# The Best Cities for Solo Travel

> The best cities for solo travel: Tokyo, Seoul, Kyoto, Chiang Mai, Hoi An, Budapest, Prague, Ubud, San Sebastián, London, Wanaka — and why each works.

- Source: https://clevertourists.com/guides/collection-best-cities-for-solo-travel
- Authors: Evan & Clara, Clever Tourists (first-hand, from a 526-day trip across 20 countries)
- Published: 2026-07-02
- Last updated: 2026-07-13

Some cities make solo travel a non-event — safe after dark, easy to navigate, and built around ways of eating and meeting people that don't require a group. These are the ones that worked for us, and the specific reasons why.

## Places

### Tokyo, Japan

Crowds move through Ameya-Yokocho, the market street that grew out of Ueno's black-market days after WWII, now a dense strip of stalls easy to duck into and out of alone.

### Chiang Mai, Thailand

One of Chiang Mai's roughly 300 Buddhist temples, tiered roofs and gilded stupas packed inside the old city's square moat.

### Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An's Old Town closes to most traffic at dusk, when paper lanterns strung over every street turn the whole town the same warm amber color.

### Budapest, Hungary

An overgrown courtyard in Budapest's old Jewish Quarter, the kind of half-abandoned building the city's ruin bars are famous for repurposing.

### Ubud, Indonesia

Woven bamboo lanterns light a warung's covered dining area in Ubud, the kind of low-key spot built for a solo dinner and a slow evening.

### San Sebastián, Spain

A narrow lane in San Sebastián's Parte Vieja, the old town's pintxos bars just out of frame on either side.

### Prague, Czech Republic

The Old Town Bridge Tower marks the entrance to Charles Bridge, Prague Castle visible on the hill across the river.

### Wanaka, New Zealand

Light breaks through storm clouds over the mountains above Lake Wanaka, the kind of view that pulls solo hikers here for days at a time.

### Seoul, South Korea

A quiet park path cuts through central Seoul, glass office towers rising just beyond the treeline.

### Kyoto, Japan

A vermillion gate frames a distant view of the city below, the kind of shot only possible with nobody else in the way.

### London, England

Nelson's Column and Big Ben both in frame from Trafalgar Square, black cabs threading past on the street below.