Best places to travel solo beyond Europe (and who with)

It usually starts in the dark months. You have done the long weekends: Porto, Seville, maybe Budapest. They were good, and you came home knowing you can do this. And now there is a tab open with a night train in Vietnam, or the road to Cusco, or a Tokyo side street at ten at night, and a question that nobody around you can really answer: could I do that on my own?

You could. The best places to travel solo beyond Europe, for someone flying from the UK, are Japan, Thailand and Vietnam for a first long-haul trip, Mexico and Peru if you fancy Spanish, Morocco if you want something closer, and New Zealand if you want everything in English and do not mind the distance. None of them needs a visa arranged in advance for a UK passport on a tourist trip, although Thailand and New Zealand each ask for an online form before you fly. If you are after somewhere nearer home, the European list is in the best places to travel solo in Europe.

What makes a long-haul place good on your own

In Europe, the question is how walkable a city is. Further away, it is how much the country does for you once you land. Four things decide it: getting around without a car, because a hire car alone is expensive and tiring; other people doing the same thing, with social hostels and set backpacker routes; a language you can get by in; and cost, because alone you pay for the whole room for weeks, not three nights. The seven below score well on most of those. None scores well on all four.

1 · Japan

The trains do the work. You can cross the country without a car or any Japanese, and the system is punctual enough that the "what if I miss the connection" worry mostly goes away. Eating alone is completely normal, from ramen counters to conveyor-belt sushi.

It is not cheap, and you meet fewer people by accident than in South East Asia. Japan Airlines, British Airways and ANA fly non-stop from Heathrow to Tokyo Haneda. Avoid the rainy season, early June to mid-July, and watch for typhoons, which peak in August and September.

Best for: a first long-haul trip where you want things to run on time.

2 · Thailand

The original solo travel destination in Asia, and still one of the easiest. The route from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and down to the islands is so well worn that you keep bumping into the same faces, which is half the point.

From 15 September 2026, a UK passport gets up to 30 days visa-free for tourism, and every visitor must fill in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card online in the three days before arriving. EVA Air flies non-stop from Heathrow to Bangkok. November to February is cooler and drier in the centre and north, which is why they are the busiest months.

Best for: meeting people without trying.

3 · Vietnam

A long, thin country with one obvious direction, which makes solo planning simple: everyone is on roughly the same line, from Hanoi through Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City, by sleeper bus or train.

UK passport holders can stay up to 45 days without a visa, or get a 90-day e-visa. Vietnam Airlines is the only carrier flying direct from Heathrow, to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The official tourism site calls March to May the best weather countrywide; the UK government notes rain from June to September in the north and south, and October to December in the centre.

Best for: a three-week loop with a clear shape.

4 · Mexico

Long-distance buses are comfortable, Mexico City could fill a week on its own, and the Yucatán has a well-established hostel circuit. A little Spanish goes a long way.

You do not need a visa as a tourist. Hurricane season runs from June to November. The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of Mexico, so read its advice before you draw your route.

Best for: big city, food and beach in one trip.

5 · Peru

The route from Lima through Arequipa and Lake Titicaca to Cusco is a backpacker trail in its own right, so solo travellers are everywhere. Spanish helps more than in Mexico, and Cusco is high, so plan slow first days.

No visa is needed for a tourist visit. In the Andes the dry season runs from April to October, which Peru's tourism site calls the ideal time; November to March is wet.

Best for: the big trek, at the same pace as everyone else on the route.

6 · Morocco

The only one here without a long-haul flight, which makes it a good bridge between a city break and something further. Trains link Tangier, Rabat, Fes and Marrakech. It is also the one that asks most of your patience alone, especially in the medinas, and many people find the desert leg easier with company. UK passport holders can stay up to 90 days without a visa. Morocco's tourism board recommends spring and autumn, especially for the Sahara.

Best for: a shorter trip that still feels far from home.

7 · New Zealand

Everything in English, a big backpacker culture, and landscapes that justify the journey. The catch is the journey, with no direct flight from the UK, and the car. People search "solo travel New Zealand without a car" for a reason: buses cover the main route, but much of the best is easier with wheels.

No visa is needed for up to six months, but you must get an NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority) before you travel. Summer, December to February, is the most popular time.

Best for: a long trip, if you are happy to share a car for part of it.

The seven at a glance

The legs that are better shared

Most of a long trip is easy to do alone. A hostel bunk costs the same for one, and on the busy routes you will have company for dinner most nights if you want it. For the quieter evenings, travelling alone without feeling lonely is about exactly that.

But a few legs change when you are on your own. A campervan in New Zealand, the drive into the Sahara, a few days on a Thai island with someone to watch your bag while you swim. Alone, you pay for the whole car and the whole room. Shared, both are split.

That is what TravelMatch is for. You post the leg you have in mind with its destination and dates, say a week on New Zealand's South Island in February, or ask to join a trip someone else has posted. Before accepting anyone you see their profile, a compatibility percentage, and reviews only people who travelled with them can write. If the organiser accepts, you join the group chat. Profiles show whether someone prefers women only, mixed or any group: a preference you read, not an automatic filter. TravelMatch does not ask for ID and does not book anything. It is free.

The alternatives each solve part of it. Hostel common rooms are good for company on the day; forums for advice, with the vetting left to you; a small group tour for planning and company at once, choosing neither the route nor the people. How to find travel companions compares them.

Before you book

Read the UK government's foreign travel advice for the country at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, and check again the week you leave: entry rules change, as Thailand's did in September 2026. For Mexico, Thailand and Peru, among others, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel to specific areas, and your insurance may depend on it.

If you will share a leg with someone you have not met, have a video call before anyone books, agree costs in figures, and keep your own documents and way home. Is it safe to travel with strangers covers the rest. And if this would be your very first trip alone, starting closer to home is no defeat: first solo trip: where to go has the easy ones.

The far-away trip does not need someone to agree to it. It needs a route, a date and, for the bits that are better shared, someone going the same way.

→ Post your trip on TravelMatch · Free.

Reviewed in October 2026. Entry rules checked on 8 October 2026 at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice; seasons from the official tourism sites (japan.travel, tourismthailand.org, vietnam.travel, peru.travel, visitmorocco.com, newzealand.com) and gov.uk; direct flights on jal.co.jp, heathrow.com, flights.evaair.com and vietnamairlines.com. Rules and routes change, so check before you book.