[ LISTICLE · THE DISPATCH ]

Best Solo Travel Destinations for 2026: Lonely but Not Bored

Solo travel is not a consolation prize for not having friends who can get the time off. It is a specific and excellent way to travel — faster decisions, selfish itineraries, and the occasional beautiful conversation with a stranger in a bar. These are the best cities to do it in.

I have eaten an entire meal for one at a restaurant in Tokyo and felt completely content. I have also eaten a meal for one in a tourist trap in Naples where the waiter looked at me like I’d committed a social misdemeanour. The difference was not the food. It was the city — Tokyo is built for the solitary human in a way that Naples is not. This distinction matters enormously when you’re picking where to go alone.

Here is the definitive guide to where solo travel actually works.

1. Japan (especially Tokyo and Kyoto)

Japan is the solo traveller’s utopia. The culture is built around individual experience — dining alone is normal, exploring temples alone is normal, sitting in a park alone for two hours is not a cry for help but a Tuesday afternoon activity. The infrastructure is flawless. You can travel solo in Japan for two weeks without a single moment of logistical anxiety.

2. Portugal (Lisbon and Porto)

The solo traveller’s European sweet spot: safe, affordable, English widely spoken, a hostel scene that creates social opportunities without forcing them. Lisbon especially has a culture of solo dining at tascas (neighbourhood restaurants) and a bar scene concentrated in Bairro Alto where conversations with strangers happen naturally. Porto is smaller and even more relaxed.

3. Iceland

Expensive, yes. But solo travel in Iceland is uniquely frictionless — the main hazard is weather, not safety, and the country is so visually dramatic that a solo trip feels less lonely because the landscapes are company. The Golden Circle and the Ring Road are both doable solo with a rental car. The hostel culture in Reykjavik is excellent for meeting people.

4. Thailand (Bangkok and Chiang Mai)

The world’s most popular solo travel circuit for a reason. The infrastructure for travellers is extraordinary: hostels every block, tours easy to join, transport simple, local people genuinely warm toward visitors. Chiang Mai specifically has a long-running solo traveller community — you can arrive knowing nobody and be having dinner with five new people by the first evening.

5. Colombia (Medellín and Cartagena)

The transformation of Medellín’s reputation into reality: it is now a genuinely excellent solo destination, with a thriving expat community, world-class infrastructure in El Poblado and Laureles, and the world’s most dramatic urban cable car for good measure. Cartagena has a walled old town where solo walking is pure pleasure. Take standard city precautions; don’t take stupid risks.

6. New Zealand

The solo hiking capital of the world. The Milford Track, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, the Abel Tasman Coast Track — all well-serviced with huts, guides, and other solo walkers to chat with. New Zealand culture is also unusually friendly toward lone travellers — pubs are welcoming, hostels are genuinely social, and the landscape makes solitude feel intentional rather than lonely.

7. Taipei, Taiwan

Criminally underrated for solo travel. The city is extraordinarily safe, has excellent public transport, costs a fraction of Tokyo for similar quality, and has a night market culture that makes eating alone joyful rather than awkward — you stand at a stall, eat something brilliant, move to the next one. The Taiwanese are warm and curious about foreign visitors.

8. Amsterdam, Netherlands

A compact solo destination: all the cultural heavyweights (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House) are manageable solo, the hostel scene is good, and the city is small enough that you never feel overwhelmed or lost. The canal-side cycling culture means you can rent a bike and explore independently with total confidence.

Destination	Safety	English spoken	Solo dining ease	Social scene	Cost
Japan	Excellent	Moderate	Excellent	Quiet	$$$
Portugal	Excellent	Excellent	Good	Good	$$
Iceland	Excellent	Excellent	Moderate	Good (hostels)	$$$$
Thailand	Good	Good	Excellent	Excellent	$
Colombia	Good (urban)	Moderate	Good	Excellent	$$
New Zealand	Excellent	Excellent	Good	Good	$$$
Taiwan	Excellent	Moderate	Excellent	Good	$$
Amsterdam	Excellent	Excellent	Good	Good	$$$

Is solo travel actually lonely? In good solo destinations: rarely. You have much more control over your social exposure than you do travelling in a group — you can choose the hostel common room, the group tour, the bar at the right hour, or the quiet dinner for one with a book. The balance is yours to set.

What’s the most common mistake first-time solo travellers make? Over-planning and under-leaving-room-for-chance. The best solo travel moments — the conversation with the local artist, the unmarked restaurant you stumbled into, the hiking trail someone mentioned in a café — are the ones you didn’t schedule. Book the first night; leave the rest with flexibility.

Are some of these too dangerous for solo women? Colombia and Thailand require more situational awareness than Iceland or Japan, but all eight destinations on this list have large solo female traveller communities and are genuinely manageable with standard urban precautions. See also our forthcoming best-cities-for-solo-female-travellers piece for a more targeted list.

This article contains affiliate links marked rel="sponsored". We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.