Let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, it’s perfectly normal to travel by yourself! I’ve gotten a few puzzled looks when telling people I travel by myself. As if there’s a stigma associated with solo travel! I think the stigma is actually jealousy. Because they probably don’t have the ability to travel due to circumstances in their own life. You don’t need a friend, family member, or significant other to join you in order to travel. You finally want to take that trip of a lifetime to Paris but don’t have anyone to go with you?? Book it anyway! The first solo trip will be a little scary. It will be a little lonely. But guess what? You get to do EVERYTHING you want to do. You don’t have to worry about anyone’s needs but yourself. YOU control your itinerary. This is the best benefit of traveling solo. And the more you do it, the more you will enjoy and appreciate the solitude in your explorations. Now back to the scary part. Solo travel can be nerve racking at times. And traveling by yourself can make you susceptible to harmful situations. Traveling safely is a concern for anyone, especially for solo travelers. My female friend wrote a post on my blog recently about How to Travel Safely as a Woman. Now I want to write a post and provide tips on how to travel safely for ALL solo travelers.
Safety Tips:
- Share your location with friends, family, or a significant other. Doesn’t matter who, just share your location with at least someone! I share my location with my Mom, whether I want to or not lol. If you don’t know how to share your location on your iPhone, click this link for iPhones and this link for Androids, which shows you how to share your location via Google Maps.
- Share your itinerary – Hotel reservations, flight info, planned excursions or tours – with friends, family, or your significant other. You can even let the hotel staff know where you’re headed and when you expect to return.
- Trust your gut. Never underestimate the power of your own intuition.
- Be aware of your surroundings. You don’t have anyone looking out for you and letting you know if you are about to be pickpocketed. You can’t rely on strangers to help you.
- Lock your luggage.
- If you are traveling abroad, sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). It’s a program that allows U.S. citizens traveling abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. The program allows the embassy or consulate to alert you of safety conditions in your destination country, how to contact you in an emergency, and helps family and friends get in touch with you. Follow them on Twitter as well.
- Look up your destination country’s 911 equivalent number before you depart and keep it saved in your phone.
- Leave a spare credit card, second form of ID, photocopy of your passport, and extra copies of your passport photo in your locked luggage or safe in your hotel room. If you get pickpocketed or mugged, it won’t completely ruin your trip.
- Carry your hotel’s business card in your purse or wallet. It’s sometimes difficult to communicate with a taxi or rideshare driver when you’re in a foreign country. You can simply hand the hotel’s business card to the driver and you shouldn’t have any issues getting back to your hotel. Reddit FTW.
- Read up on potential street scams while waiting at the airport or on your flight.
- If you have to go to the bathroom at a bar or restaurant, finish your drink before ordering another. Or if you’re sitting at a bar and it’s not too busy, ask a bartender to keep an eye on your drink. You always want to keep your drink in your line of sight.
- Don’t drink too much. You’re traveling alone so you have to change your mindset. Everything you do should be geared towards your safety. You can get trashed when you’re back home and with your friends.
- Don’t overshare with strangers. If someone asks if you are traveling alone, lie and say you’re waiting on a spouse, relative, or friend. Don’t give out your last name and don’t tell strangers where you are staying.
- Ladies, don’t set your purse down on an empty chair at a restaurant. Easy target for thieves. Our waitress in Madrid gave my sister this helpful tip.
- If you want some companionship for part of your trip, there are Facebook groups out there for every imaginable type of traveler for you to join: Female only, male only, Gen Z, teachers, moms, and so many more.
- Join the r/solotravel thread on Reddit for even more tips.
- Use a door wedge or security lock in your hotel room.
