Solo travel is becoming increasingly popular for women of all ages. We’re exploring the world on our own, no longer waiting for the right time or the right person to come with us. Here are my top 10 tips for travelling solo as a woman.
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1. Choose your destination carefully
The first of my top 10 tips for travelling solo as a woman is to choose your destination carefully. Some countries and cities have a much easier tourist infrastructure than others, which make them easier to travel solo if you’re less experienced. If you’ve never tried solo travel before, start with going somewhere in your home country. You’ll be familiar with the language, and it will feel a lot safer. Once you’re confident solo travelling in your own country, you can visit some other countries that are considered ‘safe’ and easy to travel. And after that, visit anywhere you like!
You can read more about my recommendations for the best destinations for solo travel here for Europe, or here for worldwide destinations.
2. Plan your travel and first night’s accommodation
When you’re travelling on your own, it’s completely up to you how much you want to plan your trip. You can plan every day in meticulous detail if you want. Or if you’d rather, you can just go with the flow and not plan anything. But as a minimum, I’d recommend planning your travel and your first night’s accommodation. It’s best to have a good idea of where you’re going, and also how you’re going to get from the airport/train station to your accommodation. Often you’ll be tired from the journey when you arrive, so having your first accommodation planned can be a welcome relief. After a good night’s sleep, you’ll feel ready to take on whatever the rest of your trip has waiting for you!
3. Be mindful of safety
In a perfect world, women would be able to travel all over the world without having to be concerned about safety. And I truly believe that you can travel anywhere safely, but also that you can be unlucky with safety anywhere too. When travelling solo as a woman, it’s best to be mindful of a few safety considerations so you can enjoy your trip. Be sensible with how much alcohol you drink. Make sure you keep in touch with friends and family back home so people know where you are. In crowded areas, use a shoulder bag or wear your backpack on your front and be aware of pickpockets. Split up your money so you don’t carry it all in the same place. Just some of these basic safety precautions can help keep you safe so you can enjoy your trip.
4. Stay in a hostel to meet other travellers
If you’d like to meet other travellers, staying in a hostel can be great. You can stay in a dorm room, and get talking to the other people in your room. Some hostels offer female-only dorm rooms if you’d prefer. Or you can often book a private room in a hostel so you have your own privacy, but you can still use the shared kitchen and other areas to meet other people. If you’re nervous of being lonely on your trip, staying in a hostel can help you easily connect with other travellers, and you can make great friends really quickly.
5. Consider joining a small group tour
Another way to meet people when travelling is to join a small group tour. You can join a group tour just for a day, if you’d like to take a day trip somewhere. Often, this can mean you can escape from a city without needing to drive yourself. Or you could join a small group tour to take you around a whole country. Some small group tours also give you the option to share a room with another solo female, so you won’t have to pay a single supplement. Read more about small group tours in my blog here.
6. Try to travel ethically and sustainably
Another of my top 10 tips for travelling solo as a woman is to try to travel ethically and sustainably. It’s important to be mindful or the impact we’re having on the environment and also local communities when we travel. Try to minimise your use of plastic by using a reusable water bottle. If you plan to do any volunteering work while you travel, research it carefully to make sure it’s ethical. Be careful with any tourist attractions that involve animals – make sure they treat the animals well. Consider taking trains instead of flying. All of these things can help preserve our planet.
7. Keep in touch with family and friends
Even if you’re travelling solo to get away from things at home, it’s important to still keep in touch with some people at home. It’s important some people know where you are so they can look out for your safety. It’s up to you how you keep in touch. You can send a message every evening, or update your social media every day so people know where you are. It can also be fun to send a photo of your adventure to share the joy!
8. Get a local phone SIM card
Getting a local SIM card for your phone can mean you can use your phone abroad at a low cost. You can easily keep in touch with friends and family at home, and also use the internet to look at a map or find restaurant reviews. But try not to spend all your trip on your phone. It can be nice to detach from technology for a bit, so try to be present and not always seeing everything through your phone screen.
9. Take a tripod if you want photos of yourself
One of the downsides of solo travel is that there’s no one to take photos of you! Some women don’t mind just taking photos of the views. But if you’d like to take some photos of yourself when you travel, consider taking a tripod with you. Even a small tripod that you can attach to a rock can give you some great photos. It doesn’t matter if you feel awkward taking photos or yourself with a tripod. When you get home, you’ll be glad you’ve got some beautiful photos to look back on.
10. Have fun and enjoy the freedom!
Most importantly, have fun on your solo trip! It can be amazingly empowering to travel solo, and you can learn so much about yourself. You might come home with increased confidence, knowing you achieved so much more than you thought you were capable of. Enjoy the freedom of a solo trip, so you can do exactly what you want, and have the best time ever.
Enjoy planning your trip with these top 10 tips for travelling solo as a woman! Make sure you check out my blogs for the top European destinations for solo female travellers, as well as the top worldwide destinations and my top low budget travel tips for solo travel. And if you’re thinking about joining a Small Group Tour, read my blog about tours here.
If you’d like to learn more about solo female travel, make sure you check out my latest book, with all the important tips for your trip (affiliate).
