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The top destinations for solo female travelers include wild landscapes, culturally diverse cities, and beachside getaways. 15 Best Destinations for Solo Female Travelers. Here are the top travel destinations around the world for solo female travelers.

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Lydia Mansel is a writer with more than eight years of experience editing and writing for both brands and online publications—with a particular focus on travel, fashion, and lifestyle. She’s also the founder of the travel site justpacked.com. Don Eim/Travel + Leisure. Solo travel is one of those things that people are either intimidated by or wholeheartedly embrace. Even though I fall into the latter category—I do it multiple times every month—I still find traveling alone as a woman requires research, thorough preparation, and a constant sense of awareness. Some pre-trip non-negotiables for me include downloading maps to use offline, carrying a fully charged portable power bank, and sharing my location with my friends and family. “Be sure that someone at home has a copy of your travel itinerary, including contact information for the hotels you’ll be staying at and any other contacts on the trip that can help get a hold of you,” adds Maeve Hartney, chief program officer at Road Scholar. “I also recommend packing as light as possible so you can stay agile, manage your own luggage, and be aware of what’s happening around you.” Is it a lot to think about? Yes—but it’s worth it. “Once you learn to embrace the freedom and beauty of traveling alone, it leads to such eye-opening experiences and greater awareness of the world around us and provides a good boost of self-confidence,” says Lisa Michele Burns, founder of The Travel Photographer Club. Selecting the right destination makes traveling by yourself easier, too. Some places are better than others for solo female travelers, and we’ve compiled 15 of the best ones below. Read on to see our full list of the top destinations for women traveling solo. Costa Rica. Jose Hernandez/Travel + Leisure. Costa Rica is at the very top of Hartney’s list—and for that, she credits a few different factors. “The hotels in Costa Rica are very accommodating for solo travelers, as they offer more single rooms and/or single-room rates,” she says, adding that the country is also known for its “low crime rates, strong police presence in touristic areas, and a general culture of friendliness and peace.” If your schedule allows, skip San José and head to locations better suited for solo female travelers (they’re more laid-back but still popular among tourists), including La Fortuna, Monteverde, Guanacaste, and the Manuel Antonio area. Reykjavik, Iceland. Ambika Verma/Travel + Leisure. “Iceland is one of the safest destinations in the world and an outstanding choice for women seeking epic landscapes and outdoor experiences on a solo adventure,” says Burns. “You can opt to base yourself in Reykjavik and do day tours, hire a car and drive along the Ring Road or southern coast, taking in glaciers, volcanoes, and black-sand beaches, or join a multi-day tour.” Plus, she says, given its popularity as a destination for solo travelers, you’re “likely to meet friends very quickly.” Even though Reykjavik is the country’s major city, its crime rates remain low, and it has plenty of activities well-suited for alone time—including swimming and relaxing in geothermal pools, walking tours, and sightseeing (don’t miss Hallgrimskirkja, the largest church in Iceland). Bath, England. Adam Powell/Getty Images. While London is frequently touted as a great destination for solo female travelers, I’ve found there’s a better one just a short train ride from Paddington Station. You may recognize Bath from some of your favorite TV shows and movies, Bridgerton and the 2022 “Persuasion” were both shot in the small city famous for its Georgian architecture and Roman baths. Not only is it picturesque around every corner—from the Royal Crescent to the Bath Skyline walk—but it’s also small and compact enough to explore by foot in just a day or two. I even lived there for a short period of time by myself and found it incredibly safe, welcoming, and easy to get around. As far as how to fill your solo schedule, I recommend swinging by Landrace Bakery for coffee and a cardamom bun, taking a long walk through Royal Victoria Park, and stopping in every bookstore you see (there are more than a handful in the city center). Quebec City, Canada. George Pachantouris/Getty Images. “‘Second cities,’ or smaller cities that are a little less popular than capital cities, are always a great option for solo travelers,” says Hartney. Take Quebec City, for example. She describes it as a small city that’s “very walkable and easy to navigate” and says “most of what you’ll want to see is very condensed.” You can spend an entire day by yourself exploring Old Québec (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), enjoy a coffee and pastry in one of the charming cafes, walk along Terrasse Dufferin, and pop into the Musée de l'Amérique Francophone at your leisure. Since French is the city’s primary language, Hartney also recommends downloading a translation app just in case. South Island, New Zealand. Maria Ligaya/Travel + Leisure. If you’re planning some sort of international solo road trip, but you’re not sure where to go, Burns recommends New Zealand—specifically, the South Island. “I’ve toured the South Island solo many times and love how alive it makes me feel, with days spent hiking among mountain peaks and swimming in alpine lakes while still having the comfort of a hotel and town never too far away,” she says. “It’s the ideal destination for first-time solo travelers seeking a mix of adventure and luxury, with a host of wineries, scenic tours, and welcoming locals.” New York City. Don Eim/Travel + Leisure. “New York City is one of the easiest major cities to navigate, both because of the grid system and access to public transportation and taxis, which makes it great for solo travelers,” says Hartney. It also lives up to its nickname, the always-on atmosphere in the “City That Never Sleeps” provides a comforting presence if you’re grabbing dinner or seeing a show after dark. I also lived in Manhattan for several years in my early 20s, and some of my favorite solo activities included walking the High Line, seeing new exhibitions at the Whitney, and popping in and out of the shops along Bleecker Street. Provence, France. Evgeniya Vlasova/Travel + Leisure. If you’re comfortable renting a car—and yes, the French do indeed drive on the right side of the road—you’re in for a memorable, picturesque journey through the South of France. “Provence is a region filled with scenic historic villages, open-air markets, and both coastal and mountainous landscapes. It’s the ideal destination for solo travelers looking for a creative break, somewhere to explore during the day, and a place to rest and relax in the evenings,” says Burns. You’ll have an even better experience if you time your trip for the shoulder seasons. April to May and September to October tend to see fewer tourists, so you’ll likely find more affordable rates on car rentals and accommodations. Switzerland. Michela Sieman/Travel + Leisure. The Swiss do a lot of things right—and solo female travel is one of them. With world-renowned public transportation, cleanliness, and low levels of serious crime (the government reports there is a recent rise in petty theft in larger cities, though), this is a country you can feel confident traversing by yourself. Plus, you don’t even have to rent a car to get to the small towns and storybook villages at the base of the Alps, most of them are reachable by train or bus (and a few, like Zermatt and Wengen, are even car-free). Tokyo, Japan. Manorath Naphaphone/Travel + Leisure. There’s a certain level of comfort that comes with being a solo female traveler in a big city like Tokyo.













Places to go if you re single


Places to go if your single


Places to go when your single


Places to go when you re single