Maddie Ashby is toying with the idea of booking a third solo trip to Ireland.
The full-time solo traveller is “not at all surprised” that Dublin was ranked as Tripadvisor’s number one solo travel destination for 2026.
A former software developer, Ashby first visited the Irish capital in January 2024 and booked a follow-up trip eight months later.
“I just missed the city so much that I came back in August of that year on a whirlwind trip, for 48 hours.”
Ashby who hails from Virginia just outside of Washington, DC says that Dubliners are “very lucky to live in a beautiful city with stunning architecture and a bright, bubbling atmosphere”.
Her highlights included Trinity College, where she enjoyed picnics and the Book Of Kells, as well as Temple Bar “to see live music”.
In terms of the cost of visiting Dublin, she says it is more expensive than most European cities, but does not think it is prohibitively so.
“I think compared to DC it’s similar [in cost],” she says.
“In August I found hostel rates to be more expensive but I think if you are smart about budgeting, cook meals at the hostel and don’t buy too many drinks out, then it’s doable,” she explains.
Maddie Ashby in Dublin’s Temple Bar in 2024
Personal safety was not an issue for Ashby, who says “I absolutely felt safe all over Ireland but especially in Dublin”.
Nadya Trujillo, who has just completed a master’s in user experience design, agrees that Dublin felt safe as a solo travelling tourist.
“You always have to be aware of your surroundings when you are solo travelling, especially if you are a woman,” she says, adding “Dublin felt like one of the safest cities that I have ever been to”.
“One of the first streets I walked through across from Dublin Castle had all these international flags hanging across it. As an Asian-American, it felt instantly welcoming”.
Trujillo, who does not enjoy the taste of alcohol, was pleasantly surprised that Dublin “was not just a destination for drinking like in the Temple Bar area”.
Instead, she enjoyed “seeing the cultural and architectural side of things”, adding that her personal favourite attractions were Dublin Castle, St Patrick’s Cathedral and Marsh’s Library.
Nadya Trujillo in Marsh’s Library, Dublin, in November 2025
She says that although food and drink can be expensive, “the attractions were very cheap”, with Marsh’s Library only costing €4 for a student ticket.
Trujillo also saved money by not paying for public transport, finding the city “compact and easy to navigate”.
“Everything was walkable” she says. “I didn’t take public transport once other than from the airport into Dublin”.
Trujillo would “100 per cent agree” with Tripadvisor’s ranking of Dublin as a top solo travel destination. “If anyone is looking for a place to solo travel, Dublin is a great place to start”.
Model and actor Gabe Escobar is a seasoned solo traveller, saying he has “never travelled with another person” since he was 18.
The 23-year-old found Dublin “easily navigable” as a solo traveller.
In part he believes this is because there is no language barrier for Americans visiting, but also that there is “decent public transportation, people who are very friendly and loads of hostels to choose from”.
Hostels can be hit or miss, according to Escobar, who says “I’ve stayed in many bad hostels in my life and you just roll with the punches”.
However, he had an unfortunate mishap one day after spraining his ankle on the Howth cliff walk before travelling to Cork city.
“I was limping, it was raining, and my hostel was at the top of a hill which I trudged up with my backpack,” he says. When he got there he found the hostel to be “cramped and smelt terrible”. “Hostels are a gamble‚ and I gambled and lost that day.”
Aside from this hiccup Escobar believes “it makes complete sense” that Dublin has been recognised as a top solo travel destination.