Solo travel is becoming ever more popular in 2024 and the right destination can make a vacation alone become the experience of a lifetime. Europe is the ideal place to try out a journey on your own thanks to safe and reliable rail networks, walkable town centers and plenty of group accommodation where you can make friends.
To avoid the common pitfalls of feeling lonely or intimidated when traveling by yourself, try adding some of Europe's most welcoming cities to your itinerary. Every year, accommodation booking platform Booking.com uses millions of verified customer reviews to establish a ranking of the friendliest places in the world. Here are the four European cities that made the top ten for 2024 and why you should visit this year.
Despite the crowds of tourists that visit Greek islands like Mykonos and Santorini, you can feel quite lonely as a solo traveler because everyone seems to be in big, raucous groups. Consider staying on the lesser-trod island of Syros instead, whose capital Ermoupoli is Europe’s most welcoming city according to Booking.com and the second in the world.
Ermoupoli is visually refreshing if you’ve been island hopping around the Cyclades. Instead of the conventional palette of white and blue, you’ll find a Venetian-influenced old town of elegant neoclassical palaces painted in pretty pastel hues. At the heart of the city is the marble-clad Miaouli Square with Ermoupoli’s grand town hall replete with a 15-meter staircase. From morning to night, the plaza is the core of the community with buzzy cafes and bars in the shade of palm trees where you’re sure to make a friend or two. According to the Greek City Times, the city has a “friendly disposition deeply ingrained in its population” and is “recognized for its consistently excellent service and hospitality.”
Solo travelers can feel safe renting a car to explore other pocket-sized villages on the island or idyllic beaches. From Ermoupoli, visitors can hop ferries to Piraeus and Rafina in eastern Attica, other Cycladic islands like Naxos, Mykonos, Tinos and Folegandros and North Aegean islands such as Chios.
The city of Viana do Castelo in northern Portugal came in third place on Booking.com’s ranking. It’s a surfing, kitesurfing and windsurfing hotspot thanks to its location on the Atlantic Ocean so if you’re a solo traveler into watersports, you’ll find a friendly and international community to welcome you here. You can also join the crowds taking a leisurely cycle along the waterfront or down the River Lima.
Away from the shore, the city known as the Princess of Lima blends architectural grandeur, noteworthy religious sites, and vibrant culture into one destination. The historic center is a fusion of Renaissance, Baroque and
The website maxtravelz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
We often associate places with the historical events we know happened there and sometimes it might be the reason we travel, to commemorate and to visit these sites and museums. Places in the U.S. were also named after cities, towns and people in the old world or sometimes they simply described the geography of a place, often in local languages.
If you are planning a trip to Japan this summer, you’re not alone. New research has revealed the most popular destinations for the coming peak travel season – and there are a few surprises.
The world is a big place, and there are oodles of countries to explore and wild experiences to relish. Many folks have saved up vacation days and squirreled away funds for a journey of a lifetime. The questions are: Where should you go and how should you start the planning process? The advantages of small group travel abound. You’ll meet new people from different places around the globe, logistics and safety protocols will be expertly considered, and a professional tour guide will lead the way so that all you have to do is show up and enjoy the ride.
Lisbon was voted Europe’s Best MICE Destination in 2023 for the first time at the 4th edition of the World MICE Awards in Berlin, Germany. The same event also saw the 31st European edition of the World Travel Awards, in which Lisbon was also voted Europe’s Best Urban Destination in 2024.
As the largest island in the Mediterranean, Sicily is a grand road trip destination that doesn’t just stop at the beautiful blue waters that fringe its rocky coastline. Winding pastoral roads meander through the hilly hinterlands near Palermo and up to the dark volcanic slopes of the testy Mount Etna. At the crossroads of history, Sicily’s relics of the past are delivered by the dozen with Greek and Roman ruins and medieval and baroque towns that will charm you with their beauty.
Let's assume you're planning a trip to Europe and want to include a visit to the United Kingdom. Should you plan to visit London at the start, in the middle or at the end of your trip? Does it even matter?
Decades ago, your vacation most likely began with a visit to a travel agent, who relied on a combination of expertise and connections to find the best deals on plane tickets, hotels, tours and more. Since then, the internet has turned most of us into our own travel agents, and artificial intelligence software is making research and self-booking even easier. But for some trips, that special insider knowledge can still make a big difference.
Lisbon was voted Europe’s Best MICE Destination in 2023 for the first time at the 4th edition of the World MICE Awards, which took place last night in Berlin, Germany. The same event also saw the 31st European edition of the World Travel Awards, in which Lisbon was also voted Europe’s Best Urban Destination in 2024.
What makes one passport more powerful than another? The best-known passport ranking, from London-based investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners, focuses solely on visa-free travel. Essentially, the more countries a citizen can visit without a visa, the better. In that ranking, six nations—France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain—tie for the top position, with 194 visa-free destinations apiece. (In 2024, the U.S. is tied for sixth, with 189.)