Best Places to Travel Alone: 8 Safe, Exciting Solo Destinations

Traveling by yourself is one of the most underrated ways to see the world. There’s no one to compromise with, no agenda to negotiate, and every decision — where to eat, when to wake up, which museum to skip — is entirely yours. The catch is that the best places to travel alone share a few things in common: they’re safe, easy to navigate on foot or by public transit, and welcoming to people eating dinner solo.

This guide focuses on destinations that check all three boxes. I’ve included realistic cost ranges, notes on getting around, and specific neighborhoods where solo travelers tend to feel most at ease. Whether you’re planning a first solo trip or your tenth, these eight cities deliver.

Why Solo Travel Works Best in Certain Cities

Some places are built for independence, and others fight against it. A city with a stop-and-go metro, late-night cafe culture, and compact walkable neighborhoods makes solo travel feel effortless. A car-dependent city with sprawling suburbs can make it feel like a chore.

Look for destinations with strong hostel scenes even if you plan to stay in a hotel. Hostels double as social hubs, and cities with healthy ones tend to have the cafes, walking tours, and communal spaces that make meeting people — if you want to — easy. The best solo destinations let you be alone without ever feeling lonely.

The 8 Best Places to Travel Alone

1. Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto is the safest major city in a famously safe country, and its street grid is kind to newcomers. Buses are frequent and labeled in English, and the city’s best sights — Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera, the Arashiyama bamboo grove — cluster in compact districts.

Solo travelers feel at home here almost immediately. Japanese restaurants handle single diners routinely, from counter-seat ramen shops to quiet kaiseki restaurants with bar seating. A mid-range solo dinner runs ¥1,200–¥2,500 (about $8–$17), and a tatami room in a guesthouse costs around $45–$90 per night.

Don’t miss the Nishiki Market, where you can graze street food all afternoon without a single awkward table-for-one moment.

Photo by Pramod Tiwari via Pexels

2. Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon packs a lot of value into a compact, hilly city. The metro is cheap and simple, trams connect the old neighborhoods, and a single ride costs just €1.80. You can cover Alfama, Baixa, and Bairro Alto on foot in a day if your legs hold up to the hills.

It’s also one of the most affordable Western European capitals for a solo trip. A dorm bed runs €20–€30 a night, a private room €60–€90, and a plate of grilled sardines with bread and a glass of vinho verde costs under €12. English is widely spoken, which smooths out the solo logistics.

Spend an evening at a fado house in Alfama — the crowd is quiet, respectful, and used to people arriving alone.

3. Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne combines big-city amenities with an easy-going pace that first-time solo travelers appreciate. The tram network in the city center is free, and the laneway cafe culture means you’re never more than a block from somewhere to sit with a flat white and a book.

The downside is distance: it’s a long flight from the US or Europe, and it isn’t cheap. Budget $30–$45 for a hostel bed and $20–$30 for a casual dinner. But the payoff is a city that feels genuinely designed for individuals — the Australian breakfast-and-coffee routine is almost a ceremony of doing things alone, done well.

4. Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen regularly tops safety rankings, and its cycling culture means solo travelers can cover the whole city on two wheels. Bike rentals run about $15–$20 a day, and dedicated lanes make it safer than riding in most US cities.

Yes, Scandinavia is expensive. Expect $150–$220 for a decent hotel room and $25–$40 for a casual meal. But Copenhagen rewards the solo visitor with things like Nyhavn at golden hour, the free-to-wander design district, and one of the world’s best public transit systems, where nothing ever feels crowded or risky.

Photo by Pexels via Pexels

5. Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai is where Southeast Asia’s famous backpacker trail meets genuine calm. It’s significantly quieter than Bangkok, hugely affordable, and full of solo travelers, which means free walking tours, cooking classes, and temple visits are always within reach.

Costs are the big draw. A clean guesthouse room runs $15–$30 a night, a bowl of khao soi costs $2–$3, and a two-hour Thai massage is around $8–$12. The Old City is moat-ringed and walkable, and the Sunday night market turns the whole center into a pedestrian street.

6. Reykjavik, Iceland

Iceland is routinely called the safest country on Earth, and the numbers back it up — low crime, high trust, and a population that leaves babies sleeping in strollers outside cafes. Reykjavik is small enough to walk end to end in an afternoon.

The catch is cost. A hotel room rarely dips below $150, and a burger with a beer can hit $35. But many solo travelers use Reykjavik as a base for day tours — Golden Circle, South Coast, Northern Lights — where the group format makes being alone feel natural and infinitely more affordable than renting a car on your own.

7. Vancouver, Canada

For US travelers, Vancouver offers an easy first solo trip across a friendly border. It’s clean, walkable, and surrounded by nature, from Stanley Park’s seawall to the Grouse Mountain gondola less than 30 minutes from downtown.

The SkyTrain runs from the airport straight into the city, which removes the first solo-travel hurdle. Budget $40–$60 for a hostel bed, $15–$20 for a casual meal, and note that many of the best experiences — the seawall, Granville Island’s markets, the beaches — are cheap or free.

8. Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei is the solo traveler’s sleeper pick in Asia. It’s remarkably safe, the MRT metro is clean and signed in English, and the night markets serve food meant to be eaten solo and on the move. A bowl of beef noodle soup costs around $5, and a solid hostel bed runs $20–$35.

The city’s efficiency makes solo logistics painless: you can tap a card on and off the metro, reach the hot springs at Beitou in under an hour, and order food at a hundred street stalls without speaking a word of Mandarin.

How These Destinations Compare

Factor	Kyoto, Japan	Lisbon, Portugal	Chiang Mai, Thailand
Safety level	Excellent	Very good	Good
Budget per day (solo)	$60–$120	$50–$95	$25–$50
Ease of getting around	Excellent (bus/rail)	Very good (metro/tram)	Good (walk/moto taxi)
Solo dining culture	Excellent	Very good	Excellent
Best for	Culture + peace	Value + food	Budget + community

If cost is your main concern, read our guide to the best places to travel on a budget before you book. Prefer sun and sand? The best tropical vacation destinations cover a whole different kind of solo trip.

How to Plan a Solo Trip Without Overcomplicating It

Solo travel succeeds on preparation, not luck. Here’s a short checklist that covers most situations:

• Book the first two nights only. Give yourself the freedom to extend, leave early, or change cities once you get a feel for a place.
• Choose accommodation near transit. A hotel two blocks from a metro station beats a nicer one a 20-minute walk from anything.
• Download offline maps before you fly. Google Maps and Maps.me both work offline; you won’t always have signal.
• Share your itinerary with someone at home. A quick daily check-in text is free insurance.
• Pack light enough to carry everything yourself. There’s no one else to hand your bag to at the top of the stairs.
• Learn five phrases. “Hello,” “thank you,” “please,” “how much,” and “where is the bathroom” buy goodwill almost everywhere.

For a longer list of once-in-a-lifetime ideas, browse our bucket list travel destinations. Solo travel and bucket lists go together surprisingly well — you can finally do the trip without waiting for anyone’s schedule to line up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is solo travel safe?

Most of the time, yes — especially if you choose destinations with strong safety reputations and take basic precautions. Stick to well-lit areas at night, keep your valuables split between a room safe and a money belt, and trust your instincts. Cities like Kyoto, Copenhagen, and Reykjavik have crime rates far lower than most American cities of comparable size.

What is the cheapest country to travel alone?

For consistent value, it’s hard to beat Thailand, Vietnam, and Portugal. Thailand offers the lowest day-to-day costs of the destinations above, with comfortable rooms and excellent food for under $50 a day. Portugal gives you Western European culture at a fraction of its neighbors’ prices, as Lonely Planet’s budget travel coverage regularly notes.

How do I avoid feeling lonely when traveling alone?

Book a walking tour or a group day trip early in your stay — it’s the fastest way to meet people with a similar itinerary. Stay somewhere social if you want company, even if only for the common areas. And plan a couple of activities you genuinely love doing by yourself, which is the whole point of going alone.

Is it better to travel alone or with friends?

Neither is objectively better; they solve different problems. Traveling with friends shares the cost and the memories, while traveling alone gives you total control over pace, budget, and itinerary. Many experienced travelers alternate between the two, and some of the most memorable trips are solo ones taken at exactly the pace you choose.

How much should I budget for a solo trip?

As a rough starting point, plan $50–$120 per day for most of the cities above, which covers accommodation, food, local transit, and one or two activities. The best places to travel on a budget can bring that number down significantly if you’re flexible on destination.

The Bottom Line

The best places to travel alone aren’t just safe — they’re cities that reward your independence. Kyoto gives you calm and routine. Lisbon gives you value and warmth. Chiang Mai gives you community on a shoestring. Taipei gives you night markets and flawless transit. Any of them will teach you more about yourself than a resort ever will.

Start with one city, book those first two nights, and let the trip unfold from there. Solo travel gets easier with every trip you take, and the destination matters far less than the decision to go.

Ready to plan? Check flight prices for your dates on Kayak and start with the best tropical vacation destinations if you’d rather chase warm weather than cobblestones.