Since there are good countries and bad countries for solo travelers and the biggest concern when solo traveling is safety, I decided to put together a list of my top European countries for solo traveling so far. Of course, a lot of this is just personal opinion built from personal experience, but I also took into account how safe I felt being alone in these countries as well as how fun they were to visit.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been to every single European country (yet), but the countries I’ve solo traveled include Austria, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland.

If you’re looking for the reason as to why Italy isn’t on this list, you’ll find a detailed explanation here.

Austria

Austria is an incredible country with a super-rich history, Vienna especially. Vienna is very clean despite how old the city is, and I can almost guarantee every single street you go down you’ll be awe-stricken with how pretty the city is. In terms of safety, I never felt unsafe no matter where or what time of day it was, and there are always plenty of other solo travelers that you can meet.

I highly recommend staying at the Jo&Joe hostel in Vienna, it’s actually on the top floor of an IKEA and it’s always buzzing with tons of people to meet. It’s in a pretty good part of town, it has great views from the roof, and it’s super clean.

Ireland

Dublin was a really nice city, especially in the city center and the surrounding area. There are plenty of pubs you can visit that are always filled with happy locals or fellow travelers, and there’s always some live music to enjoy. I wandered all over the city, from packed streets to empty avenues, and I never once felt unsafe.

If you have the time, you should definitely get involved in a local pub crawl through the Temple Bar district. Pub crawls are a great way to meet new people from all over the world and have a fun night out, especially when traveling on your own.

Scotland

I’ve been to Glasgow and Edinburgh, and both were incredible cities to solo travel to. The architecture and culture of the cities almost demand a level of silent observation to fully take in the beauty of the locations, making it honestly better to solo travel here instead of with the company of others. Both cities seemed very safe, Edinburgh more than Glasgow however, and I’m very glad that I got to solo travel here before hopefully one day returning with others.

Switzerland

Switzerland is by far the safest of all of the countries on this list. Everyone minds their own business, you’ll never feel unsafe ever, and there’s a peacefulness in the country’s natural beauty that not many other European nations have. At least, that’s my experience with Zurich and Lucerne.

I would say that Switzerland has the natural beauty and Scotland has the man-made beauty, at least out of the countries on this list. The mountains are incredible, the lakes blue and expansive, and a train ride through the country will change your life. Switzerland is a great place to be alone and think deeply, if that’s the kind of trip you’re looking for.

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And that’s it for the first post of 2026! I hope you all had a great holiday season, and I look forward to seeing what the new year brings.

Drop a like and follow if you enjoyed the post, and comment if there are any countries that you think are missing from this list!

Happy New Year!