If you’ve never traveled alone before, the thought of it can be unsettling. It’s simple to check in for your departure flight; the real difficulty comes when you arrive alone in an unfamiliar place. But any initial hesitancy is only temporary. Nerves will have already given way to the excitement by the time you’ve checked into your hotel and are out on the town looking for your first meal.
The right destination choice is crucial to mastering the art of solo travel. Some locations are better suited for a solo travel experience than others, regardless of whether you’re setting out on an epic multicountry journey or taking an impulsive city break. There are places where travelers are naturally thrown together, making it simple to meet new people, and places where travelers are naturally suited to solitude.
The best part is that there are solo travel destinations all over the world, so you can go alone just as easily in the dead of winter as you can in the height of summer. Listed in order of interest are 10 places that lone travelers can count on. These locations are sure to start your solo travel adventure off on the right foot, whether you’re into raves, relaxation, hiking, or sightseeing.
The best continent for solo travel in South America.
South America is the ultimate adventure destination because there are mountains to climb, rivers to raft, ancient ruins to discover, and jungles to explore. And the best time to travel to Patagonia and the Andes is during the northern hemisphere’s winter, which is South America’s summer. The continent offers something for every type of adventurer, from well-traveled paths in Argentina, Chile, and Brazil to pristine jungle trails in Ecuador and Colombia. There will never be a time when you lack company on the trek to Machu Picchu!
Don’t let the size of the continent intimidate you; South America is perfect for solo Overlanding with simple border crossings and established traveler hubs. The well-traveled Gringo Trail, which passes through the most well-known locations on the continent, guarantees frequent encounters with other adventurers and plenty of opportunities to buddy up with travelers going in the same direction. This makes traveling alone simple, as does the general friendliness of the populace and the continent’s elite hostel network. Epic solo travel experience: mountain biking down Bolivia’s fabled Death Road (the name is a simplification, in case you were worried), then debriefing with other riders over a few beers.
Indonesia’s Ubud is ideal for introspection.
Bali has a unique magic, regardless of your feelings toward Elizabeth Gilbert’s seminal solo travel memoir Eat, Pray, Love. Ubud, the island’s cultural and spiritual hub, is where the author fell in love (and probably dined and prayed), and it continues to be a wonderfully laid-back location for solo travelers to unwind, think, and recharge. Additionally, Bali can be visited all year round; although summer is the busiest time, the island is equally charming in the winter.
Ubud, which is surrounded by emerald rice fields and mist-draped mountains, is a popular destination for solo travelers, so you won’t get any strange looks if you show up alone to a yoga class in the morning or request a table by yourself at one of the town’s upscale vegetarian cafes. Book a stay at one of the numerous health retreats that dot the verdant hills around Ubud to truly benefit from the healing power of the town (and to enjoy some serious solitude).
Epic solo travel experience: waking up very early to attend a holistic class before the temperature rises. At a tried-and-true spa-like Taksu Spa, you can find lessons in everything from yoga to meditation and then follow them up with a massage.
The best city for nightlife in Berlin, Germany.
Some claim that showing up alone increases your chances of getting into Berghain, Berlin’s most renowned nightclub. Whether or not that is true, the rumor highlights Berlin’s innate fondness for lone travelers. Berlin’s well-deserved reputation as one of the friendliest, most inclusive cities in Europe and its legendary nightlife draw legions of solo travelers.
Berlin is one of the best places in Europe to party, offering a variety of enormous clubs and beer gardens covered in graffiti, but partying is just one of the city’s many attractions. From the Brandenburg Gate to the Holocaust Memorial, you are surrounded by historically significant sites the moment you arrive. Quirky cafes, hip stores, weekend flea markets, and a burgeoning food truck scene offer more leisurely delights. Berlin is a simple city to explore on your own or with a group by joining a walking tour.
Epic solo travel experience: leaving the house and seeing where the night takes you at a bar or club. Join a beer tour with Brewer’s Berlin Tours or the Berlin Craft Beer Experience for some supervised drinking.
The best for a group tour is East Africa
Have you always wanted to see gorillas in the Rwandan jungles, meet a Maasai chief in Kenya, or see the “Big Five” in Tanzania but been put off by the logistics of traveling independently through East Africa? A group tour can make traveling to this breathtaking area of the world easier and act as a buffer against the occasionally difficult experiences that first-timers in Africa may encounter.
Most of East Africa’s nations, notably Kenya and Tanzania, have established tourist infrastructures that make solo travel possible. Instead of worrying about organizing several excursions and transportation or paying extra costs for lone travelers, joining a group vacation enables you to combine various big game-watching safaris across several continents. The greatest thing is that excursions to these must-see places attract a wide variety of passengers, so there is far less risk that you will be the only single traveler squeezed between canoodling couples or the only person under 30 in a coach full of empty-nesters.
Epic solo travel experience: Watch the huge migration of wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, and predators from Tanzania’s Serengeti to Kenya’s Masai Mara, which resembles a scene from The Lion King.