The joy of solo travel: How to holiday on your own safely and successfully — and where to start

In the past two years, I have visited Vancouver, taken a cruise to Alaska, stopped off in Seattle on the way home, had weekend breaks in Krakow, Riga and Budapest, and went to see the Northern Lights in Iceland. Later this month I am heading to Hong Kong from where I will take another cruise to Singapore stopping off in Vietnam and Thailand along the way.

Many decades ago as a student, I got a taste for solo travel, but I did fly with one foot on the ground (so to speak) by heading off on adventures around Europe, island hopping in Greece, with a travel company called Funtrek which offered the protection of a group, but with independence.

It’s a format that I continue to use to this day. When I am taking city breaks I tend to go via Irish travel companies like Click & Go or Travel Department which offers great packages which can include as much or as little assistance as you want (or are prepared to pay for). With long-haul trips — like the cruises and the trip to Iceland — I often go to Trailfinders which takes great care to tailor each trip specifically to my interests and budget.

Responding to high demand, 2024 will see an increase in innovative products to attract solo travellers, from tours to accommodation and destinations.

Safety is paramount in my plans when it comes to transport, accommodation, and tours. Previously when travelling I would have been concerned about whoever was with me. Now, it’s just myself so I can plan according to my comfort levels.

Before my first major solo trip — which took me to Alaska — my focus was all on where I would go and what I would see. What I had failed to consider was how it would feel to be alone for days on end. Turned out, I liked it.

I have always been comfortable in my own company. While I can be sociable and friends would describe me as friendly, my inner personality is quite reserved so solo travel suits me as I can engage with people if I wish or just do my own thing.

That worked out well for me when I was in Krakow and I booked a solo trip to Auschwitz and Birkenau. I wanted to pay my respects to the family members of an acquaintance, so I knew that a group trip was not an option for me. It was the best decision in the circumstances as the visit was very emotional and overwhelming and I was very glad to have done it alone.

To be honest, the amount of time I will spend by myself has never been a factor when organising a trip. It is always possible to engage with other people on transport, in the hotel, in bars and restaurants.

The beauty of solo travel is that I can decide where I want to go, when I want to go, and what I want to see when I get there. I am a great fan of hop-on hop-off bus tours when I arrive in a new location. They are usually pretty reasonably priced and offer a great overview of a city, after that I can then go back to whichever tourist sites were of most interest.

In Seattle in June 2022, rather than my usual run-through of the entire route, I hopped off three times — visited the attractions and then got back on the bus or walked between stops. Coincidentally, it was the same driver each time the bus came back around the route so we were on first-name terms by the last stop at the Space Needle!

Preparation and planning

When it comes to solo travel, planning ahead is the most important aspect. When is the best time to visit the location? Is it cheaper at certain times of year — if so, why is that? Will the sites you want to see be open off season?

For example, I had been to Budapest previously for work. It was in the depths of winter and I did not get to see much of this beautiful city, so for my most recent trip I went in June and it was glorious. Click & Go booked me a lovely hotel in the city centre, one block from the River Danube, it was an old building but the room was clean and simple, and in a brilliant location. Better still, the hop-on hop-off bus stop was across the street.

I’ve organised weekend breaks using accommodation websites such as Booking.com or Trivago to check hotel prices, but I also check the hotel’s websites too. It’s the same for flights — comparison websites such as SkyScanner are a great guide and then I book through the airline’s website rather than third-party websites.

Flight times — departures and arrivals are important for a solo traveller. Personally, I don’t like arriving in a new city late at night, even if I have a booked a transfer to my accommodation. Airlines can offer better prices for (very) early morning flights which can be great for your budget, but I prefer to pay extra to go at a time which means I arrive in daylight.

Even if not travelling with a company that offers different flight times and airlines, for my own security and peace of mind I will phone the hotel (or email) and ask their advice about getting from the airport.

In Iceland, Trailfinders had booked a bus transfer which dropped me off two streets away from my city centre hotel (in daylight). As I had requested, the hotel was city centre, in a great location within walking distance of shops, the harbour, the cathedral. It was also next door to the busiest and most popular nightclub in the city which was open seven nights a week and while I was a disco dancing queen in my day, my patience did wear thin at 3am.

Lesson learned: check out neighbouring facilities in the future.

The beauty of going solo

The joy of travelling alone is you can spend as long as you want in any location or you can cut an excursion short if it is not to your liking. In Alaska, I indulged in a seaplane trip over the fjords and islands, and in Riga I spent a wonderful afternoon by myself at the Latvian National Art Museum.

Dining out alone has never been a problem as I can decide on whatever cuisine I wish or even just go back to my hotel room with snacks and a glass of wine from the hotel bar.

As a woman in my late 50s, as I pack for my forthcoming trip to the Far East, I am excited about the plans I’ve made. I’m going to see the locations such as the markets in Hong Kong, Hanoi and Halong Bay in Vietnam, Bangkok and Ko Samui in Thailand and I will indulge in a cocktail in the Raffles Bar in Singapore. 

This trip is ticking quite a few places off my wishlist which is still quite lengthy and includes a tango dancing class in Buenos Aires, a hike to Machu Picchu, to cross the Panama Canal, to swim in Lake Bled (this is already in the planning stage for later this year) and to visit the source of the River Ganges in the foothills of the Himalayas. Will I do all these trips solo? Perhaps. Plans are already in motion with a cousin to cruise the fjords of Norway next year. The beauty of solo travel is that I will visit these places, with or without a companion. If someone is interested in coming along, great. If not, I will still get there.

Friends and family think I am brave to undertake trips alone, but I feel I am being practical. I want to visit these places, I want to do so now and the way to do that is solo. Yes, there will be long hours on planes, trains, ships, and automobiles when I will be alone, but I am the author of my own (travel) destiny. I decide where I go, when I go and what I see. To me it is a win-win situation.