Long gone are the days when solo travel was considered a taboo, unsafe or unwise. It is becoming more and more common for people to take trips by themselves, and it isn’t just the stereotypical 20 something backpacker in Europe anymore either. Travelers of all ages, genders and budgets are through with waiting on someone else to go out and see the world. In many places the industry is picking up on the trend- nicer hotels are starting to offer more single room options, where solo travelers used to be fairly limited to paying for two or settling for hostels, and restaurants of all kinds are coming up with solo guest deals and seating arrangements designed to let you dine in peace or make some other solo travel friends. Taking a solo trip is both unnerving and empowering. It can be peaceful, it can build confidence and highlight skills you didn’t know you had, it can be terrifying but when you realize you’re getting through it on your own you’ll be left feeling extremely brave and proud.
Safety is usually the biggest concern for first time solo travelers (well, or any solo travelers) and that caution can ultimately weigh quite heavily on which of your dream destinations you actually end up visiting. That is why this list of countries comes from my surveying of female solo travelers from various online networks, my own personal experiences and the experiences of other travelers I have met abroad. While there is something to be said for statistics when deciding where to go alone, which is why the Global Peace Index safety rating is included, it’s important to remember that numbers can’t tell you some of the most important things. Numbers only include reported incidents and they don’t detail the resources available to deal with situations that truthfully could probably happen just as easily to you at home. Beyond a general safety ranking, these countries were chosen for their ease of public transportation, multilingual communication likelihood, frequency of travel, friendliness of locals and accessibility to help in a bad situation. Here are 15 countries becoming favorites for solo travel.
