Wander Women Index 2020 - The Best Destinations for Women Travelling Solo

Our annual Wander Women Index that reveals the best destinations for women travelling solo, is back! In 2019 we first launched our insightful Wander Women Index, which guided women around the world on the best destinations for their solo travel adventures.

After the phenomenal success of our first Wander Women Index report, we have decided to update and re-release the report for 2020 with even more information to help all the women wanderers across the globe plan for their 2020 travels.

In our Wander Women Index 2020 we have taken into account many of the factors from our 2019 report and updated this data with the most up to date information, including safety, women’s rights, adventure, culture, Instagrammability and volunteering opportunities. We have also expanded our research to take into account eco travel - an ever-growing concern for travellers in 2020 - tourism infrastructure, and a specific look at which countries have been named as the best hotspots for solo travellers.

Coming out in the top spot in our Wander Women Index 2020 is New Zealand, which ranked top thanks to high levels of safety and a well-developed tourism infrastructure; a clear mission of supporting women’s rights; an abundance of adventure options; great eco-tourism solutions, and a reputation for being a top solo travel choice.

Read on below for the full results:

New Zealand came out on top, climbing 13 places since 2019. The country took the top spot, having been named the second safest country in the entire world according to the Global Peace Index. New Zealand also has some of the best women’s rights in the world ranking sixth in the Global Gender Gap Index and has a plethora of adventure options to enjoy, from extreme sports in Queensland to geysers in Rotorua, and glaciers on the West Coast.

It was interesting to see the Netherlands ranking in second place, a notable jump from ranking at 29 in the previous year’s report. This can be attributed to its rising status as a solo travel hotspot, its well-developed tourism infrastructure and a keen passion for giving back to the community - meaning plenty of opportunities to get involved in volunteer work while travelling.

France remained high for the second year running, only dropping one spot down to third. The stylish country which offers everything from city explorations in Paris, to beach chic in Southern France, and hiking in the Alps is a perfect spot for a solo travel adventure.

South Africa, Indonesia and Japan were among the top-ranking Ampersand destinations, and we definitely agree they all make excellent destinations for the solo female traveller.

Beautiful South Africa offers everything from wine tasting to the wilderness of safari - making for a varied and adventurous travel experience, while Indonesia is revered for its beautiful beaches and the magnificent Mount Bromo. Japan once again ranked high in our Wander Women Report, as one of the safest countries in the world and a place packed full of culture - especially having just hosted the Rugby World Cup and being set to host the 2020 Olympics. Japan was also found to be the most Instagrammed country in the world - so definitely one for those snap happy travellers.

Methodology

To conduct our research, we analysed the following factors:

• Top rated destinations for solo travel
• Women’s rights
• Eco Travel
• Culture
• Adventure
• Volunteering
• Instagrammability
• Safety
• Tourism Infrastructure

Using the sources listed below, we scored every country for each of these categories out of 5 (5 being the best). We then double weighted the scores for solo travel and women’s rights, which we deemed the most important factors. We then added the scores across all categories together to get the final WWI score for each country. Where there was a draw in the total score, we used the solo travel rating as the deciding factor.

Note: We did not include countries where travel is not currently advised due to safety issues or natural disasters. Countries with restricted data available were also not included. Full data set available upon request.

Sources:
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/best-solo-travel
http://visionofhumanity.org/app/uploads/2019/07/GPI-2019web.pdf
http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2020/the-global-gender-gap-index-2020/results-and-analysis/
http://reports.weforum.org/travel-and-tourism-competitiveness-report-2019/rankings/#series=CULTHERITGSITE
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/adventure-rankings
https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/about-us-publications/caf_wgi_10th_edition_report_2712a_web_101019.pdf
http://reports.weforum.org/travel-and-tourism-competitiveness-report-2019/rankings/#series=EOSQ159
http://reports.weforum.org/travel-and-tourism-competitiveness-report-2019/rankings/#series=TTCI.C
https://www.instagram.com/