Luxury Solo Travel in 2026 — Where to Go and What to Do Alone
Travelling alone at this level is not a compromise on the couple's trip. It is a trip built entirely around one person's pace, with a guide when you want company and privacy when you don't.
- The ten most popular solo travel destinations of 2026 are Italy, France, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Croatia, according to the 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Report.
- The five favourite solo experiences are adventure travel and trekking, health and wellness, guided tours, cultural exploration and culinary travel.
- A private guide, a driver and a planned arrival matter more alone than in company.
- Where there is no published price, a luxury solo trip starts from around US$1,000 per person per night.
- Forest Travel's planning fee is US$250 per itinerary.
The short answer
According to the 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Report, a survey of more than 2,400 advisors from Virtuoso agencies in more than 50 countries, the ten most popular solo travel destinations of the year are Italy, France, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Croatia. The five experiences solo travelers choose most are adventure travel and trekking, health and wellness, guided tours, cultural exploration and culinary travel.
Why these destinations work alone
The list is built on places that are easy to move through, easy to explore on foot and rich enough to fill a day without a companion: the cities and countryside of Italy and France, Japan's precision, the English-speaking ease of Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the landscapes of Iceland and Croatia. Most are also places where the right guide changes everything — a historian in Rome, a temple host in Kyoto, a mountain guide in Iceland.
The five experiences, and how to plan them
- Adventure and trekking — the first choice of solo travelers: a private guide sets the pace to one person and handles the logistics; see adventure in Iceland.
- Health and wellness — a retreat works as well for one guest as for two; see luxury wellness retreats.
- Guided tours — privately, so the guide is a companion and an expert rather than a microphone at the front of a coach.
- Cultural exploration — scholar guides and after-hours access; see luxury cultural immersion.
- Culinary travel — the chef's counter and the cooking class are among the easiest places to travel alone well; see luxury culinary travel.
What changes when you travel alone
Three things matter more alone than in company: the arrival, because no one else is carrying the logistics; the evenings, which are best planned around a table or a performance rather than left open; and a single point of contact who knows where you are. A private driver at the airport, a guide for the days that need one and an advisor reachable throughout cover all three.
What it starts from
Where a destination page publishes no price, a luxury solo trip starts from around US$1,000 per person per night, rising with the hotel, private guiding and the season. Forest Travel's planning fee is US$250 per itinerary. To begin, speak with an advisor.
Questions, answered.
Italy, France, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Croatia, according to the 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Report, a survey of more than 2,400 advisors. They are easy to move through, easy to explore on foot and rich enough to fill a day without a companion.
Adventure travel and trekking come first, followed by health and wellness, guided tours, cultural exploration and culinary travel, according to the 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Report. Each works best privately: a guide who sets the pace to one person, a retreat built around one guest, and a chef's counter for the evenings.
Plan the arrival, the evenings and the point of contact. A private driver meets you at the airport, a private guide covers the days that need one, evenings are built around a table or a performance, and one advisor knows where you are throughout. Italy, France and Japan are the most popular places to start.
Where a destination page publishes no price, a luxury solo trip starts from around US$1,000 per person per night, rising with the hotel, private guiding and the season. Forest Travel's planning fee is US$250 per itinerary, and an advisor gives you a from-price before the trip is designed.
Yes, when the trip is planned for one person. Choose places that are easy to move through and explore on foot: Italy, France, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Croatia lead the solo list in the 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Report. Then cover the three moments that matter most alone: a private driver at arrival, evenings planned around a table or a performance, and an advisor who knows where you are throughout.
Practically, by removing the moments when you are alone with the logistics. Arrive to a private driver rather than a taxi queue, take a private guide on the days in unfamiliar places, plan the evenings around a table or a performance instead of leaving them open, and keep one advisor reachable who holds your full itinerary. A hotel in a central, walkable neighborhood also shortens every journey back at night.
No. The Solo Explorer is among the traveler types least likely to cut back despite higher prices, alongside the Luxury Seeker, the Eco-Conscious, the Bleisure traveler and the Family-Focused Planner, according to Skift Research's State of Travel 2026. Alone, the spending goes to what matters most: private transfers, a guide on the days that need one, and a trip that starts from around US$1,000 per person per night where a destination publishes no price.
Yes, on the days that need one. Alone, a private guide is both company and expertise, a historian in Rome, a temple host in Kyoto or a mountain guide in Iceland, and sets the pace to one person rather than to a coach. Adventure and trekking, the first choice of solo travelers in the 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Report, depend on a guide the most; city days can be left freer.
No. What changes at any age is how much of the logistics you carry yourself, and a trip planned for one person removes most of it: a private driver at every arrival, a private guide on the days in unfamiliar places, evenings planned around a table or a performance, and one advisor who knows where you are throughout. Choose places that are easy to move through, such as Italy, Japan, Canada or the United Kingdom.
Start with a country that is easy to move through and to explore on foot. The 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Report names Italy, France, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Croatia as the year's top solo destinations. For a first trip, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland add English-speaking ease, while Italy and Japan reward a private guide on the first days.
Cultural Immersion
See the collection →Tell a private advisor how you like to travel — no quotes, no obligation.
Speak With a Luxury Travel AdvisorA real person answers: an in-house luxury travel advisor, in English or Spanish. The first conversation is complimentary.
