10 Useful Solo Female Travel Tips to Keep You Safe on Your Vacation
by Cristina Costea
The world is a dangerous place, but the world is also beautiful, filled with stunning views, awesome people, great food and so much more. Unfortunately, traveling solo as a woman, presents more risks than traveling solo as a man. The world still is a very sexist place and even though women from all over the world are finally beginning to make their voice heard, the road to true equality is still long! Which is why we thought of suggesting some travel tips to that can be very useful for our female travelers.
Whether you’re going on a singles holiday in Italy or you’re traveling solo somewhere in your own country, staying safe during your travels is a priority and we hope these tips help to do just that!
- Commonsensical Things
Before we delve into the tips, let’s spend a moment going over somecommonsensical safety travel tips that everyone (man or woman) must do when they’re traveling abroad solo. Things such as: respect the country’s culture, don’t get drunk with strangers, don’t drink things that are given to you by unknown people, always keep an eye on your baggage, keep money in more than one place, make sure you don’t flash your electronics for others to see, and the list could go on! These small things could save you a lot of trouble!
- Let Your Friends Know of Your Whereabouts
This is very important and it might potentially save your life. Your friends, family, or loved ones need to know where you are at all times, especially when you’re traveling alone in a foreign country. It doesn’t take away from the freedom of traveling, on the contrary, it gives you more freedom, because your mind will be at ease knowing that there are people who have your back, at all times. You don’t have to call them to do this, these days social media is a great medium for announcing your whereabouts!
- Do Some Thorough Research Before You Leave
Every country has its ups and downs, its negatives and its positives; and it’s good that you know about them before you leave your home. Let’s say you’re lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender; then you must do a research on how LGBT people are viewed and treated in that country. Are you going to be able to show public signs of affections and be safe? We’ve written an article about the most and least LGBT-friendly countries in the world, and we suggest you give it a read!
- Don’t Be Afraid of Locals
Why are you even traveling to a foreign country if you’re going to be afraid of locals? As a general rule, pretty much wherever you’re going to go, the locals will be nice to you, they’ll want to help and make you feel at home in their country. Sure, there are bad people everywhere in the world, but don’t assume the worst in people. You’ll have to trust strangers, at one point or another in your journey, so don’t be afraid to do it. Keep a level head, have an ounce of doubt, but trust them! Which brings us to our next tip…
- Apps Can Help You Overcome a Difficult Situation
Technology is really something! Nowadays, pretty much everyone in the West has a powerful smartphone. Why not use that capable tool to keep you save when you’re traveling? We’ve already written a blog post about the best 10 free travel apps to have on the road and now we’d like to add to that list two more apps: one is called Find Your Embassy which is aimed towards Americans who want to find their closest embassy and the other is !Emergency!, which will give you all the telephone numbers you need in case of an emergency from the country you’re in!
- Find Like-Minded People
I know that the whole thing of traveling solo is to… well, be solo, but you are going to inevitably meet solo travelers, hang out and even make some friends. Our tip to you is to find like-minded people to hang out and explore with. If you’re into yoga, go on a singles yoga holiday where you will definitely meet plenty of people with whom you will have lots of things in common. It’s much easier to take in a culture and to stay safe when you’re in a group. The best thing about meeting people on the road, is that you’re not bound to them, as you are to family, so you can break away any time you want.
- Always Trust Your Gut
No matter where you are, trusting your gut is something you need to do. Although there is no scientific explanation, that feeling that we sometimes get when something feels off, that feeling is real and we must never ignore it, especially when you’re solo female traveler. If anything appears off to you, turn around, refuse the offer, get off the bus, change the route, don’t eat the food, don’t drink the water… Don’t be ashamed of what your gut is telling you, our bodies know best what’s good for us and they’re never going to stop telling us this. It’s up to us to listen!
- Exude Calmness and Confidence
A calm and confident person will elicit the same qualities in people, most times. When you walk, keep your head up, if you’re lost, don’t let it show (simply find someone and calmly ask them for directions), if you’re desperate, don’t act desperate. The things you do must not betray your inner struggle or confusion. It’s all about being in charge, or at least appearing to be in charge. It will not only help you not draw any unwanted attention, but it will also help calm yourself down.
- Be Aware of Your Surroundings at All Times
When we’re walking with other people, many of us tend to not pay attention to our surroundings, as if we’re trusting the other person to do it for us. But, when you’re traveling alone, you have to be careful and aware of your surroundings at all times. If you’re the type of person that tends to be swept away by the scenery, you’ll have to constantly remind yourself to watch where you’re going. Keep an eye on the road, on the buildings, on the people around you, on the clock (don’t let nightfall surprise you), on everything around you. Be relaxed, yet vigilant!
- Don’t Focus on the Negative Things that Could Happen
While it’s good to always be cautious, try not to focus only on the negative things that could happen on your holiday. This will undoubtedly cause anxiety and an anxious person is a vulnerable person. Yes, bad things can happen to you, to anyone, for that matter. Bad things happen to people every single day! That’s life, but if you’re going to spend it thinking only about the bad stuff that can and may happen to you, then you’re not going to enjoy living too much. It’s not easy to get out of the anxious mind frame, but it can be done. If you feel your anxiety and your fears are starting to interfere with you living the life you want to live, seek help! It gets better!
What we suggest is to try to focus on the positive things that happen on your vacation. Things such as, the great food you get to eat, the great people you meet, and the wonderful things you get to see!
Have plans to travel solo? Be sure to check out our extensive worldwide singles holiday we have on offer!
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Cristina Costea is the Community Manager of BookSinglesHolidays.com, a themed travel website offering a vast collection of singles vacations & solo holidays. She is also a passionate traveler, cat aficionado and novice writer.
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