Last updated on October 14, 2026 by Shannon
In more than 15 years of solo travel, I’ve been groped three times and dealt with exactly two incidents of real violence—once in Jordan, once in India, both in broad daylight, both with friends nearby. None of that happened because I was careless, and avoiding it isn’t purely a matter of preparation either: safety for solo women comes down to luck as much as it does planning. But luck isn’t the same as recklessness, and there’s a real, specific list of things I do, every single trip, that stack the odds in my favor.
These aren’t theoretical. They’re the habits that have carried me through solo trips across six continents, and I go deeper into the reasoning—and the honest reality of what safety does and doesn’t guarantee—in my essay on the safety of traveling alone as a woman. Here, I’m sticking to the list.
These handful of tips should be paired with common sense and they will take you most any place you want to go in life:
Do Your Research & Bookmark Important Resources
Read the national travel advisories and research what the government says are the key dangers—many local embassies around the world will update country and city listings with nuanced safety information surfaced by no amount of Google searching.
The U.S. government has one, though I find the Canadian one more thorough in some regards. The Canadian one also includes an extensive section on risks for women—have a read and then bookmark because it has a section for “If the worst happens.”
While your embassy is one potential point of contact for Americans abroad, Pathway’s to Safety International provides care for American victim’s abroad.
Understand Local Cultural Norms
The first thing I recommend to any traveler—male or female—is to understand the cultural norms. Read about your upcoming destination; read memoirs and histories and the accounts of travelers and locals in that destination. Email local expats or locals who blog; figure out the geo-politics and religions and these will inform your travels as well as your behaviors.
I have a whole section of this site dedicated to the best travel books broken down by region/country for this very reason—so you can learn and understand before you leave and have a baseline for your actions.
In some places you should cover your hair (Iran) while others it’s best to cover shoulders and legs but belly is acceptable (India). The interactions between women and men differ and you cannot travel and assume your home culture will follow you.
Although Western women are afforded “male” status in some countries, you cannot accept that as a given. That means things like direct eye contact, touching, and even the way you address others is up for adjustments as you travel.
Involve Others in Your Safety
Look around you and find ways to involve the people in this new place in your safety as a solo female traveler—usually just telling them you are alone is enough. This applies to bartenders, hotel clerks, and any place you might be waiting around. Tell your hotel you’re traveling alone and they will make certain you know any risky areas in the city; many also go out of their way to make sure you arrive home each evening. Bartenders only need to know that you’re concerned to take you under their wing.
The same goes with waiting: At bus stations, when I have hours of sitting around, I will ask other groups if I can sit near them (or I’ll just do it).
Recognize that you being alone is often a choice, and telling the right person gives you a network of people also aware and concerned for your safety.
Choose When You’re Solo
Finding ways to get comfortable once you land, and know that you don’t have to be solo even if you are traveling solo. I often take a free walking tour on my first day or two in a capital city. These tours are chock full of historical information, which is fun, but they often include cultural information included too, which helps me understand where I should put my attention, and they offer me the lay of the land so I know the look and feel of the major neighborhoods.
And what’s more, walking tours are filled with other travelers visiting for the next few days or weeks. It doesn’t always work out that I meet someone I want to do something else with, but sometimes I will at least meet people from the tour for food/drinks/daytrip another day.
Even more, I have paid for one- or multi-day tours when I just wasn’t in a state of mind to handle things myself. If you arrive abroad and don’t love how things are going, book a tour, buy your peace of mind. If you mentally set aside a bit of budget to cover it, just in case, then it’s there if you need it.
Stay Aware
One reason I sleep for a week straight when I go home is because my brain is taxed after months of maintaining awareness of everything around me. When I’m walking down the street, there’s only one brain mapping the city to make sure I can get back to my guesthouse. On buses, if I’m solo then I’m likely not asleep.
To date, the only times I have had issues is when I pair up with another traveler and both of us relax in ways we never would otherwise. We lose awareness and we forget things, get lost, allow ourselves to be surrounded by touts, etc. As a solo traveler, you need to assess and make decisions constantly.
This post on how to build situational awareness is brilliant. Read it. Borrow a couple of those books from the library before you leave. And though it’s written from a male point of view, the descriptions of how to teach yourself to continually assess new situations is a valuable skill on the road.
Stay Sober
This is a personal choice and it dovetails with stay aware. While I love a good beer, and while enjoying drinks in dive bars around the world is a backpacker rite of passage, I don’t ever get sloshed when I’m solo. My stance on drinking when I’m with others varies depending on the time, place, and situation, just as it did when I lived in Los Angeles.
Know Basic Self Defense
Before I left in 2008, I spent four months learning Krav Maga, an Israeli form of self-defense training. The gym was near my home in L.A. and I booked an unlimited package so I could rapidly build my self defense skills before I set off solo. Self-defense training for women is important, not only do you learn reflexive defense skills, but it’s a huge confidence booster.
I have never used my Krav Maga training, thankfully, but every day I am the road I carry that knowledge. I know how to properly punch, and I know how to push through the exhaustion-barrier in a fight.
Again, while I’ve never needed it, and there is every reason to believe that you won’t either if you are aware and cautious, there is no reason you shouldn’t research local classes and learn the basics.
Many local YMCAs, libraries, or women’s group offer affordable classes. I highly recommend it. Will it save me if someone truly means me harm? I don’t know, probably not—but I like my chances better for knowing it.
How safe do we want to be? How much of ourselves are we willing to give up for it?
Sarah Hepola
Stop Being Too Nice
Say no to anything that makes you uncomfortable. I read once that men who want to do harm prey on the societal expectation that women are polite and accommodating—many of us were taught to give indirect and polite nos, or help someone when asked.
Reading that changed how I approach interactions that make me uncomfortable. Because I did that, all the time. In my early travels, I would politely listen past my point of comfort, or try to gently ditch to an over-eager tout, cautious of being perceived as too aggressive or mean.
Now, I just don’t care if I’m rude, and you shouldn’t either. I would never be rude in the general course of life, but if it’s something unsolicited and I feel uncomfortable, I go for blunt and immediate. You don’t owe them your kindness, you owe your instincts and gut your attention.
Carry Travel Insurance
Since we’ve honestly looked at the safety issues, the biggest threat is actual bodily harm from traffic accidents. I carry travel insurance every time I leave the U.S. I didn’t use it for many years on the road—I paid for my Laos hospital visit out of pocket since it was only $80—but I always felt safer knowing I can call on medevac or a hospital visit if I am in a serious accident or very sick.
Since then, I had a chest infection in Spain (twice) and those hospital expenses, which were covered, easily covered the cost of my many years of buying coverage. This post thoroughly reviews options and gives a detailed breakdown of how to pick a good company; or just head to IMG if you’re looking for the best policy my research has found, with decent rates to boot.
Don’t forget to book travel insurance for your trip—a great policy provides coverage in case of medical emergencies, lost or stolen gear, adventure sports riders, and more. I’ve used IMG Global for more than a decade highly recommend it!
Carry a Doorstop and Safety Whistle
My travel friend Jodi highly recommends both, so although I carry only the whistle, I know several solo females who feel a lot safer with both.
Pay for Your Safety
Take a cab. Spring for the closer hotel. Plan enough of your day that you’re not left risky areas after dark and you’re not riding on an overnight bus. Traveling on a budget often puts us in a mind-frame of penny-pinching and it’s easy to get caught up in the notion of saving every dime possible.
Before I left, I vowed to myself that if I caught myself in a moment when I was about to make a decision that valued my money over my safety that I would reconsider the choice.
I take the cab when I’m lost, unsure, or have far to go, even though a cab is surely not very “backpackery” of me. I schedule my flights to arrive in a new city during the day, if possible, and I book easy transport to the hotel if not.
Uber is now in most major cities around the world—download it, set it up, and be ready to use it in a pinch (and of course, buy a local SIM card when you land so you can summon said Uber).
If you’re going longer distances, look into private transfers and shuttles that feature reviews from other women traveling alone—this is something that Bookaway offers, for example.
Have enough fear to keep you present and cautious, never enough to keep you home. That’s the whole philosophy behind this list—not eliminating risk, which isn’t possible, but stacking enough small, deliberate habits that you’re making informed choices instead of lucky ones.
Related Reading:
- On the Safety of Traveling Alone as a Woman
- Why I Decided to Travel the World
- Yes, Sometimes Travel is Lonely
- On Health and Travel Sickness
If there is ever anything that I can do to help, please do reach out on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and let’s talk about how we can make your travel dream a reality.