Travel style

Solo Travel

Q: How do I meet people solo without forcing it?

Three reliable methods: (1) Free walking tours — every major city has them; solo travellers cluster; conversations start naturally. (2) Cooking classes or food tours — 3-4 hour activity with 6-10 participants guarantees multiple new connections. (3) Quality hostels with common areas (not dorm-focused party hostels, but the new-generation private-room hostels like Selina or Generator).

Q: Is the single supplement really that bad?

On luxury tours and cruises, yes — often 40-75% premium. Some operators (Intrepid, G Adventures, Exodus) offer no-single-supplement trips. Hostels and mid-tier hotels are priced more neutrally per-room. Budget accordingly: solo travel runs about 20-30% more per-day than the couple-split equivalent.

Q: What about dining alone?

It gets easier with practice. Bring a book or journal (not a phone — phones signal 'interrupt me,' books signal 'I'm content'). Japanese ramen counters, Vietnamese pho counters, Spanish tapas bar counters, New York omakase counters — most major food cultures have a solo-dining infrastructure. For fine dining: counter seating is often easier to book and more fun than a solo table.

Destinations that work for solo travellers — safe, social, walkable, and priced for singles. Six picks and the honest trade-offs.

By Marcus Johnson · Verified April 2026

Solo travel sells well as an idea and fails often in execution because most destinations are priced for couples (single supplements are brutal), don't have places for solos to eat comfortably, and lack the social infrastructure (hostels, walking-tour culture, shared tables) that makes meeting other travellers easy. These are the destinations where solo travellers genuinely flourish — where you won't eat every dinner alone unless you want to.

Vietnam · Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City

The classical solo-backpacker route that is now smooth

The 'Banana Pancake Trail' survived for a reason — hostels are social, the north-to-south route has established solo-traveller infrastructure, food is cheap and plentiful, and Vietnamese service culture is warm. Hostelworld favourites (Vietnam Backpackers, Nexy Hostels) have private rooms from $40/night and proper common areas. The two-week itinerary is canonical; you'll have dinners with new friends most nights without trying.

Our 2-week Vietnam itinerary →

Portugal · Lisbon as a solo base

European softness for solo travellers

Lisbon is the easiest European solo-travel base — the hills mean you're always walking, the tascas are designed for solo diners at the counter, the fado scene is welcoming to anyone at a single table, and the expatriate + digital-nomad community has created a social scene that's easy to slot into. Good hostels at the Príncipe Real / Bairro Alto border (The Independente Hostel & Suites is the established favourite).

Our 10-day Portugal itinerary →

Colombia · Cartagena and Medellín

The Latin American solo choice

Cartagena's walled city is dense, safe, tourist-saturated, and full of solo-friendly hostels + walking-tour culture. Medellín's gentrification + the Free Walking Tour (run by Real City Tours, Colombia-invented) has made it one of the easiest Latin American solos in practice. Digital-nomad-dense means coworking spaces, mixer events, and a critical mass of solo travellers. Stay safety-aware in unfamiliar parts of Medellín after dark; otherwise the city is unexpectedly open.

Japan · Tokyo and Kyoto

Solo dining culture that actually exists

Japan is the best solo-travel destination for anxious solos. Ramen shops have single-seat counters; izakayas have communal tables; train travel is frictionless; language barrier is manageable. The solo-female safety case is stronger than almost any other country. Expensive by backpacker standards but the experience is exceptionally polished for under-$150/night business hotels (Tokyu Stay chain).

Our 7-day Japan itinerary →

Morocco · guided solo

The case for a solo-plus-guide trip

Morocco solo is harder than Vietnam or Portugal — the medinas are aggressive to women in particular, solo dining at a serious restaurant is not the norm, and the carpet-shop / fake-guide harassment is real. The workaround: hire a licensed guide for the city portions (Marrakech, Fez) and do the rest by Intrepid or G Adventures small-group tour. You're not alone, but you're not a couple; the set-up works.

Our 10-day Morocco itinerary →

Georgia (the country) · Tbilisi and Kazbegi

The cheapest solo destination you have not considered

Tbilisi has a digital-nomad community, an exceptional food scene (Georgian food is its own culinary tradition worth discovering), and hostels + private-room dorms from $12-25/night. Four-hour transfer to Stepantsminda (Kazbegi, the Caucasus mountains) for mountain hikes. Visa-free for most Western passports; english widely spoken in tourist areas; safety consistently reported as excellent for solo travellers of all genders.

Our Visa Friction Index →

— FAQ

Solo Travel: common questions

Is solo travel safe for women?

Depends dramatically on destination. Japan, Iceland, Singapore, Portugal, Scandinavia, and Georgia are uniformly reported as excellent for solo female travellers. India, Morocco, Egypt, and parts of Latin America require more planning (group tours, female-only accommodation, dress code awareness). Most mainstream destinations work fine; research specific city + neighbourhood.

How do I meet people solo without forcing it?

Is the single supplement really that bad?

What about dining alone?