Which of these places would you recommend for me to visit next year as a solo explorer?

I recommend Istanbul, Hong Kong and the Blue Lagoon of Reyjkjavik. I have been to most of the places you list and these were my favorites.

The Blue Lagoon is fine, but there is so much more to Iceland than that. I have been many times and we have a few more trips planned. A solo trip there would be great, IMO. If you go to Iceland, it is good you are planning ahead as most lodgings book out 9-12 months in advance.

"worth visiting" is very subjective, as I personally think every place (except those in an active state of war/conflict) is worth visiting solo. What are your interests? Each of your selections has a wide variety of activities, attractions, etc. and advice will differ if you're only interested in art, for example. Are you fluent in another language besides English? That could affect your enjoyment of a country with fewer English speaking people. How long is the trip, when are you going, and where are you flying from? That is part of my own calculus when determining where to go next - if I only have a week, I'm not likely to pick a place that the travel time will take up several days, or that might have minimum daylight hours because I am going in winter time.

What a huge variety of choices! Are there any reasons why you picked these places? It's impossible for a bunch of strangers on the internet to know what is "worth it" to you.

Are you serious about going to Russia, or did you mean Warsaw?

I agree about Iceland. Blue Lagoon is a very small part of the experience of visiting that beautiful country. If you go to Iceland, plan at least a two week trip and you can either sell-drive or take a tour.

I found Mexico City very easy to visit as a solo traveler, also easy to get to from the US, and relatively inexpensive especially compared to Amsterdam, Germany, and Japan. Mexico City has great museums, excellent food, and is easy to get around. There are opportunities for some day trips.

I had tentative plans to got to Brazil a few years ago for a conference that got cancelled during Covid. When I was looking into it, it seemed to me, from what I read at the time, that Rio was not going to be easy for a solo traveler. But this is just an impression.

Thanks for all of your great advice.

To give you some more info
I like to travel max 1-9 days
I like to leave on a Friday and return on Friday so I have the weekend to recover before going back to my Job on Monday
I like to get lost, use Google GPS to find spots, ask locals and start conversations with strangers
So I prefer to walk, or take public transit (trams, trains, buses) as I did in Amsterdam and in Berlin
I'm not into being in a car or isolated from people. I would go crazy

I'm into the food scene, historical landmarks, a cool social scene in the day, markets like the Albert Cuyp Market in Amsterdam

Not into bars, clubs.

Hope that helps

Yeah I think MX city, Hong Kong, Iceland sound great
I also was told Krakow or Warsaw are nice places or if not, any places in E. Europe you recommend?
I also saw some video on Moscow and it's beautiful.
We have a lot of Russians in Toronto and i've had great dealings with them so wouldn't mind going to Moscow.

Actually I think for next year maybe Reykjavik, Istanbul, Mexico city, or Poland or some place in Eastern Europe
I wonder why no one recommended Rio De Janeiro?

Given your list to undertake as a solo traveler, I would choose Hong Kong and Poland.

Istanbul would meet your criteria

I would choose Iceland and Krakow. Check out the Sky Lagoon as well as the Blue Lagoon. There are so many places to see in Iceland! Just spent a week in Krakow and loved it. Stay in Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter. Lots of students, cool cafes and restaurants and public transport was easy. Everyone spoke English, so this is a major plus for visitors.

Moscow with all the travel warnings? https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/russia

Istanbul is very easy for solo traveler. Many direct flights from US to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines can be a real time saver.

I think Blue lagoon alone is not enough to make Iceland a destination. Are there other things there that interest you?

I am seconding the above as regards Hong Kong. It is not the place it was a few years back. Very sad.

Thanks I'll do a bit more research and shortlist my list and tell you reasons why I want to go to the destinations to get your feedback. I want the trips in the books(flight, accommodate) within 2 weeks.

Great advice so far !

Thanks

None of the listed ones because it seems that we have different destination preferences.

Good luck for your journeys.

I have been to all the places you listed except Rio De Janeiro. I have avoided it largely because of the outrageous visa requirements for Americans. Still, I have read that Brazil has a temporary waiver of the visa requirements currently. Still, I would not put is at the top of my list.

Cartagena, stopped there while on a cruise and did a nice local tour. It was good, but I would put it at the bottom of my list.

Didn't know there was a Moscow, POLAND, but, if you go to Poland, go to Krakow. Still, I would pick another on your list.

Two places you list would be among the cheaper to visit, that being Mexico City and Peru. Mexico is a very dangerous place in about half the country since the Drug Cartels virtually control vast areas of the country. Still, you could do Mexico City, just be careful where you go. I recommend taking a tour and not missing the nearby pyramids north of the city.

Peru would be a wonderful choice. Spend a few days in Lima and then take a tour of Cuzco, the sacred valley and Machu Picchu. It is amazing. We used Peru Agency for our tour and it was wonderful

Istanbul is another great place to visit, much to see there. Plan to spend 5-6 days there.

I would not go to Hong Kong, and fail to visit China. It is a long way to fly just for Hong Kong. It is an interesting city, but I would not pick it for your choice, since the city is expensive and the flights there would be long and expensive.

The Blue Lagoon is great, but if you go to Iceland, do more on the Island. We did the Blue Lagoon for a day and then a week long ring road tour. Still, Iceland is expensive.

Ireland is great and we have 10 day tour with Gate 1 Travel booked for July, cost is about $2000 per person.

In summary, I would recommend Peru as first choice, but consider Istanbul or Ireland as well.

^^^ I don't know about Peru as a relaxing spot to explore. I am perhaps more conservative than some as I generally travel independent, solo female, no tour group. I have visited multiple "developing countries" without concern. However, they did not have the levels of recent disruption that has existed in Peru. I know that I would currently hesitate to tour Peru on my own (as I assume the OP is considering). The OP can google for examples of strikes, demonstrations, etc. over the past year if interested. My concerns may not be those of the OP or others.

Canadian Peru Travel Advice:
https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/peru

Just throwing this out, obviously based on my personal bias. Others are free to disagree and the OP can certainly make their own decision!

WIth all of your great feedback, I think I'm really liking Krakow, Poland, Istanbul, and Lima/Peru

I'll do Iceland like Reykjavik once I figure out a few more things I want to see as a preliminary research
So far I just know about blue Lagoon Pools because a guy on an flightradar24 subreddit said his aircraft did an emerg landing
there as it's one of the aurhorized landing spots besides gander and Azores and Shannon IE if there's an issue on a flight across N. Atlantic and he spent time there before hopping on next flight. Besides that that's all I know.

Definitely read up on Iceland as the lagoons are great, but there is so much more to the country! I recently got back from my 7th trip, so read some of my trip reports to give you an idea.

Thanks will do

i thought about what sort of place I want to go to, here are some additional details
I like places with a relatively younger population, single, like Amsterdam
Lots of squares, markets, (central station area, docks in Amsterdam)
that bring people together and promote socializing.

I'm 49, but in great shape, look in my late 30s and love to meet/engage complete strangers and ain't shy about it.
and have a passion and prowess for cold approach, relationship building.
That's why I love solo travel.
Having said that, I would prefer a place, city, town that through it's architecture, squares, streets, people promote being social.

I hope these places recommended are that and not like boring ancient towns with an aging population or all full of familes and couples only.

I will of course do more research and watch vloggers on Youtube
or watch those 4K walking videos so I can see what the social character is like before I go but of course what you've told me here is also invaluable info. Thanks again

Forgot to ask what about places like Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines?
Wanted to go to Viet/Thai

Thailand - check places including Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Phuket - might fit the recent criteria you’ve posted. Also, Siem Reap in Cambodia. You might also consider Bali.

I don’t know Viet Nam.

krakow looks cool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1wX8CkRTTk

Also I hear lots of good stuff about Lima Peru but not so good stuff about mexico or columbia. Why is that?
Is that mainly due to high crime rates
I live in Toronto so used to holding my own and ain't afraid of unruly characters as I'm physically, mentally tough as nails and know how to hold my own, fight, etc
Still I don't want to go into such areas where I will have to be in/around bad people,
So are you saying that Columbia, MX are bad places with criminals, gangs everywhere?
Why do I hear of people saying Columbia is beautiful and same with Mexico city then?
Just curious.
TBH I'm more into Euro/Asian destinations than tropical or S.American but just checking
Also what about Rio De Janerio any feedback on that from someone whose been there?

Once again I'm single, social, confident and love to meet people and I heard Rio is an awesome place
for socializing, going on the beach, outdoor , pedestrian squares, markets, cafe's, etc. or is it all fill with the undercurrent of society and not a good place?

Good that Asia is not out of consideration. I prefer Europe myself as first priority but that's immaterial.

What about Korea or Singapore? Safety is a non-issue in Singapore and, as for language, English is the administrative language.

pushthemax,
Chile (Santiago, Rapa Nui, and Tierra del Fuego),
Turkey (Istanbul and Cappadocia)
Sicily (So much to see, so much to eat!)

WIth all of your great feedback, I think I'm really liking Krakow, Poland, Istanbul, and Lima/Peru
Leave on a Friday and return on a Friday.

Istanbul is great but difficult to pair with anything over 8 days including transportation days.

Krakow you could do with a stop in Warsaw I guess.

Friday leave the US
Saturday arrive mid day
Sunday Krakow
Monday Krakow
Tuesday 2.5 hour mid day train Krakow to Warsaw
Wednesday Warsaw
Thursday Warsaw
Friday Return Home.

See not much time.

I was doing more research and watching travel vloggers and 4K walk videos and what do you guys think of Barcelona? Krakow is nice but it looks dirty and the buildings look run down, rusted, corroded and kinda like Berlin to me. I like more clean cities that have preserved some more cleanliness around even their old historic landmarks.

Andrew (webmaster) please send me a PM reminding me of the "exceedingly polite" forum requirement.