Solo travel keeps climbing. eDreams’ new study, published September 22, finds 44% of American travelers say traveling alone builds their self-sufficiency, and 41% want the freedom to move at their own pace. More people landing alone in unfamiliar cities means more people improvising their safety habits on arrival day – exactly when a routine matters most.
The advice that follows is the boring kind. It works because it’s boring.
Land with a plan for the first hour
Most solo-travel trouble happens in the gap between “I landed” and “I’m settled”: you’re tired, you’re holding everything you own, and you’re visibly figuring things out. The fix is deciding the first hour before you fly. Know how you’re getting from the airport to your bed – the official taxi rank, the train platform, the rideshare pickup zone – and know roughly what it should cost. Standing on a curb comparing options on your phone is when you’re most approachable and least attentive.
Tell one person your skeleton itinerary
You don’t need to check in constantly. One person at home should know your flight, your lodging name and neighborhood, and your rough day-by-day shape. If something goes wrong, “she was traveling somewhere in Portugal” is not actionable; “she’s at a guesthouse in Alfama through Thursday” is. A shared note or a pinned location share with a trusted contact takes two minutes to set up and zero effort to maintain.
Arrive in daylight when you can
This is the single highest-leverage booking decision for solo arrivals. A 10 p.m. landing in a city you don’t know turns every ordinary task – finding the address, reading the door code, noticing whether anyone is behind you – into a harder version of itself. When the cheap flight lands late, price the difference honestly: the savings sometimes cost you a tense first night.
Learn the local shape of normal
Spend ten minutes before the trip on two questions: what are the common scams in this specific city, and what does official look like? Every popular destination has its recurring patterns – the “closed” attraction with a helpful stranger, the unofficial taxi, the petition clipboard. They’re only dangerous once, the first time you see them. A quick search of recent traveler reports for your destination is the difference between recognizing a script and starring in it.
Keep your exit options visible
In restaurants, pick the seat that faces the room. On transit, know which stop is yours before you sit down. In your lodging, do the thirty-second walk of the corridor on day one. None of this is paranoia; it’s the same situational awareness you’d want from anyone traveling alone, and it costs nothing once it’s a habit.
The mindset that matters
The eDreams numbers suggest solo travelers aren’t chasing risk – they’re chasing autonomy, and 43% even associate going alone with improved mental clarity. Good safety habits serve that goal rather than restrict it. The point of a routine isn’t to travel scared; it’s to spend your attention on the trip instead of the logistics of not getting unlucky.
— Source: eDreams, “Solo Travel in 2026: Why Americans Are Ready to Go It Alone,” September 22, 2026.