Hanoi tops trending cities worldwide for solo travel: UK travel company

Hanoi has been ranked first in the list of the top 20 trending cities for solo travel while Ho Chi Minh City ranked sixth, according to a report by UK-based adventure travel company Explore Worldwide.

By analysing Google search data from the last two years, the company has determined the places that are seeing the biggest uplift in solo travel online searches.

Hanoi saw a 946% rise in year-on-year solo travel searches, followed by Bangkok (816%), China's Taipei (692%), Seoul (533%), and Phnom Penh (500%).

Ho Chi Minh City ranked sixth with a solo travel search increase of 480%.

The rest of the top 10 were Kuala Lumpur, Perth, Singapore, and Sydney.

According to the Explore Worldwide, when in Hanoi – an ancient and vibrant city, solo travellers can dive into the colourful busy streets of the Old Quarter, rubbing shoulders with the locals in a maze of narrow streets filled with shoppers, traders, cafes and restaurants.

“Hanoi explodes with history and culture, from the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum which allows visitors to pay respects to the man who led the country to independence, through to the Temple of Literature dedicated to the teachings of Confucius,” it said.

Interest in solo travel in Hanoi has jumped up a massive 946% over the last year. Vietnam opened its doors to tourists post-COVID in early 2021, but Google searches around ‘Hanoi solo travel’ at this time were virtually non-existent. However, in the last 12 months there has been a steady month-on-month increase for ‘Hanoi solo travel’ searches – and whilst the number of searches is still not super high compared to other cities, the leap in interest marks Hanoi out as a trending ‘one-to-watch’ city for solo adventure.

Meanwhile, Explore Worldwide called Ho Chi Minh City as "the busiest city in Vietnam", where there is an interesting blend of tradition and modernity. Recommended places in the city include the Cu Chi tunnels, taking a boat ride and dining on the rooftop of a skyscraper with panoramic views of the city in just one day.

Explore Worldwide has more than 40 years of experience organising adventure tours to more than 100 countries. More than 98% of customers polled said that they would return to book Explore Worldwide for their next trip.