I’ve been travelling solo in some form or another my whole (adult) life. For a couple of years I travelled continuously alone, and a good 80% of my current trips are still solo. So, if you want to try this way of travelling out I have some insights to share.
Experienced travellers will know that as long as the safety situation allows, you can pretty much travel anywhere by yourself. However, if it’s your first time going solo, it helps a lot to choose an easy destination with a well-established travel scene.
Solo travel can be a bit scary at first, so it’s a good idea to give yourself an easy time.
Solo travel at different ages
They say age is just a number, but when it comes to solo travel advice, it can actually affect a lot of things.
I first travelled to another continent solo back when I was just 17. I’ll admit I was sort of slightly extremely terrified. I couldn’t catch any sleep on my flight because of the intense mix of excitement and nervousness I was feeling. But the trip taught me that I could survive in a strange land just fine — and even make lots of friends along the way.
Was I backpacking through the war-torn deserts of Chad on my own? Not exactly. It was just a trip to the United States, but for me this was the biggest adventure I’d ever done. And while I set off by myself, meeting other people on that trip made it infinitely easier and more fun.
These days, I’m in my 40ies and a family man, so I don’t mind being genuinely alone when I go solo. With a busy life at home, I’m grateful for a bit of solitude when I’m on the road. (When I meet people these days, it’s more often locals.)
However, it wasn’t always that way. In my 20ies and 30ies, while I enjoyed going off the beaten path sometimes, I always appreciated some companionship from other travellers. I wasn’t only out to seek out cultural discoveries but also to have fun social activities along the way.
This post is from the perspective of looking back at my early days of backpacking. How and where would I advise someone starting off now to travel solo? Here are the tips I want to share.
Travelling as a backpacker
First things first: you can do yourself an astronomical favor by travelling backpacker-style. The younger you are the easier this will be.
So get out of your hotel and stay at a hostel instead! You’ll thank me later.
(You can still stay in hostels if you’re older, but there’ll be some tips and tricks to know about. The rhythms of hostel life are generally in your favor if you’re young or young-ish.)
Some people want to travel solo to get away from it all, preferring remote destinations where they will rarely meet anyone else. But if you want to socialize during your trip, by far the easiest way is to stay in hostels in countries that are at least reasonably popular backpacker destinations.
If you’ve not stayed in hostels before, check out my guide to what hostels are and how they work.
Thanks to the communal atmosphere, hostels are amazing for finding spontaneous travel buddies for activities during your trip. Many hostels also arrange tours and activities that you can easily join in on. And you get a built-in support network with tons of people eager to share travel tips or planning advice.
Even if you don’t have much travel experience and don’t know the lay of the land, by staying in hostels you can travel with more confidence and only rarely feel lonely.
Choosing an easy solo destination
The other low-hanging fruit for solo travel is to pick a destination with an active traveller scene!
Wherever there’s a steady flow of backpackers and convenient transport connections, you’ll waste less time worrying about the mechanics of travelling and can focus on simply having fun.
I believe these three criteria are ones to look for:
1. Is a country fairly well-travelled?
Travelling solo is a bit like showing up to a party on your own. If it’s already a lively party with lots of laughter and many people there, it’s easy to join the fun. If it’s an awkwardly quiet cocktail reception, you might feel differently. The best solo travel countries are like fun parties where everyone’s already having a great time.
2. Easy travel logistics?
When you are on your own it can be a little more difficult to deal with complicated travel logistics. A first-time solo destination should have plenty of transit connections, straightforward visa formalities, relative safety, and so on. While you can push your comfort zone a little, learning the ropes is easier when there are not too many ropes to deal with.
Some countries are really best explored if you have your own vehicle (e.g. USA and many parts of Africa — yes, ironically both have terrible public transportation!). If you’re backpacking, go somewhere with loads of buses, trains, and other means of transportation.
3. Is there a tight circuit or an obvious route?
If you’re a backpacker, this one’s a biggie! Some huge countries (like the United States, India, China, or the central mainland of Europe) have wide-open geographies, so you can always go everywhere from any point. This is not ideal.
Whenever a country has a more compact circuit, it forces travellers into more or less the same direction. This makes it way easier to make friends on the trail (and to meet them again or even travel together). It also makes it easier to get useful tips and information from other travellers about places to go next.
A great example of this is Vietnam. It’s a long and thin country so there are pretty much just two ways to travel: north-to-south or the other way around. This means you’re guaranteed to meet other travellers and can stay in touch with them during your trip.
By contrast, travelling through Western Europe (where there is no set route) can be a constant succession of goodbyes. You might make the best-ever travel bud in Amsterdam, but they’ll be off to Berlin while you’ve got your one-way ticket to Brussels. European backpacking can be a bit of a whirlwind, in my opinion, unless you focus a bit more on one or two countries.
Ideal solo starter countries
To help you with your trip research, here are a few suggestions for countries that are amazing for solo travel — even if you’re a beginner.
Thailand
Highlights: Bangkok nightlife, beaches and tropical islands in the south, calm and laidback Chiang Mai and Pai in the north, Buddhist temples, mind-blowingly good food.
Why Go Solo? Thailand might be the easiest country in the world to go backpacking that I know of. It might seem like a distant and exotic place that will be difficult to navigate, but it’s absolutely not. Some people worry about language barriers, but I guarantee you this won’t be an issue in Thailand; many people speak English, particularly those working in the tourism industry.
Thailand is also such a popular destination that you’ll find great backpacker hostels catering to all types of travellers everywhere, and it’s one of the easiest countries to find travel buddies spontaneously. Are you worried about travelling ‘all on your own’? Don’t be, because you’ll inevitably meet others travelling solo just like you in Thailand all the time. You can read more in my Thailand backpacking guide.
Vietnam
Highlights: seeing the crazy hustle and bustle of a Vietnamese city, the limestone karsts of Ha Long Bay, and rice terraces of Sapa. If you’re looking to party, you can do so very well in Nha Trang.
Why Go Solo? Vietnam has one thing going against it: sometimes you can encounter scams and other hassles in the most touristy places, so it’s worth reading up on these things so you’re a little prepared. But what it has going for it: it’s full of backpacker hostels, it’s cheap and easy to travel around, and most of all, the country’s long vertical shape makes it ideal for a solo traveller. Everyone is either travelling north to south, or south to north.
For more, check out my Vietnam backpacking guide.
Peru
Highlights: almost too many to mention! The Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, lake Titicaca (the largest high-altitude lake), trekking the Inca Trail or Colca Canyon, the salt flats of Bolivia (if you extend your trip there), and much much more.
Why Go Solo? Peru may look like a big country on the map, and it sure is, but most of the action happens south of Lima. It has a tight and very well-established backpacker circuit, with most people following roughly the same route. Peru is arguably the most popular backpacking country in South America, so you won’t be the only one travelling there (solo or otherwise). If you want to meet other travellers, a great place to start is Cusco. You can learn more about backpacking in Peru here.
Southeast Mexico
Highlights: Paradisical beaches in the Yucatan region of Mexico, delicious food and fascinating culture in Oaxaca, and some great beach and party destinations. From southeast Mexico, you can also easily dip into Guatemala to see the epic Mayan ruins of Tikal and the stunning lake of Atitlan ringed by massive volcanoes. For more info, check out my backpacking guides for Mexico and Guatemala
Why Go Solo? Contrary to popular belief, Mexico is very safe for tourists, particularly in the specific states where most travellers go. Transportation connections are cheap and convenient, so you don’t have to worry much about how to get from A to B. Beach destinations in Mexico, such as Tulum and Playa Del Carmen, are excellent for meeting people and making friends. Read more about backpacking in Mexico.
Europe
Highlights: all of the great cities (Paris, London, Rome, Barcelona, etc.), picturesque rural areas of France and Italy in particular, epic landscapes in the Alps, and lots of dramatic variety between countries especially when compared to the travel distances involved
Why Go Solo? I have focused much on far-flung destinations so far, mainly because I’m from Europe myself and will sometimes forget what’s right at my doorstep! But Europe is clearly an amazing region to travel solo.
One of the downsides is that it’s really spread out, and there are no clear routes that everyone follows. It is also more expensive than travelling in developing countries. On the other hand, safety issues are minimal and you’re likely to have a worry-free experience.
Europe is huge for city travel, so if you like cities you’re going to love it. All the major cities have great modern hostels. The Couchsurfing scene is also massive in Europe, and even if you don’t want to stay on people’s couches there are regular CouchSurfing meet-ups where you can meet both locals and other travellers.
For something a bit mid-budget in Europe with great backpacker circuits, I always love to recommend Portugal and Spain. (I’m biased because I live in Portugal, but it truly has so much to offer, is easy to travel around, and it easily has some of Europe’s best hostels.)
For a cheaper and more original destination within Europe, consider hitting up the Balkans. There are plenty of (solo) travellers going there and you’ll be in easy mode in Croatia in particular, however the region also has a bit more of an “off the beaten track” feel that you may find really awesome if you’re curious about some countries and cultures beyond the most obvious ones in Europe. Distances in the Balkans are not so big and there are loads of transport connections, making it easy to hop around.
Australia
Highlights: Melbourne and Sydney as well as the many surfing/beach destinations, and of course going into the Australian outback.
Why Go Solo? While it is a vast country, you will find that most people travel similar routes along the coast in the south and southeast. Australians are HUGE travellers themselves (go to any country in the world and you’re guaranteed to meet some Ozzies) and that means they’ve built up an amazing backpacker infrastructure.
Hostels are everywhere and they’re very good. Something to keep in mind depending on your perspective is that the backpacker crowd in Australia tends to be quite a bit younger than elsewhere. It’s particularly popular among younger European (British) backpackers, in part because it’s an easy but super fun first overseas trip to take.
Remember: you can meet people anywhere
While it helps to pick a good place to travel solo, it doesn’t have to be a lonely affair no matter where you are going. Most people who have travelled solo often will tell you that they’re rarely alone if you put in the effort.
Want to know how to travel solo and take any of the challenges head-on? Then be sure to check out my book, Travel the World Without Worries, which covers all the techniques and hacks for successful solo travel in great depth. In it, I’ll share a few of the (occasionally embarrassing!) stories from my 20+ years of taking solo trips. The lessons learned will help you make friends, stay safe, prepare for your trip, and how to meet lots of locals and other travellers everywhere along the way.
P.S. For more solo travel ideas, I asked these 10 travel bloggers for their favorite solo destinations.
All comments are moderated before they appear.