Today I’m sharing my top Solo Female Travel destinations. Many are English speaking or places where English is widely spoken, avoiding problems with the language barrier. I have selected countries that have a low level of travel scamming, good street safety levels and easy to use transport systems. I’d recommend any of these places as first time solo female traveller destinations.
10 Top Solo Female Travel Destinations
#1 UK
My own home country had to feature in this list. Transport here is easy to use and train travel between cities is good with cheap prices when you book in advance online. Most museums are free in the UK and you can also find good places to eat.
I love London as it has some phenomenal sites such as Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and St Paul’s Cathedral.
However, London can be expensive so I encourage you to get out of the capital and explore some of England’s finest cities. If you like history, go for York and Bath. Shopping, partying and music? Head to Liverpool, London or Birmingham.
The Scottish capital city of Edinburgh is also a beautiful city to explore, with St Giles Cathedral in the heart of a fabulous old town. Northern Scotland and Southern Ireland have some outstanding areas of natural beauty. Dublin, Kilkenny Castle and Dingle Bay are some of the best holiday experiences in Ireland.
If you are looking to combine England and Scotland, check out my friend Heather’s blog that has a great 2 week England to Scotland Itinerary.
#2 Iceland
Iceland is one of the safest countries in the world and has been one of the easiest travel destinations I have ever experienced. In fact, I wrote a whole blog on why Iceland is perfect for solo female travel.
When you arrive at the airport, there are coaches that connect all Reykjavik hotels – you don’t even need to book in advance. Everyone in Reykjavik is so friendly and speaks excellent English.
The rest of the island is well connected by tours such as the golden circle and Jokulsarlon Glacier lagoon. You can also hire a car to drive the Ring road.
#3 Malta
This friendly island has British connections and so all of the driving is the same as UK. Malta is one of the smallest countries in the world and the island is just around 27km in length. Combine this with the excellent bus connections and 7000 year old history makes it one of the top solo female travel destinations. Explore the capital Valetta, and also some other interesting places such as St Julians (beaches), Bugibba (Churches) and Mdina (Old Town). Also take the ferry across to Gozo to explore some of the beautiful natural caves and hiking trails.
#4 USA
The USA is so tourist friendly, and the Americans love Brits and their British accent! Most of the main US cities are extremely well connected with a bus or metro system. New York has an excellent underground. I spent 3 months in the USA when I was 20 (should have waited until 21 so that I could legally drink, but hey!) During that time I explored North Carolina, Washington DC, New York and Boston.
In my 30s I returned to the other coast – LA and Las Vegas. From there, the beautiful national parks are accessible by bus including the Grand Canyon and Yosemite.
Everywhere that I have been in the US I have found the people to be extremely welcoming and helpful to tourists. Their customer service is excellent and most parts of the USA are very disabled friendly.
#5 Australia
Australia is a great place to visit as a first time solo female traveller. It has everything from cities, to beaches and wildlife in between. Again, as an English speaking country, you won’t experience the language barrier. Most people fly into Sydney or Melbourne and develop an itinerary in advance because of the huge distances that can be involved with travel around Australia. You might like to read this Melbourne 5 day Itinerary. Don’t miss the Whitsunday and snorkling or diving in the Great Barrier Reef.
#6 Netherlands
The Netherlands is an extremely safe and easy country to travel in. Most people speak English and are willing to help travellers. You will probably arrive at Amsterdam Schipol Airport, where there is an easy and efficient connecting train for the city.
I love Amsterdam, and it’s city centre is easy to navigate with the canal network and good signposting. Amsterdam is around 5th on a global ranking of safest cities. It’s an adventurous place with fabulous museums and night life. Smoking weed is legal in Amsterdam, as is prostitution, so visit the red light district prepared to have your eyes opened!
Rotterdam is famous for its nightlife and modern architecture. Utrecht is a popular student town. Getting between towns in the Netherlands is exceptionally easy due to the effective train network.
#7 New Zealand
Film destination of Lord of the Rings, New Zealand is home to amazing scenery and is also one of the worlds easiest solo female travel destinations. It’s smaller and cheaper than Australia too. You will probably fly into Wellington, the countries capital positioned on the North Island. But make sure that you plan enough time to see the South Island as well including the cliffs and fjords of Milford Sound. Three weeks is enough time to explore New Zealand, but if you are into slow travel, take a month if you can.
#8 Canada
Toronto, the capital of Canada is one of my favourite cities – clean, friendly and easy to get around. Don’t miss a trip up the CN tower for a fantastic panorama of the city. Niagra falls is one of the most popular sites of Canada, and done as a two destination trip combined with Toronto, but I also recommend seeing Quebec, Montreal and Vancouver. If you like skiing, head to Whistler, Banff or Lake Louise.
#9 Denmark
Copenhagen immediately struck me as a safe and liberal capital. Visit freetown Christiania for your dose of Danish hippie heaven! The Danish concept of hugge is based on the ‘cosyness’ that you get from sitting with friends around a campfire or candle light. Female solo travellers will be in for a hugge-ly time when they travel Denmark. Most people speak English there, but what I found extremely amusing was the way that some of the Danish words mis-translated into English (read my article on funny things I saw or experienced in Denmark).
#10 Sweden
Swedish cities are extremely green and eco-friendly. If you were to hire a bike, you would find cycle lanes almost everywhere you go. Main cities are abundant with parks and green spaces. Stockholm has some amazing museums including the Vasa Museum where you can find a 17th Century War ship and the Abba museum where you can sing and dance with holograms of the Swedish stars! Visit some of the smaller cities of Sweden while you are there – I really loved Malmo.
Further Reading on Solo Travel
If you enjoying this blog on tips for the solo female traveller, check out this blog on solo travel Asia (including the top Asian destinations), and also more tips for travelling alone.