14 Tips for Solo Female Travel

It’s a New Year — which means more posts, new content and stories from around the world. I’m particularly excited for the first guest blogger on The Travel Thread: Sarah Kriebs.

Sarah and I found each other via social media and instantly e-connected. We started our blogs at the same time and we’re both still new to this crazy blogger life.  Besides backpacking and budget travel, Sarah writes frequently about solo female travel. Read on for 14 tips for solo female travel.

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I normally get the following questions:

“Don’t you ever get robbed, tricked, harassed or exploited?”

“Did anything bad happen while you were abroad?”

“Girl, you got nerves – the world is dangerous, don’t you ever watch the news?”

It’s sad but true, these are the first questions that come to people’s mind as soon as they figure out that I’m a solo-traveler. They may have seen too many movies like 96 hours. Ok, seriously there are places in the world which are more dangerous than others, so this is why you need to be prepared for your trips. Here you can also check out what travel can teach you.

Keep in mind that the majority of people aren’t thieves, rapists or murders. I’ve heard many times from people that they’d like to travel alone, but they’re just too frightened that something bad could happen or that they’re going to get lost. Unfortunately, no matter where you are, bad things can happen. The thing is, you have to focus on the good and be optimistic! Let’s stop stereotyping and predicting things beforehand without prior experience. Think and act positive and positive things will happen to you, it’s as simple as that.

To make you feel more comfortable for your future solo-travel sessions, here are my tips on how to travel safely as a solo female traveler:

1. Do your research

Do research about your travel destinations: what are the typical tourist scams in the place you are visiting? What’s the culture like?  What are you allowed to bring into the country? Which districts are better and safer to stay? Which areas should you avoid?

Here’s a mistake I made, which you can learn from: once I didn’t do any research because I was quite busy, so I booked the cheapest accommodation I found and where did I end up? In the red light district, in the area with the highest crime rate of that city. I was already wondering why I hadn’t seen other travelers or tourists there.  At a Couchsurfing meet up I was told that this was the worst place to stay for a female solo-traveler, and I had the pleasure to hear a “nice” story about a traveler who got robbed there…didn’t make me feel any better. Anyways, in the end everything went well. I stayed only two nights and took a taxi to and from the hotel (luckily taxis are cheap in SE Asia). In the future I’ll invest more time in booking accommodations and know that the price is not the most important thing.

2. Check in with a friend

Always let a friend or family member know that you’ve arrived safely, where your accommodation is, and what you’re planning to do the next few days.

3. Be careful in taxis 

While in a taxi, always take note of the plate number of the cab (even better, take a picture of the plate number and send it to a friend). Every legit taxi company should have these plate numbers.

4. Act confident 

Always try to act confident. If you look lost while wandering around with your tourist map, you become vulnerable and easily targeted as a victim.

5. Arrive during the day 

Book a flight which lets you arrive during daytime, because arriving at night alone in a foreign country isn’t safe.

6. Keep your hotel info handy 

Always write down the address and phone number of your accommodation, or get the business card of the place you’re staying at.

7. Don’t show off

Leave your jewelry, valuables, designer bags, brand-name clothes and other unnecessary things at home. Depending on the country you’re in, make sure that you’re not showing too much skin and try not to look too “touristy-like”.  Be open-minded, adjust with the cultural differences, and dress to match with the culture and the crowd.

8. Bring different forms of money

Bring credit/debit cards, not only cash. Place your money in different pockets/bags/places and not only in one wallet.

9. Listen to your gut

Listen to your gut feeling and become more sensitive to the situations and people around you. Having a good intuition can be really helpful.

10. Use a safe or locker

When you’re in a hotel, use a safe or a locker for your valuables such as camera, notebook, money, and so on. Some hostels offer safes as well, but if not make sure to use your own padlock (also here, do some research in advance about which one’s have good quality).

11. Don’t drink too much

Don’t get wasted! Great, you’ve met nice people and you’re going out for drinks? That’s going to be a fun night, but always keep in mind not to drink too much. You’re still surrounded by strangers in a foreign country. So you’d rather drink less and always keep an eye on your drinks (universal rule actually). Take a taxi on your way home.

12. Be prepared to answer questions

“Where are you from? Do you have a boyfriend? Are you alone?” These are typical questions asked by strangers. Either ignore them, or answer quickly and confidently. Try to be polite, because in some countries people are sensitive and can get offended quite easily. Never give anyone too much information. You don’t even need to be honest, you can give them false information if you have to. Never tell anyone that you’re traveling alone. Make it clear that you’re surrounded by friends and relatives, or tell them that you’re familiar with the place and locals.

13. Keep your room number confidential

When you’re checking in at the lobby, make sure the receptionist doesn’t say your room number outloud. Other guests shouldn’t know where your room is. In case that happens, tell them to give you another room and write the number down to make sure it’s confidential.

14. Learn the basics of the local language

During my time in Thailand, it helped me a lot to be able to communicate in Thai (only easy conversations though). I was able to make sure not to get ripped off and I was able to bargain in their language. I didn’t have to pay the Farang (foreigner) price, which the majority of Western travelers have to pay. It was lovely to see that some of the Thais appreciated me trying to speak their language.

Have you ever been involved in a bad situation abroad? What are your travel-safe tips?