Solo Travel in 2026: What Nobody Tells You Until It's Too Late

Solo travel changed my life. I mean that without hyperbole. There's something that happens when you strip away the social negotiation of group travel — the compromised restaurants, the split-the-difference itineraries, the traveling-at-someone-else's-pace — and you discover that you can go anywhere, do anything, and answer to no one.

It's also, if you're not careful, one of the easiest types of travel to get wrong in ways that are hard to recover from.

Here's what I wish someone had told me — and what I now tell every solo traveler who comes to me for help.

The Solo Supplement Is Real — and There Are Ways Around It

The first thing most solo travelers encounter is the single supplement: a surcharge hotels and cruise lines charge when only one person is occupying a room designed for two. On some cruises, this can effectively double your per-night rate. On hotels, it ranges from negligible to significant depending on the property.

What most solo travelers don't know is that this is negotiable — not with the hotel directly, but through an advisor with the right relationships. As a Fora Travel advisor, I have access to preferred partner programs that often waive or significantly reduce single supplements. I also know which properties have a genuine solo-traveler culture versus which ones are subtly hostile to it.

Bottom line: Don't assume the solo supplement is fixed. Ask someone who knows how to work around it.

The Best Solo Travel Destinations in 2026

Not every destination is equally suited to solo travel. The best ones share a few characteristics: safety, ease of getting around, social infrastructure for meeting people, and a culture that's genuinely welcoming of independent travelers. Here's where I'm sending solo clients right now:

Japan. Consistently one of the safest, most solo-friendly destinations on earth. The infrastructure is exceptional, the food culture is perfectly suited to dining alone (counter seats at ramen bars are a solo traveler's best friend), and the cities reward exploration on foot. Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka are all excellent bases.

Portugal. Porto and Lisbon have exploded as solo travel destinations in the last few years, and for good reason. The locals are warm, English is widely spoken, the food and wine are extraordinary, and the cities are walkable and safe at any hour.

Iceland. Solo travel in Iceland is almost absurdly easy. The country is safe, the Ring Road is one of the world's great self-drive routes, and the landscapes are so dramatic that solitude feels like a feature rather than a limitation. Aurora hunting alone in the dark is a genuinely transcendent experience.

Thailand. Chiang Mai in particular has a thriving infrastructure of cooking classes, temple tours, and social hostels (even luxury ones) that make it easy to meet people when you want to and disappear into your own experience when you don't.

Colombia (Medellín). Medellín has one of the most welcoming solo traveler scenes in Latin America — day tours, salsa classes, street food markets that are genuinely fun to navigate alone. Pair it with Cartagena for a longer trip.

Safety: The Real Conversation Nobody Has

Solo travel safety is a topic that gets either over-simplified ("just be aware of your surroundings") or so alarming it puts people off traveling at all. The truth is more nuanced.

The things that actually matter for solo safety:

• Research your specific neighborhood, not just the city. A city that's "safe" overall can have neighborhoods that aren't. I brief every solo client on exactly where to stay and which areas to avoid after dark.
• Have a communication plan. Someone at home should know your itinerary and have a way to reach you. A local SIM card or an international plan on your phone is non-negotiable.
• Travel insurance is not optional. For solo travelers especially. If you get sick or injured and there's no travel companion to advocate for you, insurance that includes emergency evacuation and 24-hour assistance becomes essential. I help every client find coverage that actually works for their trip.
• Trust your gut in real time. No amount of research replaces your instincts on the ground. If something feels off, leave.

The One Thing That Makes Solo Travel Better Than Any Alternative

You make all the decisions. Every single one. Where to eat, how long to stay, whether to take the museum or sit in a café and watch the street for two hours. There's no negotiation, no compromise, no exhausting meta-conversation about what everyone wants for dinner.

This sounds small until you've experienced it. Then it's everything.

I've planned trips for solo travelers at every experience level — people on their first solo trip who were terrified, and people who've been doing it for years and wanted to level up to somewhere more complex. What they all have in common afterward: they come back wanting to go again.

Cameron Steagall is a luxury travel advisor with Fora Travel, specializing in solo travel, LGBTQ+-welcoming destinations, adventure trips, and luxury itineraries across six continents. Learn more about solo travel planning →