25 Best Safety Tips when Traveling Solo as a Female
If you are planning on taking that solo trip as a female, you have to be fully prepared to set yourself up for a positive and safe experience.
As women, we face dangers that men don’t necessarily have, but that does not mean we can easily fall victim to those dangers.
Preparing yourself on safety tips when traveling solo as a female will provide:
- prevention of dangerous situations
- awareness when a dangerous situation is happening
- proper decision making when a dangerous situation occurs
This article is not intended to scare you out of traveling solo as a female, in fact, it is intended to help you be more confident in your traveling solo experience.
Click this article to know why you should travel solo as a female.
Traveling solo gives you confidence, freedom, and capability as a strong an empowered female and this should be embraced. During my journey traveling solo I have learned a lot about how to be safe and have also experienced some situations that other women should be aware of for their own safety on their traveling solo adventures .
I wanted to share my story with all the girls out there looking to experience the adventure of solo travel, because we all deserve to experience travel safely. This is why I gave you the top 25 best safety tips, ensuring your journey traveling solo as a female is a safe one.
25 Best Safety Tips when Traveling Solo as a Female
1. Knowledge is power. The more you research your trip, the more prepared you will be. Research what safety tips you need to know pertaining to your destination. Is there a high crime rate? Google is a great tool to learn a lot about your destination before you go. As a female solo traveler, you should be prepared for scams as locals can try to take advantage of travelers ignorance. Read up on the most common travel scams at your destination. The more you know the more prepared you will be.
2. Choose a destination wisely. There are some great places to travel for solo females. Choose a destination that feels comfortable to you, especially if this your first solo travel experience. Check the travel advisory website to see which destinations are a level 1 (safe to travel)- level 4 (do not travel) for the most informed decision on where to take your trip. Check up on the World Health Organization to get information about health advisories at your destination as well.
3. Insurance is not a gamble you should be willing to take. Get travel insurance, it is not that expensive and not worth the risk. When you’re travelling you are doing things you usually wouldn’t be doing at home, in a place you’re not familiar with. Its better to have insurance just incase anything goes wrong.
4. Have a plan for how you are getting around. Don’t wing it. Have a general idea of how you will get from destination to destination: whether you’re renting a car, taking ubers, buses, taxis, trains, or walking. Research “the best way to get around in (insert your destination)” and come up with a general plan based on what is recommended. The last thing you want is to not know the train schedule and miss the last train home. Pick a way to get around, and plan ahead to prevent yourself from being in a potentially dangerous situation.
5. Be aware of your surroundings. This one seems obvious, but you need to be more cognizant in a new country when traveling solo as a female. Pay attention to what landmarks are at every corner, it helps you remember where you are and how to get around. If you ever feel unsafe or like someone is following you, never go back to your hotel, go right to the local police building. Even if you’re wrong, you have nothing to lose, and if you’re right it will scare off the person who is following you.
6. Do not keep all of your cash in the same place. Do not carry all of your money on you. Not only does this make you more of a target, but if you do lose your wallet or get your money stolen you wont lose it all this way. You can get a mini travel lock box and keep this at your accommodation, and carry some cash on you in a discreet travel pouch or bag.
7. Sign up for Smart Traveler Enrollment System (STES) it is a FREE program to sign up for that will notify you with the latest security updates from the local embassy of your destination.
8. Carry the right bag. Depending on where you go, pickpocketing can be a real issue. When I traveled as a solo female to Italy and Greece I experienced many pickpocketing situations. Due to having the right bag and always keeping my hand on it, they never succeeded. I used this crossbody bag in Thailand and I loved the style.
If you’re looking for something a little bigger than a crossbody or fanny pack, this Travelon anti-theft bag is a top quality bag to travel solo safely as a female. It also has a little pouch for your water bottle, and we all love a hydrated queen.
9. Have more than one copy of your passport. My worst fear is losing my passport on an international trip and not being able to get home. Having a copy will just give you that peace of mind when traveling solo. For example, keep your passport card on you and keep your passport in the portable safe at the hotel. I would also keep pictures on your phone, just in case. If you keep your passport in your luggage, I would suggest an apple air tag.
10. Memorize the name and location of your accommodations. This is a mistake I made, and have learned from. When I got lost in Florence without any cell service, I waved down a taxi to get me back not realizing I didn’t know the name of the hotel because it was on my phone. After driving around, I managed to eventually figure out the area my hotel was in, but with major cities this could be near impossible. Learn from me and make sure you know the name of your hotel and don’t just rely on your phone for all of your important information.
11. Learn a bit of the language. This will help you communicate, negotiate prices, ask for advice, and just seem like you know what you’re doing. Also, it shows respect for the destination you are traveling solo to.
12. Download apps on your phone. There are so many useful apps to help you with safety tips when traveling solo as a female. The app “safe” is a great one to have in case of an emergency. You should also download google translate, to make sure you always have a communication source between you and the locals. When I got lost in Florence, this would have helped me communicate to find directions back to my hotel. I would make sure to purchase a portable charger to bring with you to make sure you never get stuck without a line of communication and direction. Although its convenient to have maps on our phone, I would always make sure to have a physical map as well.
13. Don’t share too much. It is great to make friends on your solo travel trip, but be careful how much you share. Making friends is one of the best parts of traveling solo as a female but you don’t want to share exactly where you’re staying and what your detailed itinerary is for the next couple days. You don’t want strangers knowing where your every move will be, you can make friends but still leave a bit of mystery.
14. Have Confidence. When you’re confident, people can feel that energy from your body language. Even if you don’t feel like you know where you are and where you’re going, pretend like you do. Someone who looks like they’re lost will attract the wrong attention. If you are lost, go into a local café, buy a coffee, take a minute to look at the map, and recollect yourself.
15. Don’t overdrink. Hey you can’t go to Italy and not try the wine… my point is just don’t drink the whole bottle. When you drink your judgement is skewed and you want to make sure you’re fully alert when in a foreign country. Plus, who wants to be hungover on a morning tour?
16. Blend in. Don’t wear expensive, flashy clothing. I know you want to show off your best style when you are traveling as a solo female, but do it modestly. The more you blend in with the locals, the less you stick out to those who know you are not from the area. (also that is an opportunity to buy yourself a some cute outfits like what the local girls wear.)
17. Look into travel groups. You can travel solo safely as a female with awesome travel groups! I have done trips with Ultimate Break and U30Experiences and both trips were amazing. I made so many friends that I got to spend the whole trip with and I didn’t have to worry about planning anything. You get local guides that take you to all the hot spots and tell you everything you need to know about your destination. This is a great way to travel alone but not be alone.
18. Carry a first aid kit. One time when I was hiking I fell and scraped my leg. I had to walk 3 miles down the mountain with a bloody leg. Ever since that day I carry a travel first aid kit with me. You can also get a first aid kit that hooks to your bag, which is really convenient as a solo female traveler.
19. Lock the door. This seems like a common sense tip, but it is so important especially if you are at your accommodation alone. Look into getting a Birdie, which is a safety alarm for women who travel alone. You also cant fully trust that all of your accommodations will have efficient locks, so its better to bring your own door lock.
20. Be mindful on social media. There is nothing wrong with posting your solo travel excursions, but be strategic on how you do it. Posting where you are every minute or everyday with people watching is not always the safe thing to do. Maybe save posting for the end of the day as a photo dump instead of posting what you’re doing at the time you’re doing it. This gives an advantage to someone who might be monitoring your moves as to where your exact location is.
21. Wear a ring on your ring finger. When strangers see a solo female wearing a wedding ring, they assume they have a man near by, This will make you less of a target when knowing there could be someone who is looking out for you. I wore this fake engagement ring on my trip to Thailand.
22. Memorize emergency numbers and contacts. Memorize at least one family members number, just incase you lose your phone and need to contact someone who can help you. It is also super important to memorize emergency numbers from the destination where you are traveling solo to, here is a list of emergency numbers for every destination. Also know where your country’s embassy is located, and read how you can contact them if you needed to.
23. Get a VPN service. If you are connecting to wi-fi at your destination, I strong recommended getting a VPN service to protect yourself from hackers getting your personal information.
24. Give someone you trust your location. Give your mom, dad, grandma, husband, friend your itinerary so someone knows where you are. Before you leave for a long day of solo travel exploring, let your person know what your plan is. That way if something goes wrong, someone will know where you were and what your general plan was.
25. Trust your Intuition. This one I cannot stress enough. Women’s intuition is a real thing. You know when something is not right, your body will tell you. If something feels off, it probably is. Don’t ignore your body cue’s, especially as a female traveling alone.
25 Best Safety Tips when Traveling Solo as a Female
I hope these 25 best safety tips when traveling solo as a female helped prepare you to feel more confident while traveling abroad! Yes, there are always precautions to take before you travel to a different country by yourself, but it is one of the best things you will ever do.
Read the top 5 reasons you should travel solo as a female in your 20’s for the reasons you should face your fears and see all the magnificent things this world has to offer you. Stay Safe and Happy Traveling my female friends 🙂
– Becca
4 responses to “25 Best Safety Tips when Traveling Solo as a Female”
I want to travel so bad but never felt safe enough to go alone, do you have any recommendations of the best places to do? I’m thinking maybe northern Europe?
Oh my gosh, thank you for all these great tips and advice
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