Solo travel
Best places to travel solo: 15 destinations and where to stay
Fifteen solo travel destinations where it is easy to head out alone in the evening, eat at the bar and find company when you want it. Two hotels in each: one for meeting people, one for being left in peace.
Picolo Editorial
It is just after seven in the evening in Tokyo, and the ramen bar down the side street has eight stools along the counter. You press a button on the ticket machine by the door, hand the slip to the cook and get your bowl without saying a word. Nobody gives you a second look. Most of the people around you are eating alone too.
That is what this list is about. Cities and islands where going out alone is as ordinary as going out in a pair, and where the walk home after dinner feels safe. The hotel makes it easy to talk to someone if you feel like it. We have picked fifteen solo trips across Europe, Asia, Central America and the South Pacific, with two hotels in each.
If you book through the links in this article, Picolo earns a commission based on a percentage of the price. The views in this article are nonetheless entirely our own.
In short
The best places to travel solo are cities you can get around without a car, where nobody looks twice at a table for one. We recommend 15 destinations with two hotels each. For a first trip, choose Copenhagen, under two hours from most UK airports. For something further, go to Chiang Mai in January.
First choice: See rooms at Hotel Ottilia (Paid link)
How we chose
Every destination had to pass four tests. You should be able to walk back from dinner without a taxi and get around on foot or by public transport. You should also be able to eat alone without being shown to the table by the loos. And there had to be hotels with shared spaces where striking up a conversation comes naturally.
All the hotels score at least 8.8 on Hotels.com from 50 or more reviews. In each place there is one sociable hotel with a bar, roof terrace or pool where you will meet people, and one quieter retreat for recharging. Nowhere is safe for everyone all the time, so check the FCDO travel advice before you go.
If you are over 50 and want a bit more comfort, see our guide to solo holidays over 50. Only got a weekend? Try our solo city breaks, and for sunshine, our pick of solo beach holidays.
Top picks: where to start
Best first solo trip: Copenhagen. A short flight, a flat city made for cycling and English spoken everywhere.
Best for meeting people: Chiang Mai. Cookery classes and treks in the hills fill up with other solo travellers.
Best for nature: Queenstown. Mountains, a lake and small-group trips from the town centre, so you never have to hike alone.
Best for food: Tokyo. A city built for eating alone, from ramen counters to sushi bars.
Best for a long trip: Ubud. Morning yoga, rice terraces in the afternoon and a pace you can keep up for weeks.
Copenhagen: the easy first step
You hire a bike from the hotel, and within half an hour the rules make sense: keep right, raise a hand before you turn, never stop in the bike lane. The city is flat and easy to read, and nobody blinks at someone eating lunch alone on a bench by the canal.
Good for: a first solo trip or a short weekend. When to go: May to September, or December for Tivoli in its Christmas lights.
Sociable: Hotel SP34
SP34 sits on Sankt Peders Stræde in the Latin Quarter, a short stroll from Strøget. It has two restaurants and a bar, and the lounge with its library is an easy place to settle in with a drink. Good if you want a street full of cafés and company at the bar.
Book your stay: See rooms at Hotel SP34 (Paid link)
Hotel Ottilia
The hotel fills two old brewery buildings in Carlsberg City.
Retreat: Hotel Ottilia
Hotel Ottilia occupies two old brewery buildings in Carlsberg City, west of the centre. From the roof terrace you look out over the rooftops, and the streets around are quiet after dark. The S-train from Carlsberg station has you in town in minutes. Good if you want a proper night's sleep a little away from the bustle.
Book your stay: See rooms at Hotel Ottilia (Paid link)
Lisbon: hills, trams and small plates
Tram 28 grinds up the hills from Baixa while you hang on between schoolchildren and pensioners. Lisbon is a city for walking, steep and slow, with breathers at the viewpoints locals call miradouros. Petiscos, Portugal's answer to tapas, can be ordered one at a time, so a table for one works just as well.
Good for: walkers and anyone who travels to eat. When to go: April to June and September to October.
Lisboa Pessoa Hotel
Bairro Alto and its bars are only a few minutes' walk away.
Sociable: Lisboa Pessoa Hotel
Named after the poet Fernando Pessoa, this hotel is in Chiado, a few blocks from the bars of Bairro Alto. Its bar is a calm place for a glass before heading out. Good if you want the nightlife nearby and a short stroll home.
Book your stay: See rooms at Lisboa Pessoa Hotel (Paid link)
Retreat: The Lumiares Hotel and Spa
The Lumiares fills a restored townhouse in Bairro Alto, and the rooms come with their own kitchens. Pick up bread and cheese at the market and have breakfast on your own terms. The rooftop restaurant looks out towards the Tagus. Good for longer stays and quiet evenings after a day on the hills.
Book your stay: See rooms at The Lumiares Hotel and Spa (Paid link)
Porto: a long weekend on the Douro
From the Dom Luís I bridge you can read the names of the port lodges painted in giant letters on the rooftops across the river. Porto is smaller and cheaper than Lisbon, and you can walk the centre in an afternoon.
Good for: a long weekend of food and wine. When to go: May to October.
Sociable: Torel Avantgarde
Torel Avantgarde clings to the hillside above the river, and its suites are named after artists and writers. The terrace looks straight out over the Douro, and guests gather there in the evening to watch the sun go down. Good if you like to start the night with a view before wandering down to Ribeira.
Book your stay: See rooms at Torel Avantgarde (Paid link)
Porto A.S. 1829 Hotel
An 1829 stationery shop given a second life as a small hotel near the river.
Retreat: Porto A.S. 1829 Hotel
This hotel occupies the building where a stationery shop opened in 1829, a few minutes from the riverfront. The street is calmer than the quayside, and the hotel is small enough for reception to remember your name. Good for history lovers who want somewhere intimate to come back to.
Book your stay: See rooms at Porto A.S. 1829 Hotel (Paid link)
Reykjavik: where the city meets in the pool
In Reykjavik you can sit in an outdoor geothermal pool while snow falls, next to locals who have come straight from work. The municipal pools are where the city socialises, and you need nobody to go with. Day trips to waterfalls and geysers run by coach, so there is no need to drive.
Good for: nature and city on one trip. When to go: June for the midnight sun, September to March for the northern lights.
Hotel Borg
The 1930 interiors survive, with parliament just across the square.
Sociable: Hotel Borg
Hotel Borg opened in 1930 on Austurvöllur, the square facing the Icelandic parliament. Its art deco interiors have been carefully kept, and the ground-floor bar is a good place to thaw out after a day outdoors. Good if you want to stay right in the centre with a bar under the same roof.
Book your stay: See rooms at Hotel Borg (Paid link)
Retreat: Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel
Konsulat sits in the old town, a few blocks from the harbour, and is part of Hilton's Curio Collection. There is a small spa for soaking after a cold day out at Þingvellir. Good if you want calm without staying out of town.
Book your stay: See rooms at Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel (Paid link)
Stockholm: a city on fourteen islands
Stockholm is spread across fourteen islands, and the best-value sightseeing trip is the public ferry to Djurgården, covered by an ordinary transport ticket. Swedes happily sit alone in cafés with a cinnamon bun, and nobody expects small talk. That makes solitude feel easy here.
Good for: a first taste of Scandinavia. When to go: June to August.
Downtown Camper by Scandic
The fireplace draws guests together after a day outdoors.
Sociable: Downtown Camper by Scandic
Downtown Camper sits on Brunkebergstorg with a pool and sauna on the roof. It is built for people who want to get out, with bikes and archipelago trips arranged from reception. Good if you like to keep busy and chat to other guests by the pool.
Book your stay: See rooms at Downtown Camper by Scandic (Paid link)
Retreat: Hobo Hotel
Hobo shares the same square but is a different animal: compact, clever rooms with nothing superfluous and a lobby that doubles as a café by day. The rooms are small, so this suits you if you are out all day and just need a good bed.
Book your stay: See rooms at Hobo Hotel (Paid link)
Dublin: ten minutes to your first chat
In a Dublin pub it rarely takes long before someone asks where you are from. The city is small enough to cross on foot in an hour. Traditional music sessions in the pubs cost nothing to listen to.
Good for: anyone who likes a conversation. When to go: May to September.
The Hendrick Smithfield
Smithfield's music pubs are a couple of minutes away.
Sociable: The Hendrick Smithfield
The Hendrick stands on Smithfield square, beside the old Jameson distillery on Bow Street. The Cobblestone, one of the city's best-known music pubs, is a stone's throw away, and the Luas tram takes you into town. Good if you want to stay outside the tourist strip but close to everything.
Book your stay: See rooms at The Hendrick Smithfield (Paid link)
Retreat: The Wilder Townhouse
The Wilder occupies an old brick townhouse on Adelaide Road, fifteen minutes' walk from St Stephen's Green. There is a restaurant, a bar and a small garden, and the street is quiet at night. Good if you want calm without straying far from the centre.
Book your stay: See rooms at The Wilder Townhouse (Paid link)
Edinburgh: a city on two levels
Edinburgh is built on two levels: the medieval Old Town on the ridge and the Georgian New Town below. Waverley station sits between them, about four and a half hours from London King's Cross. The climb up Arthur's Seat, the old volcano in the middle of the city, takes a couple of hours there and back.
Good for: culture and pubs. When to go: May to September, and August for the festivals.
Sociable: Market Street Hotel
Market Street Hotel is right by Waverley, so you can walk from the train to reception in a couple of minutes. The rooftop bar looks across to the Old Town and the castle. Good if you arrive by rail and want to get straight out.
Book your stay: See rooms at Market Street Hotel (Paid link)
The Raeburn
Stockbridge Sunday market is just around the corner.
Retreat: The Raeburn
The Raeburn is in Stockbridge, a village-like neighbourhood on the Water of Leith, fifteen minutes' walk from the centre. It is a converted Georgian house with a handful of rooms above a pub. Good if you like a Sunday market and quiet streets on the doorstep.
Book your stay: See rooms at The Raeburn (Paid link)
Ljubljana: small enough to know by day two
Central Ljubljana is car-free, and café tables line the Ljubljanica river from bridge to bridge. The city has around 300,000 people, a little smaller than Belfast. That is enough for good restaurants and a bit of nightlife, and small enough to find your way around after a day.
Good for: easy-going city life with mountains nearby. When to go: May to September.
Vander Urbani Resort
The rooms are a stone's throw from the cafés along the Ljubljanica.
Sociable: Vander Urbani Resort
Vander Urbani is on the river in the old town and has a small rooftop pool. Its restaurant draws locals as well as guests. Good if you want to begin the evening on the roof and step straight down to the riverside cafés.
Book your stay: See rooms at Vander Urbani Resort (Paid link)
Retreat: Cubo Hotel Ljubljana
Cubo is on Slovenska cesta, the main street through the centre, a few minutes from the old town. The rooms are modern and uncluttered, and far enough from the river bars for a good night's sleep. Good if you want everything close without the noise of the terraces.
Book your stay: See rooms at Cubo Hotel Ljubljana (Paid link)
Vienna: one coffee, two hours
In a Viennese coffee house you can nurse one cup and a glass of water for two hours and the waiter will leave you be. Newspapers hang on wooden holders for guests to borrow. Public transport is simple, and the walk home after the opera feels safe.
Good for: culture and café life. When to go: April to June, September to October, and the Christmas markets from mid-November.
Sociable: 25hours Hotel beim MuseumsQuartier
25hours stands beside the MuseumsQuartier and runs with a circus theme, acrobats and clowns included. Its rooftop bar, Dachboden, looks over the rooftops and gets busy early. Good if you want life around you when you get back.
Book your stay: See rooms at 25hours Hotel beim MuseumsQuartier (Paid link)
Hotel Topazz Lamee
The oval windows make the hotel easy to spot near St Stephen's.
Retreat: Hotel Topazz Lamee
Topazz and its sister hotel Lamee stand side by side, a couple of minutes from St Stephen's Cathedral. You will recognise Topazz by the oval windows in its facade. Good if you want a central address and a quiet room after a long day in the museums.
Book your stay: See rooms at Hotel Topazz Lamee (Paid link)
Tokyo: a city made for one
Tokyo looks overwhelming on the map, but the trains run to the second, the signs are in English and doing things alone is completely normal. Walking home late feels safe, even in the busiest districts. Stay in Shibuya or Shinjuku and you are on a train line to almost everywhere.
Good for: a first long-haul solo trip and food. When to go: March to May and October to November.
Trunk Hotel
The lobby is the neighbourhood's living room, laptops by day and drinks by night.
Sociable: Trunk Hotel
Trunk sits between Shibuya and Harajuku, on leafy Cat Street. The lobby has a bar and café where guests and locals work side by side on laptops. Good if you want a creative neighbourhood and people around you.
Book your stay: See rooms at Trunk Hotel (Paid link)
Retreat: Hotel Gracery Shinjuku
Hotel Gracery has a Godzilla head on its eighth-floor terrace, so you will never lose your way back. The rooms sit high above Kabukicho, Tokyo's busiest nightlife district. Good if you want the city lights outside your window. For the most peace, ask for a room on an upper floor.
Book your stay: See rooms at Hotel Gracery Shinjuku (Paid link)
Seoul: a table for one
Koreans have a word for eating alone, honbap, and plenty of Seoul restaurants have counter seats or small tables for one. The metro is cheap and signed in English. The neighbourhoods are so different that one trip feels like several cities.
Good for: food and nightlife. When to go: April and October.
Sociable: Ryse Autograph Collection
Ryse is in Hongdae, the university district where buskers play into the night. The hotel has art on the walls and a bar on the roof, and the streets outside stay busy late. Good if you want to be where things happen.
Book your stay: See rooms at Ryse Autograph Collection (Paid link)
Nine Tree Premier Hotel Myeongdong
Myeongdong's evening street food starts right below the window.
Retreat: Nine Tree Premier Hotel Myeongdong
Nine Tree is in Myeongdong, the shopping district famous for evening street food, yet the rooms are simple and quiet. N Seoul Tower is within walking distance and the metro is close by. Good if you want a calm base at a sensible price.
Book your stay: See rooms at Nine Tree Premier Hotel Myeongdong (Paid link)
Chiang Mai: temples, classes and new friends
Inside Chiang Mai's old city walls stand more than 30 temples, and monks walk their alms rounds through the streets at dawn. By Thai standards the city is calm. Cookery schools and hill treks pull in solo travellers, and you will rarely lack someone to eat with.
Good for: meeting people, food and long trips. When to go: November to February.
Tamarind Village
The Sunday market passes right by the gate every week.
Sociable: Tamarind Village
Tamarind Village is on Ratchadamnoen Road inside the old city, reached along a long bamboo-lined path. An old tamarind tree stands in the courtyard. The Sunday walking street market runs right past the gate, and it is easy to head there with other guests. Good if you want the old city on the doorstep.
Book your stay: See rooms at Tamarind Village (Paid link)
Retreat: 137 Pillars House
137 Pillars House is built around an 1889 teak house put up for the British Borneo Company, east of the Ping river. The suites are generous and the pool sits in a garden of tall trees. Good for spending the last days of a trip doing very little.
Book your stay: See rooms at 137 Pillars House (Paid link)
Ubud: a pace you can keep for weeks
Mornings in Ubud start with a walk through the rice terraces before the heat builds, and the yoga studios are full of people travelling alone. The town sits inland on Bali, well away from the beaches, and life moves slower than on the coast.
Good for: long trips, yoga and calm. When to go: April to October.
Sociable: Bisma Eight
Bisma Eight is on Jalan Bisma, five minutes' walk from the centre of Ubud. Its pool hangs over a jungle ravine, and guests meet in the rooftop bar in the evening. Good if you want to walk into town and come back to green.
Book your stay: See rooms at Bisma Eight (Paid link)
Komaneka at Bisma
The pool faces the jungle, five minutes from central Ubud.
Retreat: Komaneka at Bisma
Komaneka is further down the same road, looking out over rice fields and jungle. Some villas have their own pool, and the place falls quiet once darkness comes. Good for resting between yoga classes and staying a while.
Book your stay: See rooms at Komaneka at Bisma (Paid link)
Manuel Antonio: sloths above the path
In Manuel Antonio National Park the trails run through rainforest and end on white beaches, with sloths hanging in the trees above you. A guide helps you spot far more than you would alone, and the groups are small. The park is on Costa Rica's Pacific coast, around three hours' drive from San José.
Good for: nature and wildlife. When to go: December to April, the dry season.
Si Como No Resort, Spa and Wildlife Refuge
The hotel's own wildlife refuge is right beside the pools.
Sociable: Si Como No Resort, Spa and Wildlife Refuge
Si Como No has its own wildlife refuge, a butterfly garden and an adults-only pool. It sits on the hillside above the beach, and the restaurant looks out over the Pacific. Good if you want to meet people over dinner and do not need the sand on your doorstep.
Book your stay: See rooms at Si Como No Resort, Spa and Wildlife Refuge (Paid link)
Retreat: Arenas del Mar Beachfront and Rainforest Resort
Arenas del Mar sits where the rainforest meets the sea, with Playitas beach just below. It is known for its sustainability work, and at night all you hear are waves and howler monkeys. Good if you want nature close and silence after dark.
Book your stay: See rooms at Arenas del Mar Beachfront and Rainforest Resort (Paid link)
Queenstown: where bungy began
Queenstown sits on Lake Wakatipu with The Remarkables behind it, and this is where commercial bungy jumping began. The town lives on people who come to hike, paddle and ride, and plenty of trips leave from the centre in small groups.
Good for: the outdoors and adventure. When to go: December to March for hiking, July to September for skiing.
The Rees Hotel
The peaks in the window are the ones you hiked that day.
Sociable: The Rees Hotel
The Rees sits on Frankton Road overlooking Wakatipu, and its restaurant, True South, has a cellar of New Zealand wines. In the evening guests gather in the bar with the mountains framed in the windows. Good if you want a sociable dinner after a long day out.
Book your stay: See rooms at The Rees Hotel (Paid link)
Retreat: Eichardt's Private Hotel
Eichardt's stands on the lakefront in one of the town's oldest buildings, dating from the 1860s gold rush. There are only a few suites, and the bar downstairs has an open fire. Good if you want to treat yourself right in the centre.
Book your stay: See rooms at Eichardt's Private Hotel (Paid link)
Solo travel month by month
Every month has its place. Here is one destination from the list for each month of the year, chosen for weather and atmosphere:
January: Chiang Mai, in the cool, dry season.
February: Manuel Antonio, in the middle of the dry season.
March: Tokyo, when the cherry blossom arrives at the end of the month.
April: Seoul, with blossom along the Han river.
May: Porto, before the summer heat and the cruise ships.
June: Reykjavik, when it never gets dark.
July: Ubud, in Bali's dry season.
August: Edinburgh, when the whole city becomes a festival stage.
September: Ljubljana, with summer weather and fewer summer crowds.
October: Lisbon, still warm and calmer than July.
November: Vienna, when the Christmas markets open mid-month.
December: Queenstown, with summer and long evenings on the other side of the world.
How to avoid the single supplement
The single supplement is the extra you pay when a room or cabin is priced for two but used by one. In hotels it is rarely an issue, because most charge per room rather than per person. It is package holidays, cruises and group tours where it tends to appear.
Book the hotel yourself and choose a double for single occupancy: the price is often the same. Travel outside the high season, when hotels have rooms to fill. And look for places with genuine single rooms, or hostels with private rooms.
When to book
Long-haul: book Tokyo, Seoul and Queenstown three to four months ahead, especially for cherry blossom season.
Europe in high season: Edinburgh in August and Lisbon in June fill early, so book two to three months ahead.
Off season: for Copenhagen, Vienna and Dublin a couple of weeks is often enough.
Frequently asked questions about solo travel
Where is the safest place to travel solo?
Some of the safest countries for solo travel are Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand and Portugal, all ranked among the ten most peaceful nations in the Global Peace Index 2025. Each has a destination on this list. Still check the FCDO travel advice before you go, and share your plans with someone at home.
Where should I go on my first solo trip?
Pick somewhere a short flight away, where you can get by in English and do not need a car. Copenhagen, Lisbon and Edinburgh are easy first choices from the UK. Stay three or four nights: long enough to find your rhythm, not so long that it starts to feel lonely.
How do you meet people when travelling solo?
The easiest way is to sign up for something, such as a cookery class, a walking tour or a group day trip. Stay somewhere with a bar or shared kitchen, and sit at the bar rather than at a table. Many hostels run communal dinners where you do not need to know anyone.
Is it more expensive to travel solo?
Yes, a little, because you cover the whole room and every taxi yourself. The gap is smallest at hotels that charge per room, and biggest on package holidays and cruises with a single supplement. You save most by travelling off season and choosing cities you can explore on foot or by tram.
What is the best month for a solo trip?
May and September are the best months for solo travel in Europe, with long days, fewer crowds than July and lower hotel prices. For South East Asia, November to February works best, while Costa Rica and New Zealand are at their finest from December to March.