In This Article
Solo female travel is one of the fastest-growing travel trends in the world — and for very good reason. Travelling alone as a woman offers a depth of experience, personal freedom and connection with other people that group travel simply cannot provide. It's also, for first-timers, one of the most anxiety-inducing decisions you'll make.
The good news: the vast majority of solo female travellers have extraordinary experiences. The destinations on this list have been chosen based on safety statistics, the quality of solo travel infrastructure, the strength of the solo travel community, and first-hand accounts from women who've been there. We've rated each destination across five criteria.
🌍 A note on "safe": No destination is completely without risk. These 15 destinations are consistently rated the safest for solo female travellers — but the same basic precautions (keeping documents secure, trusting your instincts, being aware of your surroundings) apply everywhere. Read the current FCDO travel advice for every destination before you book.
🌍 Europe — 6 Best Destinations for Solo Female Travellers
🇵🇹 Portugal
★★★★★Europe's most consistently recommended solo female destination. Lisbon and Porto are compact, walkable and extremely safe. English is widely spoken. Excellent hostel scene with strong social culture. The solo travel community in Lisbon's Bairro Alto and Alfama districts is thriving. Genuinely welcoming and non-threatening local culture.
🇮🇸 Iceland
★★★★★Consistently ranked the world's most peaceful country. Virtually no violent crime. The solo self-drive Ring Road is one of the world's great travel experiences — you're completely in control of your schedule, stopping whenever you want for waterfalls, geysers and hot springs. Midnight sun in summer means you're never travelling in the dark.
🇳🇱 Netherlands
★★★★★Amsterdam and beyond — cycling culture, flat terrain, excellent public transport, English spoken by virtually everyone. The Netherlands has one of the world's strongest solo female travel reputations. Day trips by train to Haarlem, Utrecht, Delft and Leiden are effortless. Very liberal, welcoming culture.
🇮🇪 Ireland
★★★★★The friendliest country in Europe — locals actively engage with solo travellers in pubs and on the road. English-speaking, very safe, excellent public transport and an extraordinary landscape (Wild Atlantic Way, Cliffs of Moher, Ring of Kerry). Dublin's hostel scene is lively and social.
🇩🇰 Denmark (+ Scandinavia)
★★★★★Copenhagen is the world's most liveable city and one of its safest. Scandinavia as a whole (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland) has among the lowest crime rates in the world. Expensive — but for a first solo trip, the safety and quality of experience justifies it. Excellent cycling infrastructure, beautiful design, great food.
🇪🇸 Basque Country & Northern Spain
★★★★★San Sebastián is rated Europe's most food-obsessed city — pintxos bars, world-class restaurants (more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere), and an extraordinary beach in the bay. Northern Spain is far less touristy than Barcelona or Madrid, exceptionally safe, and has one of Europe's strongest walking cultures (Camino de Santiago).
🌏 Asia — 5 Best Destinations for Solo Female Travellers
Japan
🇯🇵 The world's safest country for solo female travellers
Japan is almost universally the first destination recommended to solo female travellers venturing into Asia for the first time — and it's easy to understand why. Violent crime against tourists is virtually non-existent. The culture of honesty means lost wallets are routinely handed in to police. Solo dining culture is deeply embedded (counter seats everywhere, no awkward waiter conversations about "just one?"). Public transport is the most efficient in the world. And the depth of cultural experience — temples, ryokan inns, cherry blossom, bullet trains, extraordinary food — is unmatched anywhere.
Thailand
🇹🇭 Southeast Asia's most established solo trail
Thailand has the world's most developed solo female travel infrastructure: the Bangkok–Chiang Mai–Islands route has been well-trodden for decades, creating a comprehensive network of solo-friendly hostels, reliable transport and a built-in community of other solo travellers. English is widely spoken in tourist areas. The culture is warm and respectful toward women. Chiang Mai is consistently rated one of Asia's best bases for solo travel — safe, affordable, excellent food, and a thriving digital nomad/solo traveller community.
🇻🇳 Vietnam
★★★★One of Asia's fastest-rising solo female destinations. The north-to-south route (Hanoi → Hoi An → Ho Chi Minh City) is well-trodden and superbly managed. Very safe for solo women, extremely affordable (£20–£30/day all-in), rich culture and extraordinary food. Locals are warm and protective toward solo female travellers.
🇸🇬 Singapore
★★★★★The world's safest city, bar none. A perfect solo female first step into Asia — English-speaking, extraordinarily clean and safe, excellent food scene, and exceptional public transport. Use it as a base for day trips to Malaysia or as a launchpad for longer SE Asia adventures.
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
★★★★Rapidly growing solo female travel scene. Tuk-tuk culture means easy independent transport. Buddhist culture is respectful toward women. Tea country, ancient temples, wildlife safaris and beach in a compact, manageable country. Very affordable. Best: train from Colombo to Kandy to Ella.
🌎 Americas & Beyond — 4 Destinations
🇳🇿 New Zealand
★★★★★Solo travel heaven. Superb hostel infrastructure, the working holiday culture creates a built-in community of solo travellers at every stop. Outstanding natural landscapes — Fiordland, Queenstown, Bay of Islands. English-speaking, very safe. Freedom camping and campervan culture is perfectly suited to solo adventure.
✈️ ~~24 hours🇨🇦 Canada
★★★★★Vast, English-speaking, extremely safe and extraordinarily beautiful. Vancouver and Toronto are exceptional solo bases. The Rocky Mountains national parks (Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise) are accessible and well-signed for solo hikers. Hostel culture is strong in the major cities. Almost universal English means navigation and social connection are effortless.
✈️ ~~8 hours🇨🇴 Colombia
★★★★Medellín in particular has undergone a complete transformation and is now one of Latin America's most dynamic and recommended cities for solo female travellers. Rich culture, extraordinary coffee country, excellent hostels and a warm, proud local culture. Exercise normal precautions, stay in established neighbourhoods, and Colombia rewards with extraordinary experiences.
✈️ ~~11 hours🇹🇿 Tanzania (Zanzibar)
★★★★Zanzibar island — white-sand beaches, turquoise Indian Ocean, Stone Town's labyrinthine spice-scented medina — is one of Africa's most beautiful and most solo-female-friendly destinations. The tourist infrastructure on the northern beaches is well-developed. Dress conservatively in Stone Town (it's a predominantly Muslim area) and you'll be welcomed warmly.
✈️ ~~9 hours (via Nairobi)Essential Safety Tips for Solo Female Travellers
- Research your destination specifically. General travel safety statistics are less useful than reading recent solo female traveller accounts on TripAdvisor, Reddit (r/solotravel, r/TravelWomen) and travel blogs specific to your destination.
- Trust your instincts without apology. If a person, place or situation feels wrong, leave. You owe no explanation to anyone. Your gut instinct is generally right.
- Share your location with someone at home. Apple Share My Location or WhatsApp Live Location — give a trusted person at home visibility of your whereabouts on long independent excursions.
- Keep documents and valuables on you during flights. An underseat carry-on bag that fits under the seat in front means your passport, cards and phone are never overhead and out of reach — especially worth it on long-haul solo journeys.
- Stay in well-reviewed accommodation. Read reviews specifically from other solo female travellers. Look for: female-only dorm options, secure lockers, well-lit public areas, responsive reception staff.
- Use official apps for transport. Grab (SE Asia), Bolt or Uber (Europe/Americas) rather than hailing unmarked vehicles. Share your journey with a contact before getting in.
- Dress code awareness. In conservative regions (North Africa, Middle East, South Asia), covering shoulders and knees reduces unwanted attention. Keep a lightweight scarf accessible — it doubles as a temple covering and an icebreaker with locals.
- Build your network quickly. Meet other solo travellers at your hostel, join free walking tours (the fastest way to meet people in any city), or use apps like Tourlina (designed for connecting solo female travellers).
- Don't broadcast your solo status on social media in real time. Post your travel diary when you've moved on — real-time location sharing publicly is unnecessary risk.
Essential Apps & Resources for Solo Female Travel
Tourlina App
Connects solo female travellers with verified other solo women in the same city. Find travel companions for excursions, hikes or simply dinner.
bSafe App
Personal safety app with SOS feature (sends GPS location to emergency contacts), fake call function, and "follow me" mode that alerts contacts if you don't check in.
r/solotravel (Reddit)
By far the most useful community resource for solo travel advice. Search your destination + "solo female" for first-hand recent accounts.
FCDO Travel Advice
Always check the UK government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office travel advice for every destination — includes specific safety sections for women travellers.
Hostelworld App
Filter by solo traveller reviews, female-only dorms and social atmosphere ratings. Read comments specifically mentioning solo female experience.
Grab / Bolt / Uber
Always use app-based transport in unfamiliar cities — price is agreed upfront, you share the journey with a contact, and there's a digital record of who drove you.
🧍♀️ Our Top 3 First Solo Trips
For a first-time solo trip: Portugal (Europe) or Thailand (Asia) offer the best combination of safety, infrastructure, English language and cost. For the most rewarding experience: Japan — the cultural depth, safety and extraordinary welcome for solo travellers make it the world's finest solo travel destination, bar none.