The joys of solo travel are hard to deny. A solo trip allows travellers to explore exactly how they desire, go where they want and do as they wish. It’s exciting, challenging and uplifting – and the urge to embark on solo travel trips is not going anywhere. In fact, in the UK alone, over the past five years, Google searches for ‘places to solo travel’ are up 160 per cent. People are eager to explore on their own terms, as and how they see fit. It’s freedom in its purest form.
For women in particular, the statistics show a growing interest in travelling alone – searches for ‘solo female travel’ are up 40 per cent over the past five years. Women, clearly, are in the market for deeper, slower, more mindful travel. Yet women are also often faced with concerns about safety and security when travelling.
Each solo adventure looks different for individual travellers, and insofar as the reasons for travelling differ from person to person, so too do the safety concerns. Factors such as race, age, sexuality, and personal circumstances may affect decisions about where and when to travel. Tahmina Begum, for example, went to Lisbon on a journey of self-discovery, travelling solo as a Muslim woman – the first in her family to do so. In 2024, Pelumi Nubi became the first woman to drive solo from London to Lagos – “I was trying to connect two places I considered home,” says the 29-year-old, who was born in Lagos and grew up in the UK. Keen solo traveller Vivienne Dovi was inspired to set up Melanin Travel, a platform and community empowering the African diaspora to explore the world. Writer Emma Clarke took a two-month solo trip across America after a painful breakup, while Catherine Fairweather decided to embrace solo adventure travel in her mid-50s.
To support and guide women seeking solo travel in 2026, the BBC has published a report analysing data and insights into the destinations where solo female travellers feel most secure.
The report looks at the latest Peace and Security Index from Georgetown University Women, an annual index that ranks countries on women’s inclusion, justice and security, as well as taking into account results from the most recent Global Peace Index. Below, discover the five countries the BBC claims are the safest places for women to travel solo. For more advice, see our Golden Rules of solo travel.
