Sober October: Best cities to explore for a booze-free holiday

• Denpasar tops the booze-free ranking, with Dubai and Bangkok following closely behind
• London and New York both feature within the Top 20
• Rome is the best booze-free city in Europe

New studies continue to prove that alcohol-free lifestyles are more than just a passing trend in the UK. Recent studies show nearly a third of pub visits are now completely alcohol-free (Source). The study also showed that 55% of adults are trying to cut down alcohol consumption and that 72% of adults have tried a ‘low or no’ alcohol drink.

A further examination of Google Search trends support these claims. According to Google search data, there’s no shortage of alcohol-free search terms. There are currently more than 8,100 searches per month for “alcohol-free gin”, nearly 10,000 searches a month for “teetotal” and 600 searches for “sober curious” in the UK. 

The global index by Icelandair looks at 10 different factors across 55 of the most popular cities worldwide to determine which cities rank highest for booze-free travel.

Researchers at Icelandair studied hundreds of entries on Tripadvisor to see which cities offer the most alcohol-free activities as well as wellness activities like yoga, meditation and spas.

Additionally, they factored in the average annual alcohol consumption per person for each city, the legal drinking age, and the cost of a domestic beer in each city compared to a non-alcoholic drink: Diet Coke.

Top 10 Cities for Being Booze-Free Holiday During Sober-October

1. Denpasar, Indonesia

2. Dubai, UAE

3. Bangkok, Thailand

4. Tokyo, Japan

5. Phuket, Thailand

6. Shanghai, China

7. Rome, Italy

8. Marrakech, Morocco

9. Hanoi, Vietnam

10.  Istanbul, Turkey

Denpasar ranks as top alcohol free holiday destination

The results show that Indonesia’s thriving capital city, Denpasar, ranks first place out of 55 locations included in the index. The city, which boasts an average of over 500,000 visitors per year consumes less alcohol than any other location and has the fewest number of bars and clubs. 

A side bonus is that it’s one of the cheapest cities in the world to buy a can of Diet Coke. At just 50p a can, you can indulge in your alcohol-free drink guilt-free while on a temple tour or a snorkelling excursion.

New York ranks in top 20 booze-free cities in the world!

The city that never sleeps ranks in the global top 20 at position 16. With over 66 million visitors each year and a population of 8.4 million, it’s hard to imagine this city has any chill.

But according to the research, New York scores highly on wellness, and is second to top behind Tokyo. The Big Apple has 773 meditation, spa and wellness retreats and is low with alcohol consumption, rivalling Reykjavik at 9litres per person annually. 

From sound therapy, face gyms and light therapy yoga – New York is leading the way in the wellness travel world. 

London ranks in top 20 – Is ‘Booze Britain’ on the decline? 

The UK capital ranks in position 20 of the top cities in the world and scores highly on the index despite the stereotype of binge-drinking Brits’.

Looking at the European breakdown, London ranks as the 4th most booze-free holiday destination above Stockholm, Budapest and Oslo. 

However, on the other end of the UK scale – Manchester ranks in the bottom 10 and is officially Britain’s booziest city with annual alcohol consumption at 11.45litres per person.