Ten Solo Date Ideas for the Girl Who’s Learning to Love Her Own Company
Because sometimes, the best company is your own.
I used to think solo dates were just a euphemism for being a bit tragic. The kind of thing you say when you’ve got no plans and don’t want to admit it. “Oh, I’m taking myself out tonight,” said with an air of importance and mystery, when in reality you’re just eating a supermarket meal deal in the park. But then, something shifted. I realised that being alone and being lonely were two very different things. And suddenly, taking myself out felt like an indulgence rather than a punishment.
So, in the spirit of self-romance, here are ten excellent solo date ideas for the girl in her twenties who’s trying to figure herself out, one overpriced oat flat white at a time.
The Matinee Cinema Trip
Go to the Cinema in the middle of the day. Get the biggest box of popcorn possible. Watch something absolutely ridiculous. A rom-com. A slasher. Something French and existential. Cry with reckless abandon because no one is there to judge you.The Long Walk With No Destination
Leave your flat with only a vague idea of where you’re going. Stroll, wander, dawdle. Walk down streets you’ve never seen before. Get lost. Pop into bookshops. Smell overpriced candles. Treat yourself to a pastry from an independent bakery and pretend you’re the main character in a coming-of-age film.The ‘I Deserve Nice Things’ Dinner
Book a table for one at a place you’d usually save for a special occasion. Order a glass of wine that costs more than your daily lunch budget. Read a book while you wait for your meal. Eat slowly. People-watch and make up backstories for strangers. Bask in the confidence of sitting alone and enjoying your own company.The Museum or Gallery Morning
Pick a museum. Wander through it at your own pace. Stop to look at the things that intrigue you. Skip past the things that don’t. Spend a weirdly long time staring at one particular piece and pretend you understand art. Leave feeling ever so slightly more cultured than you did before.The Train to Nowhere
Get on a train and get off wherever looks interesting. No itinerary. No expectations. Just vibes. Find a local café. Talk to the old man behind the counter. Buy something from a secondhand shop purely because it reminds you of your childhood. Document the entire day in your Notes app like the poet you are.
The ‘Be a Regular’ Coffee Shop Trip
Find a café. Go there alone every weekend. Order the same thing each time. Become familiar to the baristas. One day, they’ll remember your order before you say it. Congratulations, you are now a mainstay of the community.The Silent Disco in Your Kitchen
Make a playlist of songs you loved as a teenager. Plug in your headphones. Dance around your flat with the energy of someone who’s just been told they’ve won the lottery. Enjoy the fact that no one can see you. Except your neighbours. But they’ll just assume you’re eccentric and interesting.The Self-Indulgent Bookshop Trip
Go to a bookshop with no budget and no time limit. Pick up things at random. Read the first few pages before deciding if they deserve a place in your tote bag. Buy something beautiful. Something you’ve already read but want to own. Something you might never get round to reading but will look nice on your shelf.The Hotel Bar Cocktail
Put on an outfit that makes you feel expensive. Go to a fancy hotel bar. Order a cocktail that sounds complicated and mysterious. Pretend you’re waiting for a lover who never arrives. Smile enigmatically at people as if you have a secret. Read a book that makes you look vaguely intellectual. Feel impossibly chic.The ‘Romanticise Your Life’ Evening
Make pasta from scratch. Light every candle you own. Drink wine out of a ridiculous goblet. Write letters to your future self. Take a bubble bath. Listen to jazz and pretend you live in Paris. Make everything unnecessarily poetic. Because why the hell not?
Solo dates aren’t about proving anything to anyone. They’re about learning to enjoy your own company, to befriend yourself, to realise that life doesn’t have to be constantly filled with noise and other people to be worth living. So go on take yourself out. You’re excellent company, I promise.
About Twenty Five Reset
Hi, I’m Niamh, and everyone was right—25 really is a turning point. I finally know who I am, what I want, and my purpose… but it’s nothing like I expected.
I work in TV, but it doesn’t define me. This space is my reset—embracing the mess, reflecting, and creating again. You can expect:
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