Solo travelers now make up a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year, and the list of best places to solo travel keeps shifting as new cities prove themselves safe, walkable, and easy to get around alone. In 2026, Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards named Dublin the world’s best destination for solo travelers, a title that surprised plenty of people who assumed the usual suspects — Lisbon, Tokyo, Copenhagen — would take the crown again.
That shift matters. It means the “best” list isn’t frozen. It moves with walkability data, review volume, and how welcome a place actually feels when you’re the only name on the reservation.
What Makes a City One of the Best Places to Solo Travel
Not every popular destination works for solo travel. A city earns a spot on this list when it delivers on a few specific things at once.
Walkability tops the list. If you can’t explore on foot without constant taxis or complicated transit transfers, the trip gets stressful fast. Dublin’s win came largely down to being described as a compact, friendly city where its small size and strong transport links make it ideal for exploring at your own pace.
Safety, English-language accessibility, and a built-in social scene — hostels, food halls, walking tours — round out the criteria. Anyone who has planned a trip alone knows the difference between a city that’s merely pretty and one that’s genuinely easy to navigate solo.
Quick Comparison: Best Places to Solo Travel at a Glance
| Destination | Best For | Avg. Daily Budget | Best Season | Safety Level* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin, Ireland | First-timers | $70–$110 | May–September | Very High |
| Lisbon, Portugal | Solo female travelers | $50–$85 | March–June, Sept–Oct | Very High |
| Copenhagen, Denmark | Slow, walkable trips | $90–$140 | May–August | Very High |
| Costa Rica | Nature and adventure | $50–$90 | December–April (dry season) | High |
| Vietnam (Hanoi/Hoi An) | Budget travel | $20–$40 | Feb–April, Aug–Oct | High |
| Amsterdam, Netherlands | Café culture, wandering | $80–$120 | April–September | Very High |
| Bangkok, Thailand | Energy and nightlife | $25–$45 | Nov–Feb (cool, dry) | Moderate–High |
*Based on Global Peace Index 2026 country rankings and traveler safety reports; individual experience varies by neighborhood and season.
1. Dublin, Ireland
Dublin took the top global spot in 2026, and the reasoning holds up on the ground. The city center is small enough to cover on foot in a day, pubs double as informal meeting spots for travelers, and English removes the usual language friction. Temple Bar gets the tourist crowds, but the Liberties neighborhood offers a quieter, more local feel for anyone who wants to wander without a fixed itinerary.
2. Lisbon, Portugal
Portugal is one of the safest countries in Europe, which makes Lisbon a strong choice for solo female travelers in particular. Mornings work well for café hopping, afternoons for wandering Alfama’s steep, tiled streets, and evenings for watching the sunset from one of the city’s miradouros. Public transit is reliable, and the compact layout means getting lost rarely turns into a real problem.
3. Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen ranks among the easiest cities in Europe to explore solo since it’s flat, bikeable, and incredibly safe. English is spoken almost everywhere, and the city’s food halls make solo dining feel normal rather than awkward — you’re surrounded by people doing the exact same thing.
4. Costa Rica
For travelers who want nature over city streets, Costa Rica offers rainforest, volcanoes, hot springs, and beaches in one country, with strong tourism infrastructure and a level of safety that stands out in Latin America. Hostels in towns like Monteverde and Quepos make it easy to fall in with other solo travelers for group activities like zip-lining or whitewater rafting.
5. Hanoi and Hoi An, Vietnam
Vietnam consistently shows up on solo travel lists for one simple reason: cost. Budget goes further here than almost anywhere else in Southeast Asia, and the country’s tourism infrastructure has matured enough that solo travelers, including first-timers, report feeling comfortable navigating it alone.
6. Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam works for solo travelers who prefer a slower, wander-without-a-plan style of trip. Canals make natural walking routes, museums and flower markets fill afternoons easily, and the city’s compact neighborhoods, like the Jordaan, reward getting a little lost on purpose.
7. Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok trades quiet charm for energy. Late-night food markets, affordable transit, and a huge existing network of solo and backpacker travelers make it one of the easier Asian megacities to handle without a travel companion.
Best Places to Solo Travel for Different Travel Styles
Not every solo trip looks the same, and the best places to solo travel depend heavily on what kind of traveler you are.
- First-time solo travelers: Dublin, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam remove the biggest stressors — language and navigation.
- Budget-conscious travelers: Vietnam and Costa Rica offer strong value without sacrificing safety.
- Solo female travelers: Lisbon and Copenhagen consistently rank high for safety-specific reviews.
- Adventure-focused travelers: Costa Rica and Bangkok offer more built-in activity and spontaneity.
Solo Travel Safety by the Numbers
Vague reassurance isn’t much use when you’re deciding where to travel alone, so here’s the actual data behind the “safe” label.
According to the 2026 Global Peace Index, Ireland ranks among the world’s five most peaceful countries, joined at the top by Iceland, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Slovenia. Portugal ranks 7th on the same index, and Denmark has held a similar top-ten position in recent years. These rankings are built from 23 indicators covering crime, political stability, and militarization — not traveler opinion.
That objective data lines up with the subjective reviews. Places that score well on the Global Peace Index also tend to dominate solo-friendly city lists, which is a reasonable pattern to trust rather than coincidence.
Planning a Solo Trip: What Competitors Don’t Tell You
Most solo travel roundups stop at “where to go.” A few practical details make the difference between a smooth trip and a stressful one.
Connectivity first. Buying a local eSIM before landing, rather than relying on airport Wi-Fi or hotel networks, keeps maps and translation apps working the moment you land — especially useful in Vietnam and Thailand, where English signage thins out fast.
Check-in apps matter more than people admit. Sharing a live location with one trusted contact, even through a basic app like Find My or WhatsApp location sharing, is standard practice among frequent solo travelers, not a sign of anxiety.
Dining alone gets easier with the right setup. Food halls in Copenhagen, counter seating in Lisbon’s tascas, and communal hostel kitchens in Costa Rica are specifically built around solo diners, so nobody’s staring at an empty chair across the table.
Long-stay and remote-work options are worth checking. Portugal in particular offers visa pathways aimed at remote workers, which explains why so many solo travelers extend a two-week Lisbon trip into a multi-month stay.
What the Research Shows
Solo travel isn’t a niche habit anymore. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global solo travel market was valued at roughly $558 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to more than $2 trillion by 2034, driven largely by younger travelers and the rise of remote work. That same research found females now make up the majority of solo travelers worldwide, and Google searches for “solo female travel” have climbed sharply in recent years.
That growth explains why cities are actively competing for the “best places to solo travel” title. Tourism boards know a well-reviewed solo-friendly reputation now drives real, measurable visitor numbers — not just goodwill.
Pros and Cons of Solo Travel Destinations
Even the best-ranked cities come with trade-offs worth knowing before booking.
Pros:
- Full control over pace, itinerary, and budget
- Easier to meet other travelers in hostel and food-hall cultures
- No compromise on what to see or skip
Cons:
- Single-room accommodation often costs more per person
- Some destinations require extra safety planning, especially at night
- Loneliness is a real risk factor solo travelers report, even in social cities
Conclusion
The best places to solo travel in 2026 share a common thread: they make it easy to move around, easy to meet people, and easy to feel safe doing it all alone. Dublin currently sits at the top of that list, backed by both traveler reviews and hard safety data, but Lisbon, Copenhagen, Costa Rica, and Vietnam each offer a genuinely different kind of solo experience worth considering depending on budget, pace, and what you’re actually looking to get out of the trip.
FAQs
What is currently ranked the best place to solo travel?
Dublin, Ireland holds the title for 2026 according to Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards, largely due to its walkability and compact city center.
Is solo travel safe for women specifically?
Cities like Lisbon and Copenhagen rank consistently high for solo female travelers, backed by their countries’ top-ten placement on the Global Peace Index.
What’s the cheapest destination on this list?
Vietnam, particularly Hanoi and Hoi An, offers the lowest daily costs while still providing solid tourism infrastructure for solo travelers.
Do I need to speak the local language to solo travel comfortably?
Not in any city on this list. Dublin, Lisbon, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam all have high English proficiency, which removes most day-to-day friction.
How do I meet other people while traveling solo?
Hostels, food halls, walking tours, and cooking classes are the most reliable ways solo travelers connect with others on the road, according to multiple traveler accounts.
