It’s becoming more and more common to see women traveling alone at the airport. And why wouldn’t it? We want to go out and see the world too! Sometimes we don’t always have someone to go traveling with, but us independent women wouldn’t let a thing like that stop us.
Let’s face it. We’ve all heard the ‘don’t walk home alone at night’ and the ‘always keep an eye on your purse’ warnings. While, yes, they’re good to follow, it doesn’t have to stop us from going out in the world solo!
These tips for women traveling alone can go between any gender, but for this article, we’ll focus mainly on womanly issues.
10 Tips for Women Travelling Alone
1. Make sure someone back home has your itinerary.
It’s always a reasonable precaution to have someone back home know where you’re scheduled to be and when. That way, if something goes wrong and they need to get in touch with you, they’ll have a general idea of how.
2. Take photos of all your travel docs.
But don’t just stop there. Upload them all to Google Drive (or whatever cloud you’re into) so that if you happen to lose your phone and computer along with your documents, you can still have access to them.
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3. Connect with someone local.
Women traveling alone can have lots of fun solo, but sometimes it’s nice to meet up with someone who knows the area. Ask some friends if they know people in that neck of the woods or check out these reputable sites for meeting local travelers: Travelettes, Wanderful, Pink Pangea.
4. Do your (extensive) research.
Make sure that you have an idea of where you’re going before you get there. When researching hotels or an Airbnb to stay at, check that they have lots of good reviews before booking. On sites like Oyster and Hostelz, they also have neighborhood reviews.
5. Pack as light as you can.
This one can be especially hard (women traveling alone, we feel you). However, nothing says, “come and rob me” more than someone dragging four Louis Vuitton suitcases down the sidewalk alone. Keep it light and straightforward.
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6. Don’t keep all your money in one place.
Speaking of getting robbed, make sure that you don’t have all your cash on you at all times. Leave some in the hotel, some with you; some may be in a secret spot? A genius tip from Buzzfeed: keep your extra cash at the bottom of a tampon box because who is going to look there?!
7. Learn how to deal with men.
We’re serious. In small towns, more often than not the men speak more English than the women do. So, for women traveling alone, it can be an asset to know how to deal with and talk to men to get some right direction! However, sometimes it can be handy to wear a “fake” wedding ring to ward off any potential suitors.
8. Be aware of your surroundings.
This goes especially for public transport. Depending on where you’re traveling, public transport can be an ideal spot for pickpockets. Don’t carry things in your back pocket and remove your backpack if you’re standing up.
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9. Carry the name and address of where you’re staying with you.
You never know if things will get a little rowdy on nights out. (And by rowdy we mean one too many drinks.) Nothing is worse than going to get a cab home and not being able to remember the name of your hostel or forgetting the address!
10. Don’t worry too much.
People can often get into worse situations than they need to because of overthinking everything and stressing out. You’re traveling to gain new experiences and have a fantastic time! Don’t worry too much and just have fun.
UPDATED: March 1, 2020
