According to a report from popular travel tool and website, Kayak, the top destination in the entire nation for those traveling alone is none other than Washington, D.C.!
The report highlighted that roughly 50% of Americans plan to travel alone this year and approximately 6 out of 10 will dine as a party of one, which means solo traveling is actually quite popular!
Why is Washington, D.C. the best destination for solo travelers in the United States?
According to Kayak’s report, the final rating or ‘solo score’ was not even close when determining which city was the best place for solo travelers!
Washington, D.C. had a perfect 100% score and the second best solo travel destination, Boston, only had a score of 75%!
The report’s methodology focused on several factors to calculate its final ‘solo score’, which broke down as follows with D.C.’s respective score in each category:
- Number of museums, theaters, and concert halls per 100,000 – 21.17
- Avg Hotel Rating for solo traveler – 7.5
- Spend per meal for a solo traveler – $47
- Avg hotel nightly rate for a solo traveler – $275
- Avg round-trip flight price – $362
- Crime rate per 100,000 – 4230.7
The data regarding hotel costs and ratings were collected from Kayak’s website, data on price per meal in each city was sourced from OpenTable, number of museums, theatres, & concert halls was sourced from OpenStreetMap, and crime rate information was sourced from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report.
What are the best things to do in D.C. when visiting solo?
Regardless of your travel plans, even if you only have 24 hours in D.C., there are so many fun things that you can enjoy all on your own!
Whether you want to soak up some culture at one of D.C.’s many incredible free museums, traverse the district to see some of the capital’s iconic monuments, or experience D.C.’s incredible food scene which has been home to the best chef in America for two years in a row, you truly cannot go wrong.
If you forced us to ask what are a few can’t-miss things, we’d recommend the following if you have the time to do so:
- Visit the United States National Arboretum and see the Capitol Columns.
- Get a free tour of the U.S. Capitol to learn about the highs and lows of American history.
- Go to the Lincoln Memorial – at least take the time to walk past what many consider to be the most stunning monument in the district.
- Walk the National Mall at night to see the monuments and museums in a unique light.
- Head to the National Zoo to see the Giant Pandas (once they arrive).
There are a million ways you can enjoy this city, which might just be why this spot is such an ideal destination for solo travelers!