8 Solo Trips for Women - Bold Spirit Travel

Dreamy Crater Lake is a perfect solo trip for women in the summer.

Solo Trips for Women

Here are our top 8 solo trips for women both here in the USA and abroad. The list is totally subjective. Maybe you’d swap Barcelona for Paris, or Amsterdam for Mexico City.

Our goal is to share some places we love and inspire you to get out there and explore, whether solo or with friends.

National Parks:

One of our guests in 2022 was on a mission to see one National Park per month. She had a Passport to National Parks and diligently collected the stamps to fill it out.

What national parks are near you? Where could you start a travel project like this?

I think of the parks near me here in Washington and can easily count Mt. Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, and also Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.

Yellowstone, despite its popularity and the crowds that can accumulate, was one of the most memorable trips I’ve ever been on and included bison and bear sightings galore.

Get the timing and reservations right for your national park visit and then prepare to drink in some of the most beautiful places in our nation. (We currently offer one National Park tour to Crater Lake in the summertime, and you can learn more here.)

Amsterdam:

Looking to break up your long-haul flight from the USA?

I often fly Delta Airlines and one of their Euro hubs is Amsterdam. Instead of sitting in the Schiphol Airport for your layover, why not take a couple of nights and see Amsterdam on your way to Rome, Barcelona, or Athens?

I feel safe in Amsterdam and thoroughly charmed by its many canals and the shops in the Jordaan ‘hood. Stay centrally and visit the Van Gogh Museum.

The Dutch are friendly and the city teems with creative design and cozy cafes. Summer is especially dreamy and it’s fun to see locals cruising along the canals in their boats, riders holding glasses of bubbly and nibbling from charcuterie trays. Stand on a bridge and watch the bumper-boat parade while thinking, “I should really make friends with a boat-owning Dutchman.”

Of course, Holland is also known for its dazzling display of tulips in the spring, another reason to put Amsterdam on your list.

(An aside: if you cannot travel to Holland for tulips, you could instead go to the Skagit Valley in Washington, which also puts on a colorful bulb display April-May).

Visit Crater Lake National Park this summer. The lake is in Southern Oregon not too far from Bend.

Barcelona:

Bustling, creative Barcelona is on the Mediterranean Sea and offers an overwhelming variety of activities for solo women travelers. Despite being a big city, Barcelona is safe for women travelers (yes, you do need to watch out for pickpockets no matter what your gender).

Stay in a central location and take in the many sites, such as Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia and El Palau de la Musica, both architectural masterpieces that will have you scraping your jaw off the cement in awe.

When you tire of the hustle and noise of city life, pop on an efficient Catalan train to sunny Sitges and enjoy beach life in this open-minded, LGBTQ-friendly coastal town. (You can come with us on an all-women Barcelona tour, more here.)

Palm Springs:

This sunny destination is a favorite for the winter months when my hometown of Seattle is drenched in cloud cover and icy rain showers. I find the desert landscape beautiful in its own way and the 70-degree temps blissful.

Nearby, plan a spa day in Palm Desert at Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort, which boasts thermal pools, healthy cafes, and a full-service spa.

If you want to see the natural side of Palm Springs, zip up the mountain in the Aerial Tramway to explore hiking trails and an interpretive center that houses a restaurant with chilled white wine, epic views, and lunch specials.

I like Palm Springs for a week or a weekend. Or even for a month if you can work remotely. It’s an easy destination with plenty of restaurants and an open-minded community. And who knows, you may even spot a celebrity or two.

Barcelona, we love you. Spend some time in Park Guell when you visit. Barcelona is an excellent destination for solo trips for women.

Kyoto, Japan:

My quick trip to Japan was my last before the pandemic shut it all down back in 2020. As we went deeper into 2020, I was even more grateful for that trip to Tokyo and Kyoto.

Tokyo was fascinating, but Kyoto was the real wow for me. Even in the winter (I visited in January) the city was charming and I felt exceedingly safe the entire time I was in Japan.

I took the fast train from Tokyo to Kyoto and found that it was easy to use, efficient, clean, and comfortable.

I spent time at the dramatic Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Higashiyama District, a preserved historic area with shops and restaurants. One thing that I did not get to do was go to a proper onsen, and I hope to return to Japan eventually and do this.

If you are worried about traveling as a single woman in Japan, don’t be.

If you are worried that you do not speak Japanese…well, neither did I.

Japan is ready for tourists and remains one of the easiest travel experiences I’ve had. Better yet? Delta and other airlines offer direct flights from the West Coast of the United States to Japan, meaning no layovers and less hassle.

Seville, Spain:

Yes, we know Barcelona and Madrid are tons of fun and every party-seeker on the globe has heard of Ibiza. But I am always a little surprised when people have not heard of Seville, the heart of Southern Spain.

Not only is Seville where tapas, flamenco, and many other “typically Spanish” customs come from, but it was also one of the most important cities in Europe there for a bit (like, 500 years ago).

Remember Christopher Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella? Well, Seville is where they did some of their planning, and you can still see the Archives of the Indies as well as the Alcazar when you visit.

Christopher Columbus’ tomb is in Seville (or is it in the Columbus Lighthouse at Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic?) although there is some debate as to whether he is really in there. While most in the USA are no longer celebrating Columbus Day, it is still fascinating to see the ornate tomb of this once-explorer no matter how you feel about what happened historically.

Before Chris and the Monarchs, the area was ruled by the Moors, and their stamp is all over the city, from mosques turned churches to the opulent Alcazar.

Apart from the numerous layers of history in this area, there is the friendly nature of the locals, the quiet flow of the Guadalquivir River, the palm trees, cobblestones, and excellent food.

Across the river in Triana, the flamenco tablaos offer music every night of the week. You have not seen Spain until you have seen Seville, so get yourself there in the spring or the fall. (We are taking an all women group of travelers in May.)

Sunny Seville in Southern Spain is the place to make your base camp as you explore rich Andalusia. Ole!

The San Juan Islands:

Most people feel the magic when they land on Orcas Island. There is something about the sense of the place, the curving madrone trees, the secluded coves, and the fields of lavender, that put a person’s nerves at ease.

Immediately, there is a feeling of, “I can relax here.”

You could hike Mount Constitution or the trails at Moran State Park. You could swim in the lakes or tan on the beaches looking out over the cold Puget Sound. And then, you could spend time in Eastsound, eating at farm-to-table restaurants and licking ice cream cones. There is massage. There are boutiques. There are farmers’ markets in the summer and music in the parks.

One thing is for sure: you need to book ahead. If you are going in the off-season - which is also charming, to be sure - then you’ll be just fine. But if you plan to see the San Juan Islands in the summer months and into September, then you will need reservations in advance.

The largest islands are Orcas and San Juan and I recommend you start with one of those. For something really special, and maybe a little crunchy-granola, then book at Doe Bay.

Costa Rica:

Skip the San Jose airport and fly into Liberia Airport to enjoy easy access to the Pacific side of this jewel-box country. Unwind for a few days at any of the 5-star thermal spas around the Arenal volcano. Hike in the cloud forest in Monteverde. Swim on palm-fringed beaches in water so warm you will not want to get out.

And most of all, see animals. All sorts of animals! From monkeys to macaws, to sloth and pizote.

Costa Rica packs a big punch for such a small country. There is much to see on the Pacific side as well as the Caribbean side, and the very adventurous will want to head to the Osa Peninsula.

Tourism is well established in Costa Rica, which means that you’ll have lots of hotel options to choose from, including swanky 5-star hotels as well as beach huts.

Many solo women travel to this petite country and it is also a popular place for yoga and wellness retreats. If you’re not ready to go solo just yet, joining a retreat is a good way to get your feet wet. (Or come with us. We offer a Costa Rica trip for women in 2024.)

To Conclude…

So, there you have it: 8 ways to explore this year. Will you drive to a national park? Catch a fast train in Tokyo? Fly to Seville for flamenco and tapas? Hop on a ferry to the San Juan Islands this summer?

The world is ready for you, explorer. It’s just a matter of deciding where you most want to go.