For many women, traveling alone can be an empowering experience, providing fun, independence and the increasing joy of discovery. There are memories and new friendships to be made for women who choose to pursue them.
- Keep Your Accommodations to Yourself – Share your location with friends or relatives at home, but otherwise keep it to yourself. If people ask where you are staying, it’s perfectly okay to be vague unless and until you feel secure in sharing the information with others.
- Find a ‘Safe Space’ – When you are in a new place, it’s nice to have an anchoring point; a restaurant, perhaps, where you feel welcomed and comfortable and secure in meeting new acquaintances.
- Learn the Best Walking Spots – Especially when going out at night, learn all you can about the streets or districts considered safest for women walking solo. Your hotel concierge, a tour guide or the wait staff in your chosen ‘safe space’ should happily provide this information.
- Keep Your Phone Charged and Handy – It will not only help you stay in touch, but it can help you check maps, Metro and bus routes and schedules, and other local information. (It’s a good idea to pack and keep a portable battery charger in your purse or backpack.)
- Learn How to Say, “Not Interested” in the Local Language – You can learn how from your guide book or your concierge or a tour guide—and the phrase can be helpful to ward off unwanted passes, whether flirtatious from a persistent sales vendor.
- Watch Your Back–and Your Drink – Sadly, spiking drinks is still very much a thing—another good reason to learn a bit about where to go or not go in a new city. Some women say that taking a self-defense class before traveling alone provides some added peace of mind. Most of all, though, women are typically blessed with incredible instincts! Trust your gut when your intuition talks to you.
