Traveling alone boosts a woman’s confidence and helps her get to know herself better. With the current growing trend of females traveling solo, besides having fun and seeing the world, they can also expect to experience difficulties, mainly related to safety.
When traveling alone, you certainly can’t afford to be ignorant. By being on the safe side, you’ll enjoy the peace of mind and feel relaxed while on a journey.
Here are eight clever safety tips & tricks for solo female travelers:
Register with your home country’s embassy
If you’re planning to travel abroad, it makes sense to register with your local embassy. By doing so, you could get access to several services, including travel advisories (warnings and alerts), quicker passport issuance, and help in emergencies.
You must always double-check with the embassy about the prevailing situation of your foreign destination before traveling. This way, you can know well in advance about the likelihood of unfavorable circumstances jeopardizing your safety, such as natural calamities and civil unrest.
Avoid being flashy while traveling.
It’s in your best interest to avert attention when traveling solo. Keeping a low profile in your travel destination will help you blend to the greatest extent possible, barely revealing that you’re there on holiday. So, dress accordingly when traveling alone, leaving all those super sexy or revealing outfits as well as chunky necklaces back home.
Once you’ve finalized your travel destination, it’s a good idea to research the locals’ dressing style. It’s best to wear a shawl over your outfit, while stepping into the local neighborhood, around men, and, most importantly, in the vicinity of religious areas.
By blending yourself with the natives, besides staying safe, you’ll also keep storekeepers from citing fancy prices, thus ending up bargaining just like the locals.
Spend a bit more on accommodation
Stay safe by paying a little extra for accommodation. When traveling solo, staying alone in a new, unfamiliar place could give you sleepless nights. So, whether you’re traveling for business or leisure, book your accommodation in the destination’s populated and popular areas. Although this will cost you more, you can certainly ensure a good night’s sleep throughout your trip.
Select a hotel located in a safe and walkable area and with sufficient food options close-by. How about checking into women-only accommodation? You’ll find plenty of such hotels, as well as hostels in various destinations worldwide.
Female-only accommodations with female-only staff certainly ensure an incredibly safe environment for you. What’s more, they can also delight you with satin-padded hangers and curling irons as well as glossy magazines and fresh flowers.
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Share your travel plan with loved ones
Yes, it’s a must when you’re traveling alone. Once you’ve finalized your itinerary, don’t forget to share the same with your loved ones as your safety is bound to worry them. With adequate knowledge of your whereabouts at any given time, it becomes easy for them to contact you. For instance, they can call up at the hotel’s reception in order to speak to you if they’re not able to reach you directly.
In case your busy schedule keeps you from calling them frequently, use social media for sharing your day-to-day moments with them. They’d appreciate your messages accompanied by some exciting pictures of your trip.
Make it a point to regularly keep your social media up to date with location tags and also live videos, assuring friends and family that you’re safe. This way, if you’re stuck in an emergency and unable to reach them, the absence of your social media updates will undoubtedly alert them and enable them to provide help immediately.
Plan to enter a new location during the day
If your travel itinerary includes visits to several towns or cities, always plan to arrive at a new place in the daytime. Besides being much easier to make your way around new cities in broad daylight, the risk of mishaps occurring is also minimal.
Daytime arrivals work even better if you’re making a solo road trip. How about stopping at scenic spots en route, and taking in the beautiful countryside sunlight. Moreover, if you’re traveling with loads of luggage, try hiring a vehicle that has a universal roof rack.
Connect with other females who are traveling alone
Although you may have begun this trip by yourself, you don’t need to spend the entire trip alone. Won’t it be fun, meeting and interacting with other solo female tourists?
As you’ll connect with them, you’ll get to learn about varied cultures as well as different perspectives on a specific subject like globalization. All this, while parallelly exploring your travel destination.
It’s a good idea to take a day outing on the first day of your trip. This way, you have a high chance of coming across other solo women travelers putting up in your neighborhood and building a good rapport with them.
Always make sure to carry all your critical belongings on you.
Losing your significant possessions like purse, wallet, passport, or even your laptop can ruin your trip! So, you must carry these valuables with you, instead, on you, no matter where you go.
It’s best to use a crossbody travel purse with a reasonably thick strap, to stash them safely. For extra precautions, go for a bag with a snap closure and also installed with a good-quality lock.
Since you’ll be wearing a thick-belted bag going across your body, you’ll never be easy prey for thieves looking for quick money. This way, you’re assured of both safety and comfort throughout your trip.
Carry a door stopper along
A must-have for every solo woman traveler, a door stopper gives you additional safety all through your stay in the new accommodation. So, don’t forget to pack this essential item before you set your foot out.
Once you put the stopper below your hotel room’s door, nobody can enter forcefully or pop open the door no matter what the circumstances are. Thus assuring you of comfortable and peaceful sleep.
Conclusion
Now you know some of the essential tips and tricks to stay safe, avoid tricky situations and getting rid of travel fear. By using these safety tricks, you’ll undoubtedly have a fantastic, smooth, and memorable solo trip!