The goal of this guide is to cover the solo raids which provide class sets for achievements and set collections. Maps and explanations provide shortcuts to minimize legwork and use of hearthstones.
You should bind your hearthstone to Great Seal/Snug Harbor Inn (Boralus) to get the best access to the Stormwind/Orgrimmar portal rooms. Use Dalaran (Legion) hearthstone as an auxiliary portal to the capital. Garrison/Shipyard hearthstones and your capital’s Circle of Elements Cata portals will also be handy.
Let’s go – continent by continent and leg by leg.
EASTERN KINGDOMS: VANILLA, TBC, CATACLYSM RAIDS
Karazhan and Blackrock Mountain
In Eastern Kingdoms, start from Stormwind capital if you’re Alliance or Grom’gol in Stranglethorn if you’re Horde (take zeppelin from Orgrimmar zeppelin tower).
Go to Karazhan (TBC) in Deadwind Pass. If you’re Horde, go back through the raid from its last boss and leave Karazhan from the backdoor midway. If Alliance, hop to Stormwind. Proceed to Blackrock Mountain in Burning Steppes.
Do Molten Core (Vanilla) and Blackwing Lair (Vanilla) inside the mountain and run back to the entrance in each case. Fly outside and find a terrace on the eastern side of the mountain with an entrance to Blackwing Descent (Cataclysm)
Twilight Bastion
Portal to Stormwind/Orgrimmar and use portal to Twilight Highlands, fly to Twilight Bastion (Cataclysm)
Sunwell Plateau
Portal to Stormwind/Orgrimmar and hop to Shattrath. Use teleport from the central hall to Sunwell Plateau (TBC)
KALIMDOR: VANILLA, TBC, WOTLK, CATACLYSM RAIDS
Ahn’Kiraj
From Boralus/Great Seal, take a portal to Silithus. Go for Ruins, then Temple of Ahn’Kiraj (Vanilla) in Silithus.
Onyxia’s Lair and Caverns of Time
From Boralus/Great Seal, take a portal to Silithus. Go to Dustwallow March for Onyxia’s Lair (WotLK). Run outside and fly south to Tanaris.
By the entrance to Caverns of Time talk to Auridormi for Dragon Soul LFR (Cataclysm).
Fly inside the caverns and go to Battle for Hyjal (TBC), then Dragon Soul (Cataclysm).
Hyjal, Uldum, Tol Barad
Hop to Stormwind/Orgrimmar and use portal to Tol Barad in case your faction controls the island. If yes, do Baradin Hold (Cataclysm).
Go back and use portals to Hyjal to fly for Firelands (Cataclysm) and Uldum to fly for Throne of the Four Winds (Cataclysm).
OUTLAND: TBC RAIDS
There is a perfect shortcut.
Start in Shattrath and travel to clear Magtheridon in Hellfire Peninsula, The Eye (in Tempest Keep) in Netherstorm, Gruul’s Lair in Blade’s Edge, and end the tour with Serpentshrine Cavern in Zangarmarsh. All but the last one are quick in-and-out adventures.
Note: if you didn’t know, you can travel safely through Twisting Nether – so you can fly directly from HFC to both Netherstorm or Shadowmoon Valley.
From Serpentshrine Cavern, hop back to Shattrath and fly to finish your journey in Black Temple.
NORTHREND: WOTLK RAIDS
You can’t really combine many raids here on the way, so you’ll have to start from Dalaran in Crystalsong Forest every time. Yet there is one shortcut:
Dragonblight and Naxxramas
Fly to Wyrmrest Temple in Dragonblight and make a small detour for Wintergrasp. In case your faction controls it, do Archavon’s Vault.
Proceed to Wyrmrest Temple and do Ruby Sanctum and Obsidian Sanctum in the basement hall. In and out, then fly to Naxxramas next door.
Ulduar and Trial of Champion
Do Ulduar in Storm Peaks, then use in-raid teleporter to get to the entrance and do Trial of Crusader in Icecrown next door.
Icecrown and Coldarra
There’s nothing you can really do here. Travel from Dalaran to Borean Tundra for Malygos one-boss raid and to Icecrown for Icecrown Citadel.
PANDARIA: MOP RAIDS
You start from the respective faction village in Jade Forest, portal from Stormwind/Orgrimmar.
Vale and Veiled Stair
Fly to Veiled Stair first and do Terrace of Endless Spring. Go outside and fly over the mountain into the top floor of Mogu’shan Palace – the lorewalker/archaeology enclave. Talk to Lorewalker Han to visit every LFR raid wing in Pandaria: Mogu’shan Vaults, Heart of Fear, Throne of Thunder and Siege of Orgrimmmar.
Fly out and go into the Siege of Orgrimmar entrance in the basement.
Kun Lai Summit
Return to the capital->Jade Forest base. Fly to Sha of Fear world boss in Kun Lai summit and do Mogu’shan Vaults raid nearby.
Mantid and Mogu
Return to the capital->Jade Forest base. Fly to Salyis Warband world boss in Valley of Four Winds, then proceed to Dread Wastes and do Heart of Fear.
Run back through Heart of Fear and fly to Shado-Pan camp in Townlong Steppes. Use portal or do a quest with your faction NPC to get to Thunder Isle. Kill world boss serpent Nalak before the raid entrance and do Thunder Palace raid.
DRAENOR: WOD RAIDS
There are only three raids here, so there’s not a lot of legwork.
Use Garrison hearthstone and talk to Seer Kazal by the townhall entrance to get access to all LFR Warlords of Draenor’s Raids.
From garrison, go to the heart of Tanaan Jungle and do Hellfire Citadel. Use in-raid portals to get out and proceed to Gorgrond for Blackrock Foundry.
Use Garrison hearthstone and fly to Highmaul in Nagrand.
Gnomecore 
Here’s an hack to save you some running time. When you finish the raid, create a custom group. When you see the green eye-ball on your mini-map indicating that your group is listed, leave group. In a couple seconds, you’ll see a note that you are not a part of the current instance and will be ported out to the nearest graveyard. This is especially handy with MC and BWL since it ports you to the suspended rock in the middle of Blackrock Mountain.
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Thanks a lot! It’s a golden lifehack, saving a lot of run and travel! Actually abusing it now – heavily :)
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If only we could get the devs to add a portal at every end-boss that would take you the entrance.
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