Where to Travel in 2020 as a Female Solo Traveler

Tulum’s commercialism has grown significantly in the last decade, but it still has the serenity solo travelers crave and the option to retox on Sunday night alongside locals and fellow nomads, and then detox the next morning at an open-air yoga class or sweat lodge. Stay at TAGO Hotel, where they’ll make solo traveling easy by worrying about all the logistics for you. Make use of TAGO’s Holistic Center, which has yoga and meditation every morning to help start your day with energy and balance.

Across the Öresund Bridge from Copenhagen at the southernmost tip of Sweden is a region called Skåne. In terms of the typical attractions that bring you to Skåne, there are plenty of regal manors, cathedrals, and the like. But that’s not necessarily what draws solo travelers to Scandinavia. Most reservation-for-one travelers are looking for a bit more edge and may want to focus on the design scene and wellness culture in southern Sweden. Skåne has always had a hand on the pulse of Scandinavian design, which makes strolling along Hanö Bay going into furniture stores for future home decor inspo a day well spent. On the wellness front, solo travelers can participate in traditions like open-air baths followed by hot saunas. The region is a countryside delight much in the way Aix-en-Provence feels like an accessible and stunning alternative to Nice. Stay at Hotel Skansen, which features a spa with steam rooms and jacuzzis and a cold bath house sitting on a dock 300 feet out to sea.

Safe, scenic, with new fixtures already melding nicely with the city’s classic, centuries-old sights, Singapore is really starting to hold its own as a solo traveler destination. At one point, Singapore would just have been considered a stopover, likely en route to Bali or select Thai islands. But Singapore’s offerings now demand their own trip entirely. For those who want to explore on foot, they can use The Southern Ridges’ five-mile recreational trail to see five Singaporean parks: Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill, HortPark, Kent Ridge Park, and Labrador Nature Reserve. And you can take in the street food scene at Lau Pa Sa in the Central Business District (and yes, that’s where they eat upon arrival in Singapore in Crazy Rich Asians.) Singapore is ever-improving, continuously producing noteworthy new offerings each year. When you fly in, be sure to explore Jewel Changi Airport, a nature-centric retail space in the airport that opened in April 2019. For a luxe glamping experience, stay at Capella Singapore, an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property.

Red Rock country is a perfect spot to travel solo because there are the perks of city life (good bars and restaurants, etc.) and natural spectacles people travel from halfway around the world to see. If you’re looking to stay within the continental U.S. for budget or time-saving reasons, it’s even a possibility to do a long weekend here when you want to escape real life just to spend time with yourself. To make the most of your Sedona long weekend, try to set a few intentions for your solo travel beforehand; i.e., do you want to work more on presence in daily life? Do you want to reinstitute exercise into your daily routine? While in Sedona, hike the famous Cathedral Rock at sunset. After this quick hike (just a mile-and-a-half out and back), stay at L’Auberge de Sedona, an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property, to pamper yourself and fully reset before heading back to real life.

Whether you’re jonesing for a solo ski expedition in the Italian alps, or you want a spa apres-no-ski escape, the Dolomites delivers on both fronts. You can ski or snowboard in the winter or hike in the summer—but in any season, you can try their legendary spas. With tour company Dolomite Mountains, sign on for group hiking or mountain biking departures, ideal for solo travelers because it comes with a built-in travel social circle. Dolomite Mountains—the tour company, not the area—is female-owned (another female adventure perk: supporting other women!). Keep an eye out for Dolomite Mountains’ upcoming women-only trips for summer 2020, which will solely feature female guides and passengers.

Not only does Peru tend to be at the top of travelers’ South America list, it also has the well-established tourism infrastructure to help support solo adventurers. Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Sacred Valley are a go-to intro to a South American itinerary. The most important thing to remember here is that Machu Picchu is just the tip of the iceberg—Cusco and the Sacred Valley are equally enthralling. Belmond Hiram Bingham is a luxury train from Cusco to Machu Picchu, an ideal choice for the solo traveler because it eliminates the Machu Picchu logistics (and the logistics that come with planning meals, pitstops, and transport). The luxe train capitalizes on “contemporary Peruvian culture” while still maintaining the level of sophistication travelers would expect from an antique transport vessel.

Easily accessible by train or bus from Tokyo, Hakone is an onsen town about two hours away that Tokyo locals will visit when they need an overnight away from the city. Onsens are, of course, the Japanese natural hot springs, and there are several hot spring-centric hotels in Hakone that focus on wellness. Hakone sits on Lake Ashi in the Kanagawa prefecture and it’s good for solo travel because it’s all about staying put. If you’re taking to Japan for an adventure trip, you’d perhaps tend toward Kyoto or Fuji. Hakone is the place you go when you want to unwind on your own and stay in your hotel for 48 hours using the onsens to unwind your sore muscles and your in-room face steamer to clear out your pores. Stay at Ashinoko Hanaori where the meals are included and the dining room is absolutely conducive to solo travelers. In addition to the expansive open-air onsen, there’s an outdoor foot bath overlooking Lake Ashi. If you go in the fall, you’ll be able to take in the crisp air and vibrant foliage colors while soaking in the steamy mineral water.