My experience as a solo traveler is that I feel safe 99.9% of the time. This contradicts the advice that is often spread. If you’re just starting to travel alone and you’re a woman, my advice is: don’t always listen to negative travel stories. They’re subjective and the same stories are often repeated. I’d like to share these tips with you for safe travel as a woman alone.
How to Travel Safely as a Solo Traveler
When you set out as a solo traveler, there are 101 people who will tell you 101 reasons why it’s not safe to travel alone. They tell you why they would never do it themselves: it’s not fun, you can’t share your experiences, and what if you have an urgent question… that you subsequently can’t ask.
But even more…
What if something happens and you’re not safe and end up in a situation where danger threatens? Because we thrive on negative news, this news reaches further. Ask yourself: What would the percentage be of solo trips that went well… and those where things went wrong?
Also read my tips for safe countries to travel to as a woman
That I’ve now met this man multiple times on trips makes me happy. What I experience as an advantage of traveling alone is that you meet a lot of people.
When you travel together, you’re oriented toward each other and you’re not always open to contact with a ‘stranger’. As a solo traveler, you’re more outward-oriented and are approached more by fellow tourists or by local people. That gives my travels an extra dimension.
Local Vietnamese guide who drove me around Hanoi, Vietnam for a day
Walking through a city or at a temple and the information that local people are so eager to share with you is wonderful. Also, what people want to know from you gives an impression of how they view the world. Or what they miss in their lives or perhaps have too much of.
I met Be Aye at a temple and he showed me around Yangon, Myanmar the next day!
Safe Solo Travel and You’re Also a Woman!
In Manila, I felt less comfortable walking on the street in the dark. So I was back at the hostel on time and entertained myself there just fine! But India is also a country that is often warned about, particularly for women.
Safe Solo Travel
There are a few basic rules I follow when I’m traveling. This is to prevent ending up in situations where I don’t want to be and where I don’t feel safe. So far, I’ve had few situations where I didn’t feel safe and a few times I doubted the sincerity of my fellow humans.
I’d like to share 7 tips with you for safe travel as a woman alone
1. Take Local Advice Seriously
If you’re in a hostel or hotel and the staff gives you safety advice, listen to it. Like I did when I was in Manila, I didn’t go outside in the evening. I made sure I was inside on time. Trust the local people and their advice regarding safety. However, you need to watch out that it’s not bad advice for their own gain.
And where you’re being scammed. For example: my trip is safer and you pay me less than the same trip from your hotel or something.
Then fall back on tip 5, listen to your gut feeling!
2. Let People Know Where You Are… What Your Plans Are
As a solo traveler, I always make sure to show on the internet where I am. For example, what my plans are or what I want to do. I also told my family and friends a lot in private messages about what I’m going to do.
If something does happen, the home front can tell where I was… what I wanted to do… or what my plans were for the next few days.
3. No Alcohol… or in Moderation
As a solo traveler, I actually don’t drink alcohol, very occasionally a liqueur but then I definitely leave it at 1 drink. If you’re going out or drinking more, there’s a chance you’ll lose control. Often it’s late in the evening then… maybe also in places where you shouldn’t be as a tourist anymore and you end up walking on the street where you don’t know who you’ll encounter.
- Besides, alcohol is often a very expensive matter abroad, so if you want to travel longer, that’s one of the cost items where you can really save 🙂
Read my blog about the use of alcohol and its dangers.
I enjoy traveling alone and feel Safe as a Solo Traveler
4. Not Alone on the Street Late in the Evening
In the late evening, as a solo traveler, I’m in the hotel or in the nearby area. In the evening, there’s a different atmosphere on the street. Different people come out on the street and those people have different intentions than the people you meet during the day. My goal in my travels is to see as much of the country as possible, of the people and their customs, rituals, and ways of life. You encounter that most during the day. I mostly use the evening to write down my experiences and to update the home front and plan out the next day.
Also read 5 Tips to Increase Your Safety When It’s Dark
5. Trust Your Gut Feeling
If you’re talking to someone or if you’re somewhere and it doesn’t feel right… listen to that. Your instinct is the best thing you have to assess a situation. Trust it and listen to it. It’s not bad at all if you then reject someone or something based on the feeling that it ‘maybe’ isn’t right.
You might then feel like you’re missing an opportunity… or that you’re going to miss something… or it’s going to cost a lot of money later… So what! Safety first and if it doesn’t feel right, you don’t do it. Everything will be fine. And often, in my experience, a nicer or better offer comes later that does feel right!
That time we were scammed 🙂 And I wasn’t even traveling alone then! But richer by an experience… and a few euros lighter…
6. Important Papers – Passport/Money
I never have much money with me when I walk on the street. Also, I never bring much cash from the Netherlands. I do have some euros with me just in case, can always be handy. But still, during my last trip to India, I found that money that I had hidden well… I think it had been in my bag for more than a year. Always nice such a surprise, but it also proves that I didn’t need it.
You can withdraw money almost everywhere these days… really almost everywhere! Very often the ATMs are also secured with security guards. It’s also often said at travel agencies or hostels where you better not withdraw money.
And do that during the day, when it’s light, when people are walking around and there’s supervision!
And if you don’t have money with you, there’s always the option to pay with your credit card or regular bank card. The need to have cash with you is fortunately getting smaller… and that’s better for your safety too. It’s no longer the case that the tourist walks around with a lot of money and is by definition a target for pickpocketing abroad.
Other risks come in its place, for example, the skimming of your bank card. Skimming is the illegal copying of the magnetic strip of your bank card. Read how you can prevent this. Card holders have also been developed that prevent this.
I always have my passport with me.
It’s always in the bag I carry with me daily… on travel days my day bag is in my backpack, so my passport is in my small backpack or shoulder bag that then functions as a day bag. It’s very important so that if I lose everything, I can still get back home… or if I can’t say anything anymore… in the worst case… people know who I am and where I come from. In addition, I have a copy of my passport in my backpack. Can always be handy if you do lose it…
Safe as a Solo Traveler Around the World
For more information, read this blog: Safe on the Road with Your Shoulder Bag
7. No Expensive Jewelry etc.
I always wear a golden necklace with a little elephant on it. In Asia, this is often noticed and they say I have Ganesha with me and am therefore protected. In Europe, this doesn’t stand out… I always find it nice to notice those differences! Besides, that’s also the only piece of jewelry I wear.
It’s good to be aware of what you show on the street to the poor fellow humans in the countries you visit. You show a certain status that indicates whether you have wealth when you wear a lot of gold and precious stones. Only in the Philippines, Manila, was I forbidden to even go out on the street with this necklace.
My hostel didn’t want me to go out on the street with it and before I left I had to put it in my bag 🙂
Looking for More Tips or Stories?
- 5 Tips to Increase Your Safety
- What to Do if You’re Mugged? #Tips
- Tips for a safe bus/train trip when travelling alone
- 5 Tips to Protect yourself from Pickpockets