Travel

​BEST INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS FOR THE SOLO TRAVELLER
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​NEW YORK — Solo travel, among other benefits, means never having to compromise your plans. But some destinations, by virtue of language, ease of transportation, expense or level of hospitality, offer easier going than others. Here are five spots that fit the bill.

RIVIERA MAYA (Mexico)

If you’re looking for a beach adventure, look past the honeymoon- and family-focused all-inclusive resorts that line the Caribbean coast of the Yucatn Peninsula, aka the Riviera Maya, and make your base the bustling town of Playa del Carmen. It has its own beach and also offers quick trips via ferry to Cozumel to snorkel the Mesoamerican Reef.

​By night, Playa, as it is called, offers loads of entertainment, including open-air restaurants, beachfront dance clubs and shops lining the pedestrian-only Quinta Avenida that stay open late. Accommodations run from thrifty off-the-beach inns to grand beachfront resorts.

DUBLIN (Ireland)

In about the same time it takes to fly from New York to Los Angeles, you could be tipping a Guinness in Ireland instead.

“Dublin is perfect for first-time solo travelers,” said Robert Firpo-Cappiello, editor-in-chief of Budget Travel, a digital magazine, in an email. “English is spoken everywhere, the city is easily navigable and the locals are incredibly welcoming and helpful.”

The Irish famously love their pubs, and no one will look sideways at a single traveller at Davy Byrnes, where the fictional Leopold Bloom of James Joyce’s Ulysses drank. Tours abound; See the city the sporty way with Sight Jogging Dublin Tours.

THAILAND

The language is indecipherable to many, but Thailand bundles unique culture, beautiful beaches and great value.

In South-east Asia in general, Firpo-Cappiello said, “the travel infrastructure is very solid, and many of our readers have reported that they had an easy time getting around, meeting other solo travelers, and that English was spoken widely”.
Bangkok is a natural starting point and the gateway to the beaches to the south or hill country to the north. The nation’s affordability is a big draw.

“It is really inexpensive, so you can stay in luxury hotels for less than US$50 a night as well as bungalows on the beach,” said Lisa Imogen Eldridge, who blogs about solo travel at GirlabouttheGlobe, in an email. “Street food is fantastic and is less than US$2 for fresh pad thai.”

VANCOUVER (British Columbia)

With its relaxed West Coast vibe, diverse population, temperate climate and accessibility to natural attractions, Vancouver might be the country’s most solo-friendly city. For sporty types,
Vancouver has a temperate rain forest within city limits in Stanley Park. Or you can hike the Grouse Grind path up nearby Grouse Mountain.

The city’s food scene draws on the bounty of the Pacific Ocean and the province’s eastern Okanagan wine country. Do a DIY progressive feast at the Granville Island Public Market, or hit trendy Yaletown and emerging Gastown for everything from oyster bars to a First Nations teahouse.

ICELAND

For adventure travellers, Iceland offers rugged mountain hikes, thermal pools and whale watching.

“Iceland is one of my favourite countries for solo travellers,” said Matt Kepnes, who blogs about travel at Nomadic Matt, in an email. “The locals are really friendly and welcoming to outsiders” and, he added, “it’s the safest country in the world so you don’t have to worry about crime”.

BONUS SUGGESTION: GROUP TOURS FOR SINGLE ADVENTURERS

Some trips — an African safari, for example, or the Inca Trail in Peru — are harder to do on your own. Geckos Adventures is offering guided tours for 18-to-29-year-olds in exotic locales at relatively affordable prices.

A nine-day safari in Zimbabwe and South Africa, for example, starts at US$915. The company says most of its guests are solo travellers, and it commonly pairs them with same-sex roommates; If you require a single room, expect to pay a single supplement (US$170 in the case of the African safari). THE NEW YORK TIMES

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