Bitten by the travel bug but can’t find one single person willing to travel by your side? Or maybe you need to truly get away all by yourself? If so, you’re part of the ever-expanding global group known as solo travelers, people who in recent years have decided not to wait for anyone else to join in their adventures.
This burgeoning trend seems to be a partial offshoot of the pandemic lockdown, which forced people to go it alone at home. Some discovered they actually were content being on their own, and once the world opened up again, they were ready to travel solo. Others had begun to take me-only trips even before those tough times, a fact that was already making travel companies like hotels, cruise lines, tour operators and even restaurants rethink their policies toward accommodating a single person traveling alone.
So, whether you’re one of the women of all ages deciding to head out and see the world on your own, or perhaps one of the millennial or Gen Z males who are also making up a large chunk of solo travelers, here’s our how-to guide with ways to make traveling by yourself a no-stress experience.
Plan it out
Being a solo traveler means you make every decision, from where to go to how to get there, where to sleep, what to see, do, eat and drink. Everything. And part of the appeal of going it alone is doing the planning yourself — with the help of search engines, of course.
Obvious choices come first: How are you getting there? Are you flying, road-tripping, training, cruising or a combination of those things? Plan out each leg of travel.
Keep in mind that booking directly with the key services you’ll be using (airlines, cruise lines and hotels, particularly) is always the smartest way to travel, solo or otherwise. That’s because if and when things change, on your side or theirs, you have a direct way to contact the company rather than going through a third party, which can be fraught with delays, problems with reimbursement and more.
This plan is especially wise when it comes to booking flights, particularly on trips that have connections. That’s because the airline you book with is handling your full itinerary (even if using partner airlines for some flights); they’ll be responsible for making sure you and your checked luggage actually reach your desired destination.
Trains in most places in the world do not offer that sort of connection help, so be certain to book your travel legs with enough time to change trains, so you don’t watch your connecting train pull out as you arrive on the correct platform. Cruise-ship companies often offer airline travel (and transfers) as part of their bookings, which also means they will be proactive in getting you to the ship before it sails.
And while home stays, via Airbnb, Vrbo, etc., might seem cost-effective as opposed to traditional hotels, booking a hotel usually makes the most sense for solo travelers. Think better safety and security, ease of early or late check-in, central locations and no exorbitant cleaning fees charged (often after you have cleaned the place yourself). Even the less-expensive option of staying in hostels means you don’t clean your own room — although you may be sharing it and the bathroom with strangers.
No matter how you travel, book travel insurance with a reputable company, including Allianz or World Nomads. The most cost-effective way is to take out a yearly policy (rather than on a per-trip basis), which usually covers key things like flight cancellations, lost luggage, emergency medical expenses and more.
If the idea of doing everything yourself seems too overwhelming, using a reputable travel agent to help is certainly an option, but remember that an agent adds another layer between you and the actual provider.
Be smart – and safe
Being safe while traveling alone, especially for women, is actually just an extrapolation of what you do every day in your life. Hang onto money, passport, drivers license, cellphones and other valuables — especially on crowded city streets, but also at places like the beach, the bar, the theme park, the sports stadium and even the museum.
This means don’t put the things you’d hate to lose in a back pants pocket or easily opened backpack compartment; use crossbody purses/bags with interior zippered compartments for those valuables, wear a money belt or at least use your front pockets to make things tougher for pickpockets. Lanyards for cellphones deter thieves, especially those on motorbikes or bicycles who grab it and go; plus, they stop you from putting your phone down and inadvertently walking away without it.
RFID-protected wallets and handbags stop more sophisticated criminals from skimming your information electronically; paying via apps on your cellphone reduces the times you reach for your wallet. Also be aware that open/unsecured wifi networks mean hackers can steal the information you input, too.
And, like back home, listen to your instincts. If a place or perhaps an offer someone is making to you seems a bit shady or too good to be true, it probably is.
To tour or not to tour
Knowing where you want to go, how you will get there and how to travel safely brings the solo traveler to the next question: Do you want to be truly alone for your whole trip, with no commitments at all? Or, maybe you want to be alone with others? Either way of solo traveling works, and you can create a combination of both as well.
Booking a solo full-vacation tour or a cruise-ship experience used to be a more-expensive proposition, as those companies used to overcharge “solo supplements” that penalized travelers for going it alone — but that is changing in favor of the lone traveler. According to the 2025 Hilton Hotels Trends Report, nearly 50 percent of their global guests travel alone, with 44 percent looking for activities that offer a chance to meet others doing the same, which adds up to a lot of people heading off alone.
That’s the reason you’ll find top cruise companies with no single supplement fees, including Virgin Voyages, Oceania Cruises, MSC Cruises, AmaWaterways, Holland America and others (like Norwegian Cruise Line, which pioneered the concept of solo staterooms built just for singles). With so many possibilities of boarding a ship without paying a penalty for being alone, the solo cruise traveler’s motto should be “I never pay a solo supplement.”
Joining a full-vacation tour also has changed, as many companies around the world are focusing on the single traveler. Solo Female Travelers Tours is designed by females for females of all ages to see the world in groups of solos, while Road Scholar leans into senior travelers who love “learning adventures” across the globe, with some of their group trips created solely for those signing up alone, and all trips open to solos. Just remember that when booking a non-solo tour group, you just might end up on a trip full of couples and only you solo, which may not be an ideal scenario for you.
Inntravel takes an approach that’s perfect for the adventurous solo traveler, offering hyper-local self-guided tours across many UK/European countries that feature walking, cycling or train-travel tours, all with hotels, daily routes, sightseeing and complete itineraries planned out for you to do it alone every step of the way, no matter your sex, fitness level or age group.
One of the beautiful things about traveling by yourself is there’s no need to make plans way ahead of time, as making bookings for one isn’t very complicated, especially with the numerous reputable companies offering local tours in many places. Get Your Guide matches travelers with experienced guides that speak your language, know the inside scoop on your destination and can show you anything from the top attractions to the coolest food tours and beyond, while ExperienceFirst specializes in fascinating daily walking tours in American cities as well as selected European destinations, letting you see everything from a San Francisco True Crime Tour of the Haight to Barcelona’s Best Food Markets.
GoCity really lets you go it on your own, with a sightseeing-attractions pass that covers one of more than 25 cities, ranging from San Francisco to Singapore, Dubai to Dublin. In each city, pick your favorite kind of pass for discounted admissions for numerous top attractions (think museums, theme parks, hop-on, hop-off buses) as well as walking tours, pub crawls and more.
And Daytrip is a seamless, safe, award-winning transfer service offered in 130-plus countries that solves getting from place to place easily and safely, via private driver. Think Lisbon to the Algarve, where destinations are often far from public transport centers, or even Los Angeles to Las Vegas — Daytrip drivers will go the distance you desire and even stop to allow you a planned sightseeing visit as you travel.
Make new friends. Or don’t.
Traveling solo doesn’t mean moving in isolation, for with so many others doing the same thing in all corners of the world, making a new friend along the way is a definite perk of not being part of a pair or a bigger pack. And that, too, is up to you. So, if reading a good book or playing a favorite word game is your choice of traveling companion or dinner partner, then that’s your solo style.
Never feel compelled to engage, while at the same time be open to what the world you’re discovering is offering up; and if you’re feeling a bit lonely, go ahead and be the one to start the conversation. Your solo trip is all about you. That’s the beauty of it.