Toronto named most popular solo travel destination in the world

Believe it or not, Toronto was just crowned the #1 solo travel destination in the world, according to a new report that analyzed 12 months of bookings across the 150 most-visited cities globally.

Global free tour platform, GuruWalk, recently ranked the 50 cities worldwide with the highest proportion of solo travellers in 2026. The platform analyzed bookings recorded between June 2025 and June 2026, then identified the cities with the highest total booking volume, and finally, calculated the proportion of single-traveller bookings.

The report found that over half (50.5 per cent) of all free tour bookings in Toronto were made by a single traveller, the highest rate out of any other city included in the ranking, including every major European capital.

"Its extraordinary cultural diversity, walkable neighbourhoods (Kensington Market, Distillery District, Chinatown) and welcoming reputation for independent travellers make it the world's #1 solo travel destination according to this data," the platform writes.

"Toronto is consistently ranked among the world's most multicultural cities, and that same quality of accessibility and openness that defines daily life there appears to translate directly into its appeal for solo travellers from around the world."

Surprisingly, Toronto was the only North American city included in the top 15. While New York City does rank 18th globally for total solo traveller bookings through the platform, in proportional terms, solo travellers only account for 26 per cent of all bookings in the city.

The majority of the global cities to appear on the top 20 list are located in Asia and South America, representing nine and four out of the most popular destinations, respectively.

These are the top 20 destinations around the world for solo travellers, according to GuruWalk:

1. Toronto, Canada
2. Santa Ana, El Salvador
3. São Paulo, Brazil
4. Taipei, Taiwan
5. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
6. La Paz, Bolivia
7. Hong Kong
8. Skopje, North Macedonia
9. Singapore
10. Belgrade, Serbia
11. Seoul, South Korea
12. Bangkok, Thailand
13. Shanghai, China
14. Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
15. Quito, Ecuador
16. Chiang Mai, Thailand
17. Vilnius, Lithuania
18. Beijing, China
19. Santiago, Chile
20. Melbourne, Australia