The country caters to people going about alone. Tonkotsu ramen chain Ichiran is one example: Its restaurants have one-person dining booths, offering little to no human interaction, aside from the raising and lowering of a curtain on one side of the booth so that the ramen can slide through.
Outside of the sit-down experience, an abundance of street foods and convenience store offerings (chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain was a huge fan of the egg sandwich from Lawson’s) ensures that solo travelers can get delicious samplings with ease.
Solo travelers in Australia can see the world’s largest reef system.
Photo by Tunatura/Shutterstock
2. Australia
Best for: first-time solo travelers
One of the best parts of traveling by yourself is the freedom to go anywhere you want, whenever you want. But when you’re dealing with a language barrier, that can make exploration a lot more intimidating, especially for first timers. That’s part of the reason why Maggie Gould, Afar’s vice president of marketing, advocates for heading Down Under. “My first significant solo trip was to Australia. The lack of a language barrier made me feel comfortable taking that on as my first solo experience,” she says.
Choosing where to visit may be the hardest part of journeying to a country where you can do everything from witness the incredible biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef to ogle at man-made efforts like the Sydney Opera House. At least consulting locals and making spontaneous diversions is a lot easier when you don’t need Google Translate.
Enjoy some well-deserved relaxation in the nearly 800-square-mile area known as the Cotswolds.
Photo by Andrew Roland/Shutterstock
3. Cotswolds, England
Best for: travelers emphasizing the solo-ness of solo travel
Sometimes, the perfect solo trip means playing up the blissful solitude. For Afar editorial assistant Cat Sposato, the Cotswolds in England is exactly the place to get away from the hustle of city life. “This area of the British countryside has everything I need for a great trip: glorious gardens filled with peaceful quiet, historic houses that transport me to another time, quaint shops to hunt for unique artisanal goods, and an incredible array of pubs and tearooms,” she shares. Plus, you can execute your fantasy of living like a Bridgerton in the region’s pastoral setting.
4. New Orleans, United States
- Best for: solo travelers who want to make new friends
Solo doesn’t have to mean alone—it can often liberate you to make friends you wouldn’t have had encountered otherwise. Whether you’re heading into the heart of a jazz festival or off the tourist trail, the courage to say hello can make all the difference in New Orleans. And greeting others is not just common practice in the Crescent City—it’s downright expected.
“Among all the advice my chatty Uber driver gave me on our long, stuck-in-traffic ride from the airport to New Orleans’s French Quarter, one in particular stood out: ‘Folks here say hello to each other. Don’t matter if you don’t know ’em. If you’re passing by, you say hello!’ And so I did,” Afar associate director of SEO Jessie Beck shares. “Throw in a communal dinner at the Mosquito Supper Club and a few group tours, and I almost forgot I was flying solo.”
Iceland’s capital is a great base for digital nomads who are solo traveling to the country.
Photo by Boyloso/Shutterstock
5. Reykjavík, Iceland
For solo travelers with the ability to work remotely, digital nomadism has become a popular way to live and travel. And 17.3 million people from the USA describe themselves as digital nomads, a more than 130 percent increase from 2019 to 2022. Digital nomads have special considerations when deciding where to go—reliable internet access and weekend trip opportunities being a few of them. Checking those boxes is Reykjavík, Iceland, says Afar contributing editor Nicholas DeRenzo: “You can spend the morning gallery-hopping or taking a puffin- or whale-watching trip and still be back to your hotel or a coffee shop in time for that important Zoom call.”
DeRenzo recommends that those traveling alone should look into tour and hostel operator Kexland, which facilitates adventures with other digital nomads that include soaking in hot springs and chasing the northern lights. If you want to stay longer to explore Iceland’s outdoor landscapes, the country launched a long-term visa in 2020 for non-EU/EEA remote workers to stay in the country for up to 180 days.
Kruger National Park is ideal for a classic safari experience.
Courtesy of David Tomaseti/Unsplash
6. South Africa
Sometimes you don’t want to wait for anyone else to embark on a bucket-list trip like a safari. As a 2023 survey revealed, most travelers are motivated to go solo because “they want to see the world and don’t want to wait for others.” There are endless places to go in Africa, with plenty of options depending on the scenery or wildlife you want to experience. For solo travelers who want a safari with a bit of everything, Afar senior deputy editor Jennifer Flowers recommends South Africa. “It’s a great country with a lot of diverse experiences at different price points, from classic safaris in Kruger National Park to excursions in the Cape Winelands. Cape Town has plenty of bars, restaurants, and social spaces that are ideal for meeting like-minded locals and travelers,” she says.
Flowers recommends outfitter Intrepid Travel, which audited all of its wildlife experiences in 2020 and removed those that didn’t meet the standards of the Animal Welfare Policy it created with animal cruelty prevention organization World Animal Protection.
Head straight for Copenhagen’s colorful canals and explore a city where so much of life takes place on and along the water.
Courtesy of Peter Llyod/Unsplash
7. Denmark
- Best for: solo female travelers
Safety is a big concern for many aspiring and current solo female travelers. Fortunately, organizations like the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security research exactly how safe women are around the world. Its 2023 Women Peace and Security Index revealed Denmark to be the safest country for women, using three main dimensions—inclusion, justice, and security—to assess and rank 177 countries.
One of Denmark’s most exciting places to visit is Copenhagen, which made Afar’s Where to Go list in 2022. Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran recommends downloading the Copenhagen Card app when you venture out. It gives you access to more than 80 attractions and public transport throughout the entire capital region, which you can use for adventures like a day trip to UNESCO-recognized Kronborg Castle.
The Pacific Coast Highway stretches down California’s scenic rocky shore.
8. California, United States
- Best for: road trip enthusiasts
“Traveling alone is a beautiful thing, but driving alone is its own animal—all of the responsibility and the freedom is in your two hands as they grip the wheel,” Jamie Feldmar writes in her love letter to solo road trips for Afar. I have to agree. When I lived out of my car by myself for a few months in 2021, traveling the country was a constant delight, especially when traversing the western half with its incredible views, wide stretches of road, and plenty of Bureau of Land Management areas to set up camp. California’s Highway 1 was a highlight of that period: It’s well-traveled enough that solo road-trippers can easily find places to stay, grocery stores, and the like, but there’s also plenty of opportunity to engage in serendipity on offshoots and side roads.
And what kind of serendipity to expect? Afar associate director of podcasts Aislyn Greene provides an example from her first big solo trip, which was traveling along the West Coast: “I was driving up Highway 1 near Big Sur, and it was so foggy I couldn’t see more than 15 feet in front of me. I saw a dirt road leading up the hillside to my right and decided to go explore. Turned out it led to the New Camaldoli Hermitage, a Benedictine monastery perched so high above the road that I could see the fog bank and the Pacific below.”
Spend your weekends exploring Phuket as a remote worker based in Thailand.
Photo by Day2505/Shutterstock
9. Thailand
- Best for: spontaneous adventurers
There are plenty of reasons to travel to Thailand: gorgeous beaches, incredible food, and dreamy hotels (The White Lotus is filming its third season there, after all.) According to a 2023 survey, around 30 percent of international luxury tourists preferred visiting Thailand alone—which makes sense, considering how much adventure can be had on a whim. Afar’s executive director of brand partnerships, Onnalee MacDonald, recalls a variety of spontaneous experiences she had when she visited by herself: “I had been in Phuket, Koh Samui, and Ko Phi Phi traveling on my own for several weeks post-college and met an amazing group of new friends from around the globe. We rode motorcycles, went scuba diving, and, of course, danced most of the nights away.”
For solo travelers looking for a place to visit over a longer term, Thailand is also one of the best places for expats to live abroad. The Expat Insider survey cites cost of living and friendliness as a few reasons why. What are you waiting for?
