Cape Town Solo: Plan Smart, Then Go Enjoy It

Cape Town rewards a bit more upfront planning than most cities on this list, and that planning pays off enormously. The city's neighborhoods vary widely in safety, so knowing where you're staying and how you're getting between places matters more here than in somewhere like Ljubljana or Seoul.

The City Bowl, V&A Waterfront, and Sea Point are the areas most solo travelers base themselves in, all walkable during the day, all with a visible security presence, and all a reasonable Uber ride from the city's main sights. Avoid walking alone after dark outside these areas, and use Uber rather than street taxis, standard advice that locals themselves follow.

Table Mountain is the obvious centerpiece, go early for the cable car to beat both the crowds and the afternoon cloud cover locals call “the tablecloth,” which can shut the whole thing down. On a clear day, the summit views stretch from the Atlantic to the city bowl to Robben Island.

The Cape Peninsula day trip, down to Cape Point and the penguin colony at Boulders Beach, is worth doing as an organized tour if you're not renting a car, both for the logistics and because some of the coastal route passes through areas better navigated with local knowledge.

Cape Town's food and wine scene is genuinely world class and genuinely affordable by Western standards. A tasting at a Constantia valley winery, some of the oldest in the New World, runs a fraction of equivalent experiences in Napa or Bordeaux, and a full dinner at a top restaurant in the City Bowl rarely crosses what you'd pay for a mid-range meal back home.

Done with the right neighborhood choices and transport habits, Cape Town becomes one of the most spectacular solo trips available anywhere, coastline, mountains, and food all in one compact city.