How to Avoid Crowds While Traveling: 15 Effective Strategies from a Frequent Traveler

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Don’t you just hate when you arrive at an attraction or landmark, only to be bombarded with about a hundred other people with the same idea?

You see, I personally don’t mind crowds when traveling — especially as solo traveler. If anything, they make me feel less physically alone, which I’m all here for.

But the problem arises when the crowds are so big that they’re overwhelming and difficult to navigate. I think I prefer more moderate crowds for a nice balance, you know?

If you feel the same way, this post is for you. I’m going to share 15 tips on how to avoid crowds while traveling.

Because crowds can get really annoying, and potentially make you want to go back to your hotel, curdle into a ball, and question all of your life decisions up until this point.

Ready, friend? Let’s go!

THIS POST IS ALL ABOUT HOW TO AVOID CROWDS WHILE TRAVELING.

WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO AVOID CROWDS IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Like I mentioned in the introduction, I don’t mind moderate crowds. It feels nice to be surrounded by other people when I’m traveling alone. It makes me feel less alone, and I’ll do whatever I can to make that happen.

But sometimes crowds get hectic, and you’ll find yourself wanting to leave. Here are some reasons to AVOID crowds:

• wait times are longer
• you’ll spend a lot more time there than expected or needed
• you’ll have to push through loads of people, whom sometimes might be drenched in sweat
• crowds can make you feel more anxious
• less-crowded places tend to feel more authentic and local-esque

IS IT POSSIBLE TO COMPLETELY AVOID CROWDS?

This is a good question. I don’t necessarily think it’s either possible or smart to avoid crowds altogether.

I’ve got to say it again: moderate crowds are a good middle-ground. There aren’t so many people where you feel like an ant, but there’s still enough people to make you feel less alone.

Especially in extremely touristy places like NYC and Paris, I don’t think it’s ever possible to completely avoid crowds. These destinations are popular essentially the entire year, so you probably won’t get lucky and show up to an attraction or landmark and barely see anyone there.

Even if you tried to do that five years ago, you probably still wouldn’t have succeeded.

In slightly less popular destinations and during the off-peak travel season, you’ll definitely see less crowds. But even then, it’s not like it’ll be a ghost town everywhere you go.

There will still be locals there, along with other like-minded travelers who visit during the off-peak season.

HOW TO AVOID CROWDS WHILE TRAVELING

START YOUR DAY EARLY

Start your day early. The earlier you start the day, the better.

Now, I’m not saying you need to get up at the crack of dawn… no, you’re on vacation and you probably hate the idea of that. I know I do!

But you’ll certainly want to get up and get out a bit earlier than other tourists. This will help you get an early start on the day and avoid running into tourists who visit attractions and restaurants during busier hours.

These are usually a bit later in the day since people are more well-rested and ready to tackle the day.

END YOUR DAY SOMEWHAT EARLY

End your day somewhat early. I say “somewhat” because you don’t necessarily have to call it quits at a certain time. You just need to get back to your accommodation by a specific time.

VISIT PLACES DURING OFF-PEAK HOURS

Visit places during off-peak hours. If you didn’t know, many attractions have really busy hours. Most of the time, it’s between 12-5PM.

So what are you going to do? Plan your itinerary around this timeframe. Try to only visit these touristy spots when there aren’t as many people.

But don’t forget this could also mean showing up LATER than everyone else.

For example, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in NYC isn’t as busy at night since most people visit in the morning and afternoon. That’d be a great time to spend a few hours wandering through the galleries.

TRAVEL DURING THE SHOULDER SEASON (OR OFF-PEAK SEASON IF YOU WANT)

Travel during the shoulder season (or off-peak season if you want). The shoulder season is the time period where a destination is in the “middle-ground” for tourism.

There aren’t as many tourists as the more popular months, but there’s more than the least popular months. I find this to be the BEST time to visit practically any destination.

Not only is it less crowded than the busier months (usually in summer), but it’s also a bit more affordable since there aren’t as many tourists. Consider this a “travel hack” if you please — I think it’s a pretty good one!

To figure out the shoulder season of a destination, simply do a quick Google search. It’ll be something like this: “Miami shoulder season” or “when is the shoulder season for Italy?”

I also discuss this in my seasonal breakdowns of all the destinations I cover, so you can find that information in those guides.

TRAVEL DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR

Travel during the school year. Obviously, summer is a popular travel season for many reasons, with one being that students are out of school for a few months. If you want to avoid those extra travelers, I highly recommend traveling when they’re still in school.

TRAVEL DURING THE WEEK

Travel during the week.

Before you say something like, “I can’t travel during the week! I have school and work,” I have to stop you. I’m very well aware that you are a PTO or student traveler with seriously limited time to explore the world. I really am.

But in those rare instances where you have a bit more flexibility with your travel plans, please try to travel during the week. In this window, there will naturally be less people out exploring the city because most individuals will be at work.

So although you likely won’t be able to do this is often as you want, it’s still a great tip to implement when you DO have that freedom and flexibility. Which will probably happen if you’re using PTO or unpaid time off to travel.

AVOID HOLIDAYS WHEN POSSIBLE

Avoid holidays when possible. Once again, I know most of your trips will probably be around holidays since you’re a PTO or student traveler.

But when you get that chance to travel outside of these busier travel seasons, please take advantage of it. There will be FAR less crowds (most of the time, depending on the city) and you’ll be able to enjoy your trip without running into someone every five seconds.

CHOOSE A LESS POPULAR DESTINATION

Choose a less popular destination. This tip is definitely more obvious than others, but I still think it’s worth mentioning.

If you’re really concerned about crowds, I’d suggest simply traveling less popular destinations. There are many cities both domestically and internationally that aren’t as popular, but are very much worth visiting.

I just don’t cover as many of them here on The Solo Solstice since I personally like the more touristy spots (as of right now, at least).

STAY A BIT FURTHER FROM THE TOURISTY AREAS

Stay a bit from the touristy areas. Usually this is something I advise against, but in vain of avoiding crowds, I don’t think it’s the worst idea.

Basically you’ll stay a bit farther (even just 10-15 minutes) from the where the chaos usually resides. You will, in turn, have to transport a bit longer to certain places, but I think the trade-off could be very well worth it.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF UNDESIRABLE WEATHER CONDITIONS

Take advantage of undesirable weather conditions. Look, I know you’re tempted to spend the day inside if it’s raining or blazing hot. And I totally understand that — heck, I’d probably do the same.

But if you want to avoid crowds, I think you should use these weather conditions to your benefit. Just think about how many other people have that same original thought and postpone their plans.

Full transparency, there are probably some scenarios where you DON’T want to do this.

For example, if you want to go hiking, but the temperature stretches past 100 degrees, I think you should either stay at your hotel or find an alternative activity. You don’t want to risk your health just to avoid crowds.

Another example: many people will want to visit a museum on a rainy day. It’s the perfect rainy day activity, but that also means you’ll likely be walking right into the exact crowds you’re trying to avoid.

LOOK FOR LESS POPULAR ALTERNATIVES

Look for less popular alternatives — whether it’s a beach, museum, special experience, or restaurant.

For example, instead of trying a coffee at the first ever Starbucks in Seattle, opt for a more local coffee shop. Not only will it be far less crowded, but it’ll likely taste much better.

That actually brings me to my next tip…

EAT LOCALLY

…eat locally. You’ll have to do a bit more research and digging for this tip, but I promise it’s worth it. Try to eat locally, as these spots aren’t discovered by tourists as much, resulting in them not being as crowded.

BUY EARLY ENTRY & SKIP-THE-LINE PASSES

Buy early entry and skip-the-line passes. Nearly every tip in this post is for avoiding crowds, but this one is specially for bypassing them.

With these passes, you can bypass those painfully long lines. This is especially useful at theme parks, museums, and popular sights.

SPEND A DAY WITH A LOCAL

Spend a day with a local. Not only will they show you more of the local spots, but they’ll also know the best times to avoid crazy crowds.

This is definitely a win-win situation and I love the sound of it! I personally haven’t tried it just yet, but I’ll have to look into it eventually.

BEWARE OF BIG EVENTS HAPPENING DURING YOUR TRIP

Beware of big events happening during your trip.

Sometimes even if you’re traveling during the quieter seasons, a big event like a sports game, concert, or convention can cause a spike in crowds — from both locals and tourists. So PLEASE do your research ahead of time to account for this.

MY #1 TIP FOR IDENTIFYING CROWDS

You may not always be able to avoid large crowds. But there’s one way to identifying them and deciphering the best time to visit a certain attraction, landmark, or restaurant.

And that tip is to use Google Maps. It’s useful for more than just pinning activities or for finding your way somewhere. It’s also a great way to spot crowds.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Google Maps has a live crowd feature that estimates the wait times for popular attractions and restaurants. This is a lifesaver and can really help you judge whether you want to get out of your hotel or stay for a few hours.

FINAL THOUGHTS: HOW TO AVOID CROWDS WHEN TRAVELING

In this post, I shared some of my top tips for avoiding crowds as a solo traveler. Crowds can be annoying and stressful, so I hope these tips help you avoid them as much as possible.

Now it’s your turn. I’m opening the floor for you to start a conversation in the comments. Here are some discussion topics:

• What’s your stance on crowds? Do you like very minimal ones, or do you not care about them that much?
• What do you usually do to avoid crowds when traveling? Where did you learn this trick?
• Take one tip from this post and explain how you plan to implement it into your next trip.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! If you feel more comfortable chatting with me directly, shoot me a DM on Instagram or email me at demarcus@thesolosolstice.com.

ABOUT DEMARCUS

DeMarcus is a Midwest-based travel content creator and the founder of the solo travel blog, The Solo Solstice. He began his solo travel journey in December 2025 and since has been creating practical, in-depth travel guides for a like-minded community of first-time solo adventurers.

Visit the About Page to learn more about DeMarcus, and visit the Ethical & Responsible Tourism Page to learn more about his efforts to promote responsible tourism.