Best Places in Europe to Travel Solo
Having travelled extensively across the world in recent years, mostly alone, I have a pretty good idea of the best places in Europe to travel solo.
They are in the excellent east rather than the wavering west. The east is much cheaper, much safer, has much friendlier locals and only really falls comparatively short on the quality of transport available.
From personal experience, I would say the best European countries for solo travel are Bosnia Herzegovina, Moldova and the three Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia).
All five countries tick all the boxes mentioned above, as well as having a lot to see and do. Let’s have a look at why here.
Best Places to Travel Solo in Europe
1) Bosnia Herzegovina
Top of the list is one of my favourite countries in Europe. Bosnia Herzegovina is a solo traveller’s dream. It has one of the most scenic cities in Europe, some of the most interesting history on the continent, and an abundance of amazing local food (cevapi) and drink.
I would recommend visiting Mostar and Sarajevo.
Mostar is the 5th-largest city in Bosnia and almost certainly the most beautiful. The bright-blue Neretva River snaking through the city, with the backdrop of surrounding mountains make this a sight to behold.
The only reason Mostar isn’t full of narcissistic, floaty-dress, self-proclaimed “influencer” types is because not too many people outside of travel circles have heard of it.
So get there before they do!
I really enjoyed visiting Mostar at the beginning of spring as the winter chill was beginning to subside.
The city is great for solo travellers for many reasons, but affordability is always a key draw to those of us who often travel alone.
Mostar has a good range of cheap accommodation starting from just £10 (US$12) per night for a dorm bed.
I stayed at Taso’s House Hostel which wasn’t flashy but was more than enough for the price. The beds were comfy, the showers were warm and Taso was a lovely chap. With breakfast also included this felt more like a guesthouse than a generic hostel.
Now one thing I love doing whilst travelling solo is free walking tours. If you aren’t familiar with this concept, a free walking tour is a (usually about) 2-3 hour tour around a city from someone who is often a local. They will take you to the best spots, and give you a good insight into the history so you can learn all about your surroundings.
A free walking tour is a great way to meet people, and Mostar’s is no exception. I generally use Guruwalk to book tours. The “free” in the name is slightly misleading however, as these tours are funded by tips. For the guides they are often a full time job.
I’d also recommend hanging out in the many cheap bars, restaurants and cafes surrounding the famous Stari Most. It’s one of those places where you can really enjoy yourself by doing nothing other than watching life go by.
Sarajevo is also fantastic for solo travellers. It isn’t quite as scenic as Mostar but makes up for it with a lot of fascinating history as well as the Ottoman-style old town, Bascarsija.
I would recommend staying in the Good Place Hostel which is run by a friendly chap called Igor who exhibits typical Balkan hospitality and even offers the chance to sample the local drink, rakija.
I suggest not getting too carried away with the rakija as you will definitely regret it the next morning.
But Bosnia is easily one of the best countries in Europe for solo travellers. It has a lot of hostels and tours, on top of being far cheaper than any Western European country.
There’s also a lot of history here, ranging from Bosnia’s days in Yugoslavia, to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand which kickstarted WWI, as well as the 1984 Winter Olympics which took place within the country.
I would say that Bosnia is Europe’s best-kept secret. But that will change rapidly from this point onwards.
2) Moldova
Unpopular opinion: Moldova is one of the best countries in Europe.
Yes, best. You read that correctly.
Moldova has an unfair reputation as “the most boring country in Europe“. Critics cite the fact there’s (in their eyes) nothing to do, the people are miserable and the weather is very gloomy.
Sure, I’ll give them the point on the weather, and I certainly encountered some pretty glum people there (as well as many very warm locals). But there is a lot of cool stuff to do in this country, which also has a little bit of a hostel scene, making it a great solo travel spot.
Capital Chisinau may not be NYC when it comes to things to do, but there’s enough to keep you occupied for at least a couple of days.
The Eternity Memorial Complex is home to a series of monuments commemorating Moldova’s WWII victims. As part of the Soviet Union, Moldova followed the typical Soviet playbook of grand monuments to remember their war dead.
Chisinau also has its fair share of cool orthodox churches with a beautiful blend of gold, white and blue colouring. And there are a fair few communist monuments dotted around, including statues of Lenin and Marx.
You can read a little more here about what do to in Moldova.
Oh, and Moldova has a burgeoning wine scene which you may want to check out if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to Italy or France on that front.
But I haven’t even mentioned the highlight of Moldova yet. If you can consider it Moldova at all…
Since the 1990s, a slither of land in the east has been controlled by a pro-Russian government who claim to be independent from Moldova, in a territory known as Transnistria.
A trip to Transnistria feels like visiting the Soviet Union, decades after Eastern Europe’s largest superpower crumbled into 15 separate states.
Capital Tiraspol is littered with Lenin statues, communist monuments and hammer & sickle iconography. It feels very much like a time capsule from a world before mainstream technology. The people live very basic lives, which can perhaps best be seen in the Green Market, where locals do a lot of their grocery shopping.
Right on the border is Bender, a small city best known for Bender Fortress. I really enjoyed the fortress and barely saw another visitor there. It cost just over £2 (US$3) to enter which made it great value for a couple of hours and a fun thing to do alone, especially with the informative torture museum inside its walls. This spot displayed medieval torture devices with explanations on what each of them did.
Bender also had a fair few communist monuments. Although I would say Tiraspol was the better city overall.
Tiraspol is also where the Like Home Hostel can be found. This quirky spot was special due to all of the communist memorabilia lying around. Additionally, it was where I first saw Transnistria’s fascinating plastic tokens, an official currency which is becoming increasingly rare as tourists take them as souvenirs, with locals preferring traditional coins.
I met some interesting characters in Like Home Hostel. It certainly doesn’t attract the usual types of people you will meet on the backpacking circuit, but you will most likely leave with some memorable stories.
Day trips to Transnistria are possible, but I definitely recommend staying overnight for the best experience.
With Moldova also being one of the cheapest countries in Europe, it’s very easy to get around as a solo traveller. The minivans (marshrutkas) used in lieu of buses take a few minutes to get to grips with, but it’s easy once you work it out (just get on the bus and pay – there is no bus station to buy tickets).
This is a real gem of a country which I would recommend to anyone.
And yes, despite the frosty Moldova/Transnistria relations and the pro-Russian sentiments in the breakaway region, Moldova is currently very safe to visit.
3) Lithuania
Few places are better for a bit of solo Europe travel than the Baltics (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia). These three small countries share very similar histories, with all being used as political footballs between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, the latter being occupiers of all three up until the USSR collapsed in the early 1990s.
Anyway, you came here to read about travel so we’ll drop the history for now, and focus on why these countries are some of the best in Europe for solo travel.
I visited them on the tail end of a 10-month trip through Latin America and the Middle East (the 2022 World Cup explaining the drastic change in regions explored). I took the not-so-well-travelled path from Bahrain to Lithuania (via the UAE and Austria) before taking the bus up to the other two countries, and a ferry from Estonia to Finland.
This was incredibly easy to do and costs very little by Western European standards.
Lithuania is great because the capital Vilnius has so much to offer a solo tourist.
If we start with the accommodation, you can get a hostel bed in Vilnius for around £10-15 (US$13-17). You will need to add another £5/US$6 on top of this for a quality place to stay.
I slept at Jimmy Jumps Hostel which was a cosy spot with warm showers (much-needed if you visit in December) and a bar.
The city is cool because it’s very walkable and has a lot to do. Make the short trek up to Gediminas Castle Tower, for lovely views from above. There are even better views if you hike a little further up to the Three Crosses Monument.
Don’t miss out on Uzupis, the self-proclaimed “republic” with its own constitution and even passport. The whole thing is a bit of a joke, and Uzupis is really a bit of a hipster neighbourhood with some quirky art installations. It’s good fun to explore though, and is certainly unique compared to the cookie-cutter towns and cities across much of Europe.
Then there’s the history. I learnt a lot in the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights. This place documents Lithuania’s struggles against Nazi and (mostly) Soviet rule, and even shows some pretty grim places from the museum’s time as a prison such as squalid cells and a freezing-cold exercise yard. Not to mention the execution chamber…
On a lighter note, Vilnius has a lot of charm and many things to see which are all within walking distance of each other. The capital alone is one of the top European cities in my opinion.
It’s also very safe, making it an ideal destination for first time solo travellers.
4) Latvia
The second of the three Baltic countries, sandwiched between Estonia in the north and Lithuania in the south. Latvia’s capital Riga has a lot in common with Vilnius and Estonian capital Tallinn. It’s a very small yet charming city, which is easy to walk around.
The majority of people reading this will most likely be English-speaking westerners, who are warmly welcomed by the Latvian people. The country is fiercely pro-western, with the wounds still fresh from decades of Soviet occupation combined with a distrust of Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
You don’t even need to leave Riga to have a great time in Latvia.
For starters, there are plenty of hostels catering for tourists here. I wouldn’t normally stay at a hostel that costs double other reasonable-looking places, but on a recommendation from a friend I stayed at Cinnamon Sally Backpackers Hostel.
Some hostels just know how to cater towards a backpacking crowd, and this is one of them.
Clean rooms, warm showers and a reasonable breakfast spread were amongst the positives here, but what really made it special was the events put on which allowed guests to meet and mingle. Unfortunately, this also brought me into contact with a couple of obnoxious French guys just before France knocked us English out the World Cup…
Ah well, the overall sentiment was overwhelmingly positive and I’d thoroughly recommend staying there to any solo traveller looking to meet people in Riga. Oh, and the French guys were awful before a ball was even kicked, before you assume this comment was made out of bitterness.
Anyway, Riga has the House of the Blackheads, a guild-turned-museum which is cool to see from the outside. It was also the president’s residence for 4 years whilst the main presidential building (Riga Castle) was being renovated.
For an authentic sample of Latvian culture, check out Riga Central Market. In fact, markets are a fantastic cultural hotspot in any country, they give you a great insight into life for locals. It’s just the same here in Latvia.
And the country is also super cheap if you don’t get carried away with the beers (which quickly add up). I love Latvia and can’t wait to go back.
It’s even better at Christmas time with the Christmas markets, where locals dress up and perform traditional Latvian dances.
Riga alone is a great reason to visit Latvia.
5) Estonia
Take public transport from Latvia, and you can easily cross into neighbouring Estonia. Just like its Baltic allies, Estonia is one of the best places in Europe to travel solo.
The old town is particularly scenic, with turrets that wouldn’t look out of place in a fairytale castle.
And Tallinn boasts one of the world’s most beautiful religious buildings. Namely Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, this Russian-influenced building is absolutely stunning in the winter snow.
Estonia is number 5 on this list due to its slightly weaker offering in terms of good accommodation. There are a handful of hostels, but none which particularly stand out. Hopefully this changes in the coming months and years.
As with its neighbours, public transportation is frequent in Estonia, whilst the country is one of the safest destinations for male and female travellers alike.
I won’t go into too much more detail here as Estonia has a lot of similarities with Lithuania and Latvia. However Tallinn is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe for both solo and non-solo travellers to visit.
Is it Safe to Travel Solo in Europe?
Yes. I’ve been to around half of Europe’s countries as a solo traveller and never once had an issue. My worst travel horror stories all come from elsewhere, Europe is a fantastic place for beginner solo travellers.
The main general risk comes from petty theft and pickpocketing, often in major cities, usually in Western Europe. Paris, London and Milan are amongst the higher-risk cities that immediately come to mind.
Eastern Europe is undoubtably safer than Western Europe. Countries in the east generally have more homogeneous populations with more traditional values, whereas Western Europe has a lot more in the way of culture clashes.
Terror attacks are unlikely to effect you regardless of where you travel, but issues do occasionally occur in the likes of France, Germany and the UK, whilst being unheard of in eastern nations such as Moldova or Romania.
The obvious exception when we’re talking about safe countries in Europe is Ukraine. All other countries come with a very low chance of violent crime occurring.
Is Solo Travel in Europe Affordable?
Solo travel in Europe can be very cheap, depending on where you go. The Balkans, the Baltics and other parts of Eastern Europe are very affordable. Western Europe, Southern Europe, the islands and the Nordic states are definitely not.
Central Europe is more of a mixed bag with the likes of Slovakia, Poland and Hungary offering great value for money, whilst Austria and Switzerland will obliterate your budget in no time.
Europe is the easiest country to visit for solo travellers, and a good reason for this is the abundance of hostels almost everywhere.
In Saudi Arabia I found hostels to be non-existent in the three places I visited during my first trip there in 2022 (Medina, Jeddah and Riyadh) which meant spending a lot of money on low-quality hotels. This has not been an issue in any European country.
Even the Soviet-style pseudo-state Transnistria had hostels (and quite a good one at that). Likewise Moldova, Europe’s least-visited country does have a burgeoning hostel scene emerging. And yes, I’m fully aware that Transnistria is officially a part of Moldova before you rush to the comments!
I did a quick search for the cheapest accommodation in some capital cities across Europe on a set date two weeks after writing this post. At the bottom of this section I have created a map splitting Europe between cheap (red) and expensive (gold) countries. There’s a pretty clear geographical split, which I’ve used to define “eastern” and “western” Europe for the purpose of this research.
Here’s what I found:
| City (Western Europe) | Cheapest bed | City (Eastern Europe) | Cheapest bed |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | £24 (US$31) | Riga | £13 (US$17) |
| Rome | £45 (US$57) | Vilnius | £11 (US$14) |
| Paris | £19 (US$24) | Tallinn | £11 (US$14) |
| Lisbon | £16 (US$20) | Budapest | £8 (US$10) |
| Reykjavik | £26 (US$33) | Prague | £11 (US$14) |
| Oslo | £38 (US$48) | Bratislava | £17 (US$22) |
| Madrid | £8 (US$10) | Ljubljana | £21 (US$27) |
| Berlin | £31 (US$40) | Zagreb | £19 (US$24) |
| Bern | £47 (US$60) | Sarajevo | £8 (US$10) |
| Amsterdam | £45 (US$57) | Belgrade | £9 (US$11) |
As expected, Western Europe was far more expensive than Eastern Europe when we look at the overall picture.
There were some exceptions on both sides. Madrid had several cheap dorm beds available starting from £8. Whilst Zagreb, Ljubljana and Bratislava all brought the average price up for the east.
I’ve been to all three of those cities since 2023, and whilst they were certainly pricier than other Balkan destinations, all are relatively cheap in other areas (transport, food etc.).
Being British and a former Londoner myself, I can whinge for hours about how expensive just about everything is there, despite the surprisingly (relatively) affordable accommodation. Which shows that accommodation data alone isn’t enough to judge a city on.
Despite that, whilst this data focuses only on the capital, other parts of each country follow similar trends. Whilst often cheaper than the capital, cities across the likes of Germany, France and the UK for example are far pricier than cities in Lithuania, Bosnia Herzegovina and Serbia.
Pretty much every country in Western Europe costs more than its Eastern European counterpart when it comes to daily food costs, transport and activities.
So if you’re travelling on a low budget, Eastern Europe is the place to be!
How to Get Around Europe as a Solo Traveller
Regardless of whether you’re visiting Western European countries, or the beautiful east, Europe is by far the easiest continent to travel around.
Pretty much every country is excellently connected with the rest of the continent. There’s a large train network, cheap flights and numerous bus companies which can take you to practically every corner of Europe. Let’s have a look at each method below:
Cheap Flights
Europe is an absolute dream when it comes to cheap flights. If you wish to fly from Asia (excluding the Middle East) to South America then you’re probably looking at 4-figures (in GBP, USD or Euros) for return flights. Yikes.
If you want to fly between two European countries, then I have good news for you. It’s super cheap! In fact it costs just 2-digit sums in many cases.
A quick search for flights from the UK and I found return flights (one week apart) from just £24 (to France). Return flights were available for under £100 to no less than 18 European countries on the random day that I searched for.
A little tinkering with your search criteria and you will undoubtably discover even more budget gems.
Whilst the UK is one of the best countries for cheap flights, it isn’t much more expensive across the continent. Only unpopular Moldova didn’t really have any flights that I would consider “cheap”. The lowest prices were for a £132 trip to Rome.
Even other unfancied destinations such as Kosovo had a few options available for under £100.
By contrast, Brazil’s cheapest international return flights were £171 (to Chile), the USA’s were £119 (to Canada) and China’s were £112 (to Thailand). The only non-European countries I found with sub-£100 flights using the same search criteria were Saudi Arabia (to the UAE only for £76) and the UAE (to Kuwait for £28, Oman for £47 and Saudi Arabia for £85).
People love to malign them due to the many sneaky add-ons (which aren’t hard to avoid with a little effort) and stringent rules, but ultra-budget airlines such as Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet are a godsend for cheap travel.
Buses
Buses in Europe will connect wherever you are with pretty much every major city in neighbouring countries, and many other places halfway across the continent.
There are exceptions of course. As you could imagine, the Kiev to Minsk route is no longer doable (well it is, but will take you well over a day and involve crossing several borders). But for the most part, European travel is cheap and easy.
Don’t bother with buses for long distances. Flights are far more efficient and you won’t really save any money with a 24-hour+ bus journey. I can tell you from my South America experiences that a day on a bus is not fun.
If you only want to cross one or two borders however, a bus can be a great way to save some cash.
Just a quick bit of research for this post found some bargains such as Lisbon to Madrid for £9, Zagreb to Budapest for £22 and Pristina to Belgrade for £15.
Not every route I found was quite this cheap. Paris to Berlin for example cost £51. Although that’s still pretty good.
My favourite bus company in Europe is FlixBus. They cover thousands of destinations across almost every European country, even the small ones!
Buses in Europe are easy to book. You can often search online and will find an abundance of results where you can book tickets quickly and easily within minutes.
In some regions such as the Balkans, it can be slightly harder to book online. But you can always head to the main bus station in whatever city you are in and book in person.
Bus travel in Europe allows a lot of room for spontaneity. Which makes it perfect for us solo travel lovers!
Train
The third and final cheap and easy method for European travel is train. Now, this applies more to mainland Europe than the Nordic countries and islands.
As a Brit I can tell you that train travel in my homeland is a bad idea. It’s stupidly expensive, unless you book well in advance and get lucky with a good deal.
Fortunately, that isn’t the case across the rest of the continent.
A popular method of train travel across Europe is Interrail. This allows European residents to take train journeys across the continent for a set price covering a set time period. It works out as more cost-effective if you purchase tickets for a longer time period.
For example, a 3-month interrail pass costs £609 (US$778). In other words, just £6.77 (US$8.64) a day!
Non-European residents can purchase a Eurail pass instead for the same price.
Interrail trains cover almost every non-island country in Europe. The major exceptions are Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Plus a few micro states.
Even the UK and Ireland are covered on the Interrail map.
This is a great method of transport for solo travellers to see more of the continent, enjoy some cracking countries and make friends along the way!
Ironically, a solo traveller probably won’t be travelling alone after 3 months of interrailing.
Best Way to Find Accommodation as a Solo Traveller in Europe
Europe is level 1 in the game of travel. Everything is played on easy difficulty and you won’t face the visa complications of Africa, crime concerns associated with the Americas, or challenging weather that Asia sometimes brings.
Fortunately, finding somewhere to stay is also very beginner friendly in the world’s second-smallest continent (behind Oceania if you’re wondering).
These websites (which also have apps) are the best accommodation options for solo travellers:
Booking
The internet’s accommodation behemoth is generally my go-to when looking for a cheap place to stay. It has its limitations in Asia (where Agoda is often king), but it’s a superb resource for Europe travel.
Simply search for your destination, dates and “1 room 1 adult” (well, I’m assuming that’s the case since this is a solo travel article).
Then sort by price (lowest first) and choose some filters to find the best place to suit your needs.
I usually look for an 8+ rating (unless in a place with few options), a reasonable distance from the city centre, and sometimes other extras like breakfast. This method rarely returns bad results.
As a solo traveller you may want to tick “hostels” under “property type”. Although guesthouses and homestays can be good if you want to interact more with locals than other travellers.
Hostelworld
Hostels are king for solo travellers. There are no better ways of meeting fellow explorers (I would say hostels are the joint best method of doing this alongside group tours).
Fortunately for you, there’s a website dedicated purely to hostels.
Yes, you can find options with private rooms, but Hostelworld is generally used for finding a bargain-basement bed in a shared dorm room with a bunch of likeminded people.
Hostelworld often has some very good hostels that you can’t find on Booking (as well as many popular options which are on Booking).
Always check both sites to compare prices and places available.
One area in which I feel Hostelworld falls short compared to Booking is the ratings system.
On Booking you can choose a score /10 and write comments to provide further context. On Hostelworld you rate specific aspects /5 which can lead to misleading scores.
Let’s say the hostel you stay in was very secure, had friendly staff and was in a great location. Therefore you give it 5/5 for each of those factors. Now let’s say you found rats in your room and cockroaches in the kitchen.
A much bigger deal than minor problems like slow wifi right??
Therefore you give the hostel 1/5 for cleanliness.
However, this adds up to a total score of 16/20 or 8.0 on a rating scale out of 10.
This means that the hostel will receive a high rating on Hostelworld, even with such a major issue which really overshadows all the positives. In my opinion, this unfairly skews ratings and doesn’t give the overall picture of how good or bad a place is.
Regardless of this, Hostelworld is a necessary tool for the solo travel enthusiast to thrive. You will get a lot of use out of this app in Europe.
Couchsurfing
This once-free app allows travellers to stay with locals for minimal cost. More specifically, £2.51 (US$3.21) a month or £12.61 (US$16.10) a year depending on which package you opt for.
The idea is that you can get a genuine cultural experience with a local. Stay with a local, eat authentic local food, live like a local, participate in local activities that you may not otherwise have the chance to experience. On top of this, you get a free place to stay.
In return, the host will have the opportunity to make new friends, share their culture, and perhaps have the favour returned should they visit their guest’s country one day.
No money changes hands between host and guest here. But it’s a great way to meet locals on the road.
What Other European Countries Are Good to Visit Solo?
Honestly, almost every European country is good for solo travellers. There are exceptions, for example Monaco which is mega expensive, has little of interest from a travel perspective, and has zero hostel scene.
But most European countries have a lot to offer.
North Macedonia is another personal favourite, with Skopje offering a lot in terms of things to see, cheap places to eat and a growing hostel scene.
Party favourites such as Hungary and the Czech Republic attract a lot of outgoing extroverted types of people. In fact Budapest is one of the top cities on the continent to visit.
If you travel on a higher budget, then the likes of incredible Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and the UK will keep you entertained for a very long time.
In fact, expensive microstates such as Monaco are the only countries where I would say going solo is a disadvantage. No partner to share room and taxi costs with, no hostels to offer a cheap place to stay, and only limited activities on offer, particularly from a solo standpoint.
Useful Apps for Solo Travellers in Europe
Travel has never been easier thanks to smartphones exploding in popularity across the last decade. Old school backpackers of decades gone by may not like it, but apps are some of the best travel resources and they are here to stay. They’re invaluable when it comes to traversing the globe.
Here I will share all the apps I find to be incredibly useful on the road, and explain what they do.
Accommodation
I won’t go into too much detail on the first three because I already did that above. But here are the essential apps you need:
- Booking – Best all-round option and best for private rooms including hotels.
- Hostelworld – Best for shared hostel rooms
- Couchsurfing – Best for meeting locals and sharing experiences. Also the best budget option
- Airbnb – This app specialises in apartments and staying in people’s properties for a short time. Sometimes with them there, sometimes without. If you want your own personal cooking space, then Airbnb is king. Best for recreating a home-style environment
Transport
The apps that help you make your way from A to B. Some of these are invaluable, especially around Europe where apps work as they should and things are well-connected.
- Skyscanner – The Lionel Messi or Tiger Woods of transport apps. Skyscanner is used to book flights, and one of its best features is allowing you to choose your target destination as “anywhere”. This means you can find some real bargain flights to places you may not previously have considered. The app aggregates flights from elsewhere and you can sort by price before going to external sites such as Trip or Expedia to complete your booking. I love Skyscanner and would recommend this to anyone looking for bargain flights
- Hopper – There’s only really one reason why I use Hopper. It tracks flight data and advises whether you should book now or later. It advises whether prices can be expected to rise or fall before your trip. It doesn’t have data for everything however, and works best for more mainstream routes. But it can be a useful tool to have
- Rideshare apps (Uber, Bolt and more) – These are absolute musts for on-the-ground transport. Avoid being ripped off and scammed by street taxis (unfortunately a very common occurrence) and use apps that give you a set price up front which tells you how much it will cost to get from A to B. These apps are much safer than street taxis and have been essential in my travels to 70+ countries. Drivers are generally vetted and can be rated by customers. Uber works in these cities whereas Bolt is available here. Some countries will have their own equivalent apps which may work when these two aren’t available
Navigation
- Google Maps – The most important navigation app by far. You can download offline maps (do this whilst you still have an internet connection), and you can work out how long it takes to get between two places by car, public transport, walking or flying. It will even tell you which buses/trains you need and break down each leg of the journey. I had many issues with Google Maps in South Korea, but none at all in Europe
- Maps.Me – Formerly the best offline maps app. Now it no longer has unlimited free maps. It still has its uses, but this should now only be used as a backup option if for whatever reason, Google Maps isn’t doing it for you. You get up to 10 maps for free now
Overcoming Language Barriers
- Google Translate – The one and only translation app you need. I wrote a detailed guide on using it which you should check out for more information. But to summarise, you can translate languages ranging from the common (French, German, Spanish) to those using non-latin script (Hindi, Burmese, Korean) to the obscure (Odia, Sesotho, Kinyarwanda). The Google Lens feature lets you take pictures of anything written in a foreign language and translates it for you. I find this feature works best with latin languages. I had a hard time translating Korean… The other notable feature is voice translation. Google Translate is essential on the road. Everyone speaks English in major Western European capitals, but not so much in less touristy parts of Eastern Europe such as Moldova for example
Currency Conversions
- GlobeConvert – If you want to know how much money you should be getting, this is a great app for checking. I am writing this from Mongolia and can see that US$1 is worth 3,450 Mongolian tugrik. As a general rule of thumb, expect to receive 5% less than the amount of money GlobeConvert suggests you should be getting. This is the case pretty much anywhere across the world. The app also does other conversions (length, temperature, weight and much more) but currency is the only one that’s particularly useful whilst travelling
Connectivity
- Airalo – Staying connected abroad has never been easier. Airalo allows you to purchase eSIM cards which can be used to access the internet without going down the old school route of buying physical cards which can be a lot of hassle. The downside of Airalo is that it can be a bit expensive. You have to weigh up whether you want cheap (physical SIMs) or easy (Airalo). For digital nomads, internet is essential. For travellers, it’s really up to you as to whether or not you feel the need to stay connected. Europe is the easiest continent to cover without internet
Country Tracking
This is more for fun rather than being useful, but I decided to throw it in anyway! I love apps where you can track the countries you’ve been to, and here are some of my favourites:
- Been – Sometimes the most simplistic can be the most satisfying. Simply type in the countries you’ve been to and it will display them as orange on an otherwise grey map. A more recent update allows you to track number of visits, and dates visited. Plus paid features add a lot more options. But really you can have a lot of fun just by using the app in its rawest form. It recognises 195 countries
- Mark O’ Travel – This app tracks 330 TCC (Traveler’s Century Club) regions. Not just countries but other autonomous regions with complex politics and geography. The UAE is split into 7 Emirates, there are 7 recognised Antarctic territories, and the likes of Hong Kong, Macau, Western Sahara, Greenland and Transnistria are all recognised as separate entities here. It’s like a more in-depth equivalent to Been
- Skratch – Another simple one that “scratches” off countries as you visit them. Not as good as the others but it’s still easy to use and fun for a few seconds at a time
- NomadMania – Much more in depth than the others. This one is for serious travellers and it ranks members based on how many places they have been to. They recognise 1,301 regions across the world based on culture, attractions, territory, population and more. This is the app for serious travellers
Is There Anything Else I Should Know Before Travelling Solo in Europe?
Yes. Find a bank card that does not charge fees for foreign transactions and withdrawals. If you are from the UK then one of the big two is Monzo. They do not charge for card transactions and withdrawals are free within the European Economic Area (EEA) and 3% above £200 monthly outside it.
The other big fish in the travel banking world is Revolut. It offers similar features to Monzo, although only a 2% fee above £200 per month in ATM withdrawals, albeit without free EEA withdrawals.
Having a good travel banking card is one of my top travel tips! I spent around £100 (US$128) in fees the first time I went backpacking without one (during a 3-month Asia trip). By switching to a proper travel card, I was able to save this money (and much more) on future adventures.
Your country may have different cards available with varying terms. Be sure to do some research before committing to anything.
Get this right and you’ll be ready to make the most of your solo trip in Europe!
