Where to travel alone in Europe: 8 easy first trips

For a first solo trip the destination matters less than it seems — but it matters in one way: how much work it gives you. If it is close, well connected, safe and walkable, you have head space left for everything else. If it is far and complicated, you spend the whole trip solving logistics and come home convinced that solo travel is hard. It is not. The choice was.

These eight work particularly well for taking the leap. They are not the most exotic: they are the ones that leave almost no room for it to go wrong.

1 · Porto, Portugal

Probably the best first solo trip in Europe, for a practical reason: you do it entirely on foot. From the Ribeira to the Clérigos tower, from the bookshop to the port cellars across the bridge, it all fits into two days of walking without taking a single bus. There are people on the street until late, which for someone travelling alone counts for more than any guidebook. And it is cheap.

Best for: an absolute first time, a long weekend, a tight budget.

2 · Seville, Spain

Warm in every sense. The centre is small, the streets are busy until midnight and eating alone at a bar counter is completely normal here — tapas were practically invented for it. Add flat ground and a bike lane that crosses the whole city.

Best for: anyone worried about standing out while travelling alone.

3 · Budapest, Hungary

One of the fastest-growing destinations among people travelling alone, and it earns it: beautiful, remarkably affordable, and easy to cross by metro and tram. The thermal baths are the kind of place where you happily spend an afternoon on your own.

Best for: getting a lot of city for very little money.

4 · Ljubljana, Slovenia

The most underrated capital in Europe and possibly the most comfortable for a first solo trip: tiny, car-free in the centre, extremely safe, and green. Lake Bled is an hour away by bus if you want a day out.

Best for: small, calm and effortless.

5 · Bologna, Italy

City-sized enough to have life, small enough not to get lost in. You walk it under porticoes, which means the weather never ruins a day, and it is the country's rail hub — from here you can reach anywhere without changing.

Best for: food, walking, and using it as a base.

6 · Edinburgh, Scotland

For anyone who wants their first solo trip in English. Compact, dramatic, and full of people doing exactly what you are doing. Everything is within walking distance and the hills give you a viewpoint at the end of every street.

Best for: a first time without a language barrier.

7 · The Camino de Santiago

Not a city but a route, and it belongs on this list for one reason: it is the only place in Europe where you meet people without having to try. You walk alone and by the third evening you are having dinner with five others. The final stretch from Sarria is six stages and needs no experience whatsoever.

Best for: anyone who wants company without organising it.

8 · The Azores, Portugal

The only one on the list that needs a flight and more days, and it is worth it. São Miguel has everything close — crater lakes, hot springs, viewpoints — and solo travel is completely normal there. You need a rental car to see it properly, and that is exactly where going with company pays off: sharing a car and a house on an island halves the bill.

Best for: once you have some mileage, or when you are going with someone.

And if what stops you is not the destination?

If you have read this far and still have the same doubt — "the place is chosen, but who do I go with?" — then the destination was never the problem. The company is.

And there is an option between going completely alone and paying an agency for a closed group: you go, but accompanied by people who are compatible with you. You choose when, where and who with. That is exactly what TravelMatch is for.

💬 You can see who you would fit with for your next trip before deciding anything. Free, in a minute.

Three rules that apply to all eight

• First trip, short. Two or three nights is enough to realise you can do this.
• Share your itinerary with someone you trust. Not out of fear: for peace of mind.
• Book the first night and nothing else. The rest gets decided there, which is half the point.

→ Find company for your next trip · Real compatibility. Free, in a minute.