Flying Solo and Winging It: Solo Travelers Favor Unplanned, Flexible Trips

The White Lotus effect is a real thing in travel — the latest season of the popular series has drawn prospective travelers’ interest to Thailand, and its plot and characters, as always, offered a glimpse into both the traveler and staff experience at a high-end resort. That said, there was something missing: Namely, where were all the solo travelers? 

Sure, family getaways and girls’ trips are commonplace, as the show highlighted. But solo travel is more popular than one might think. One-third of U.S. adults have taken at least one solo leisure trip in the last five years compared with 50% who have traveled with family, 46% with a romantic partner and 37% with friends. And while a plurality of those who have traveled solo have done so once or twice, 31% have done so 3-5 times. 

Those who travel on their own value the freedom and flexibility it brings, but there are still some drawbacks — if travel brands can address these potential barriers, they can expect the number of solo travelers to grow.

Solo travelers seek wide-ranging experiences and destination types

The demographic profile of solo travelers (those who have taken a leisure trip alone in the last five years) compared with the general population is largely intuitive — they’re slightly more likely to be millennials, high-earners, and male, all cohorts who are more likely to travel in general than their counterparts. But looking at solo travelers in general obscures some demographic nuances. For example, casual solo travelers — those who’ve taken one or two solo trips — are slightly more likely to be Gen Zers and lower-earners with men and women equally represented. But those who have taken three or more solo trips skew heavily millennial and male. 

This shouldn’t be taken as a lack of desire to take a trip alone, as the share of Gen Zers and millennials who intend to travel solo in the coming year is almost identical, but rather speaks to the cadence at which these groups are willing or able to take a solo trip.

So what are solo travelers hoping to get out of their trip? While often solo travel is positioned as a means of seeking adventure, that’s actually not the top reason people take a trip on their own. The vast majority of solo travelers look to relax, far outperforming all other motivators. And while seeking adventure and discovering new cultures is also popular, solo travelers do say they travel alone to manage or improve their physical or mental health, among other things.

Solo status also impacts the type of destination a traveler chooses, though they’re nearly evenly split between nature-related destinations and urban locales. What’s clear from this is that travelers go on trips on their own for many reasons, and seek wide-ranging experiences and benefits. 

Solo travelers enjoy flexibility and control

When asked to specify the key benefits of solo travel, flexibility rises above the rest. More than half (54%) of U.S. adults say that the fact that there is more freedom to be flexible and change plans is a top advantage of traveling alone. Behind flexibility, 41% say having control of their travel budget is a top advantage, and 40% say the feeling of independence and resilience are the best.

Some of these perceived advantages grow in resonance among those who have traveled solo, suggesting the experience of going on your own can reinforce particular benefits. For example, the share of casual solo travelers who say freedom to be flexible is a top benefit is 60%, 6 points higher than adults in general. And it’s even higher (62%) for frequent solo travelers. A similar pattern exists amongst those who said a feeling of independence and not having to consider others’ needs was a top advantage — the more a person has traveled solo, the more likely they are to say these are benefits.

The appreciation for flexibility and control are evident in travelers’ approach to solo trips. Only 17% say they plan a detailed itinerary when traveling alone, compared with 22% when traveling with others. What’s more, nearly 1 in 5 (18%) say they plan no itinerary at all when traveling solo, 7 points more than when traveling with others.

Itinerary or not, the most common way to spend a day among solo travelers is to stay completely on their own — 79% say they have done so and among those that have, 3 in 5 say they take that approach every day or most days. But solo travel doesn’t mean total solitude for the duration of a trip. More than half also so they’ve met new people on their travels and spent time with them, and over a quarter each say they have planned excursions or tours with groups or joined a guided tour with a company.

Solo travel can be intimidating for women, who have safety concerns

In general, women travel slightly less frequently for leisure than men. But while the gap for travel broadly is a few points, the divide is much deeper for solo travel: men are 13 points more likely than women to have traveled alone in the last five years, and those who have done so report taking more solo trips than their female counterparts. When asked to specify the biggest disadvantages of traveling solo, gender differences in the responses reveal why this may be.

While the top perceived disadvantage of solo travel for adults in general was loneliness, the number one disadvantage for women was concerns about danger to their physical safety. Women were 21 points more likely to say this was a top drawback than men — 60% said it was a concern. Women were also more likely than men to say that the challenge of navigating unknown places was an issue, another consideration that speaks to potential safety concerns. In comparison, men were more likely than women to say that boredom or the pressure to make all of the travel decisions were top disadvantages.

Of course, these very real concerns do keep many women from traveling solo altogether. But they also influence the way female solo travelers plan and take their trips when they do decide to go on their own. Perhaps counterintuitively, they tend to rely on a planned itinerary less than men — 21% say they don’t plan an itinerary at all, compared to 16% of men. This difference isn’t reflective of an overall divergence in travel planning, as men and women align very closely when asked how much they plan in advance for a trip with others. This approach may be driven by a desire for flexibility so women can pivot if a certain destination, accommodation or attraction doesn’t feel safe or welcoming.

No matter the reason, travel brands and companies have an opportunity to bridge the gap for women who want to travel solo, but may be put off by these worries. Brands that can provide tools, resources and information for female travelers may encourage more women to set out on solo adventures.

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