USA Solo Travel Guide

Tips For Single Travelers Planning A Holiday To The USA

While taking a vacation in the USA as a solo traveler can be a daunting idea, it’s a great opportunity and is sure to be a fantastic experience. Roughly half of visitors on guided tours travel solo, and each tourist destination in the United States is packed with other people travelling alone, just like you. While we highly encourage solo travel in the USA, there are some factors that can make or break your trip. For one, traveling solo doesn’t mean that you need to be alone. You can ditch your friends and plan a trip by yourself, but still be surrounded by people 24/7 if that’s what you desire!

Below is our guide to traveling solo in the States, complete with some general tips, plus some of the best places to visit as a solo traveler. You will also find our top tours for solo travelers and other ideas to make the most of your holiday!

Top USA Tours For Solo Travelers

Tips For Solo Travel In USA

Join a Guided Group Tour

There is no better way to travel solo than to jump on a group tour. You meet up with other travelers in the ideal social setting, split common costs throughout the group and have the benefit of professional guides to make sure everything goes smoothly and you have the most fun possible. When you join a group tour as a solo traveler, you have the benefit of travelling with other likeminded travelers on the trip and creating unforgettable memories together! Our tours have joined almost 3000 travelers together into fun groups, sharing their experiences and making lifelong friendships along the way!

Meet Lots Of people

One of the best parts of travelling solo in the USA is the opportunity to meet people, ranging from potential mates, to fellow travelers to locals! Take every chance you get to chat with the people you meet along the way. Some will have tips for you, some will be asking directions, and some will be downright weird, but that’s all part of the fun! You never know where destiny will take you!

Hit Up Your Barista/ bartender

Never underestimate the power of gab! Your barista or bartender could be an everyday travel encyclopedia wrapped in ordinary clothes. They interact with other travelers and locals everyday and likely know the best times to dodge crowds, where to get discount cards, and which places are all hype. As a single traveler, it’s always a wise idea to chat about your travel plans with local servers and hospitality staff. Their wealth of information can be surprising!

Stay At A Hostel (Or Drink At One)

It’s no secret that hostels are a very popular place for lone travelers and small groups to stay at in the States and around the world. The high density of travelers makes for a very social setting on your holiday, though most people don’t realize that you don’t actually have to stay in the dorms to benefit from this environment. Most hostels have bars and restaurants that are open to the public, so you can head in for a drink and come out with new friends and plans for the following day!

Travel To An Event

The final way that we recommend travelling solo in US is to travel to events, such as a tradeshow, or interest group meet-up. There is nothing like a large-scale event to bring tons of likeminded people together to celebrate, or collaborate on something. There are usually social breakouts and opportunities for you to gather with new friends and people you have met at the event. You can always start a trip off this way and tack on a guided tour on the end to make a fun (and productive) vacation!

Where Are The Best Places For Solo Travel In The United States?

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is one of the easiest and most poplar destinations in the USA for solo travelers. There are a ton of guided tour options and park shuttles to make getting around easy. There is also a great infrastructure within the park to ensure that you don’t feel at a loss, with boardwalks, signs and a vast network of short walks that you can combine into a few longer hikes if you desire.

Yosemite National park

Yosemite National Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the American West, with unreal granite domes reaching for the sky, and beautiful alpine trails winding in all directions. Centralized campgrounds, lodging and transportation make Yosemite easy to explore on your own, and it’s also a very popular place for guided group tours to visit as well!

Portland

Portland is the starting point for several great destinations in Oregon, but is also a standalone place to visit. The area is chalk full of waterfalls, hiking trails and fun places to explore. The downtown is also great, with a remarkable amount of lively breweries and fun restaurants to relax and meet new friends at.

Bend, Oregon

Bend is one of the best places to visit in Oregon, with endless networks of mountain biking trails, climbing and hiking opportunities abound. The town of Bend is sociable by nature, with over 10 breweries and counting! The downtown core is small, so you can easily walk around town and drop in to your favorite watering hole after a big day on the trails.

Zion National Park

Zion National Park is one of the top destinations in America, whether you are a solo traveler or not, but is also very popular for solo travelers. Guided tour operators frequent the park’s famous trails, so there is a natural tendency for more solo travelers to be visiting this place as a part of their group holidays. The beautiful hiking trails, fun lodging and abundant things to do make Zion a great place to visit as a solo traveler in the States.

How Safe Is It To Travel Solo In USA?

While not one hundred percent safe, you will be happy to learn that USA is a very safe place to travel alone. The United States enjoys a relatively low crime rate in most areas. Like anywhere else in the world, urban centers have the most crime, compared to less populated areas. Americans are a caring and respectful nation, who are known for looking out for each other in day to day life. If you run into issues, you should be able to find someone who is happy to help fairly easily. Despite that, here are a few tips to maximize your safety.

• Don’t be out alone in the middle of the night

• Try to make a friend or sit near someone if you are traveling alone by bus

• Keep in touch with a friend so someone knows where you are and when to expect you to arrive

• Don’t flaunt wealth (keep valuables out of sight)

• Be careful of strangers in bars (that should be obvious)

• Always let someone know if you are hiking alone and when to expect you back + where you plan to go

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