How to Stay Safe and Confident While Exploring the World Alone
by Stefanie Michaels
Solo travel can be an enriching and empowering experience for women, but safety concerns can also make it daunting. Traveling alone requires extra precautions to ensure your safety, but with careful planning and awareness, solo female travel can be safe and enjoyable. From choosing safe accommodations to staying aware of your surroundings, there are many safety tips and tricks to remember when traveling solo as a woman.
Here are some essential safety tips to help you stay safe and make the most of your solo travel adventure.
- Research your destination: Before you travel, research your destination thoroughly. Familiarize yourself with the local customs and laws, and read up on potential safety concerns. Check the travel advisories from your government and consult forums, blogs, and travel guides for tips from other solo female travelers.
- Share your itinerary: Let someone back home know your itinerary, including travel dates, flight details, and accommodation information. Check in with them regularly, especially if traveling to remote or unfamiliar locations.
- Register with Government Agencies: Use the free service Smart Travel site to log in your travel information. They send important information from the Embassy about safety conditions in your destination country, allows the U.S. Embassy to contact you in an emergency, whether natural disaster, civil unrest, and connects family and friends to get in touch with you in an emergency.
- Stay in safe accommodations: Choose your accommodations carefully. Look for hotels or hostels in well-lit and safe neighborhoods. Avoid cheap or sketchy places that may attract unwanted attention.
- Room requests: Request a room away from stairways and bottom floors with sliding doors. Choose a second or third floor option. Skip the views. Personal safety is number one, and higher rooms in case of fire, might not be accessible to a fire crew’s ladders to get you out.
- Once inside your room: Block your room’s peep-hole, as it’s easy for criminals to look through the peep-hole to find out if you are alone in your room or not.
- Passport Copies: Keep a copy of your passport and drivers license in your room safe. If these items are lost or stolen, it makes replacement through the local embassy easier.
- Before heading out to explore: Make sure to tell the front desk or concierge of your itinerary plans for the day or evening. Try not to stray off of your daily plans. Should something happen, they can help track your movements.
- Turn on your “find my phone”: Always keep your phone’s whereabouts on, should there be an emergency, so you can be found.
- Ditch large items: Backpacks are easily accessed by clever thieves, large purses can be grabbed off your person quickly. Use a small cross body bag instead. Thieves look for easy access and will skip over those who take precautions.
- Stay aware of your surroundings: Always be mindful of your surroundings, especially at night or in unfamiliar areas. Don’t use headphones; or other distractions while walking around, as it can make you less aware of your environment.
- Get off of your phone: The ultimate tourist mistake makes you a target. Stop looking at your phone. Should you need it for directions, use the voice option to tell you where to go, instead of trying to follow a visual map.
- Dress appropriately: I’m no prude, but dressing appropriately for a local culture and try to blend in is about safety. Avoid flashy jewelry, brightly colored outfits, or expensive gadgets that could make you a target for theft.
- Use transportation safely: Be cautious when using public transportation, especially at night. Consider using taxis or ride-sharing services instead and check the licence plate of the ride-service before you get in the vehicle. Make sure they are reputable.
- Keep your documents safe: Keep your passport and other vital documents always safe and secure. Consider carrying a copy of your passport and storing the original in a safe place, such as a hotel safe.
- Trust your instincts: Remove yourself immediately if you feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
- Learn basic phrases: If you’re traveling to a country where you don’t speak the language, learn some basic phrases to help you navigate and communicate with locals. This can help you feel more confident and less vulnerable. Check out these language translators.
- Keep a low profile: Avoid drawing attention to yourself, especially in areas with high crime rates or where tourist areas are. Dress modestly, avoid loud conversations, and keep your valuables out of sight.
- Carry a self-defense tool: While it’s unlikely that you’ll need to defend yourself, carrying a self-defense tool like pepper spray, or a personal alarm can give you peace of mind and help you feel more prepared.
- Make connections: Connect with other solo female travelers in the area or join a tour group. Having a travel buddy can be comforting, and group activities can help you meet new people while staying safe.
- Avoid walking alone at night: If possible, avoid walking alone at night, especially in unfamiliar areas. Stick to well-lit and populated streets and consider taking a taxi or ride-share service.
- Stay sober: Avoid excessive alcohol consumption, especially when traveling alone. Being intoxicated can make you more vulnerable to crime and other dangers.
- Keep an emergency contact card: Carry an emergency contact card with you that includes the contact information of someone back home and any important medical information. In an emergency, this information can be helpful for first responders.
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Remember, every destination is different, so you have to be flexible and adapt to your surroundings. Using common sense, staying aware, and trusting your instincts, you can have a safe and enjoyable solo travel experience.
These safety tips are not meant to scare you but to help you feel prepared and confident during your travels. By taking precautions and staying aware, you can enjoy the freedom and adventure of solo travel while staying safe.
Did you know?
According to a recent survey by Booking.com, nearly two-thirds of women who travel solo say that the experience has made them more independent, confident, and self-assured.
The same survey found that most solo female travelers prioritize personal safety and take extra precautions and learn about safety tips to ensure their well-being, such as researching their destination thoroughly, staying aware of their surroundings, and choose the safety of branded accommodations.
Despite challenges and risks, many women continue to embark on solo travel adventures, citing the freedom, adventure, and personal growth of exploring the world independently.
A little history:
Throughout history, women have traveled solo for various reasons, from a pilgrimage to education, exploration, and adventure. Some notable examples of solo female travelers in history include British explorer Isabella Bird, who in the 19th century traveled alone across the United States, Hawaii, Japan, China, Korea, and Tibet, and the American journalist Nellie Bly, who in 1889 traveled around the world alone in just 72 days.
Amelia Earhart is a also famous example of a solo female traveler who made history with her groundbreaking aviation feats. In the 1930s, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and later went on to set many other aviation records. She also advocated for women’s rights and encouraged them to pursue their dreams, including travel and adventure.
However, it’s worth noting that in many cultures and societies, solo travel for women was not always accepted or even allowed. In many parts of the world, women were expected to stay close to home and travel only with male companions, making solo travel for women a rare and daring act.
In recent decades, solo travel has become increasingly popular among women, thanks partly to technological advances, changes in social norms, and the rise of digital nomadism and remote work.
Today, solo female travelers come from all walks of life and travel for various reasons, from cultural immersion to personal growth, adventure, and self-discovery. While some safety risks and challenges are still associated with solo travel, women today have more resources to get safety tips than ever to help them stay safe and confident on their solo travel adventures.
