Here are the 5 tips to help you keep yourself safe during travel. Taking these steps will allow you to travel confidently and safely as a solo female traveler.
1. Purchase the travel insurance people!
This is the one place where being cheap is not a good idea. We are in the midst of a pandemic, not only could you get sick with COVID19 on travel but you can just get sick – period. We just recently had a hurricane warning in Cancun and many flights were canceled. Travel insurance would reimburse you for a canceled flight you paid for.
Purchase the travel insurance people!
And in purchasing said travel insurance, make sure you purchase travel insurance that will not only cover the cost of your trip, canceled flights, lost baggage but also emergency medical care and repatriation of remains. Yes, it may sound morbid to have to think of shipping your remains home but God forbid something fatal happens to you while you are aboard, do you really want to put that kind of burden on your family??
Purchase the travel insurance people!
Get a comprehensive travel insurance plan it’s worth the money! I like world nomad because they cover COVID19, many plans do not and exclude it so read the fine print, do your research but purchase the travel insurance people!
2. Have an itinerary and share it with someone you trust
Document your travel plans and share them with someone you trust. There are so many great apps that allow you to have all of your travel arrangements in one place. My favorite is TripIt but there are many others, again do you some research and figure out what you like BUT document your travel plan in a Travel Itinerary. It should include your flight with airline and flight number; and your hotel information with address, email address and phone numbers. If you’re going on any tours, document those as well. If you are taking any buses or trains for side or travel in-country, document those a well. If you are going to dine at a restaurant, or go out on a date, document the as well – THEN
Share it with someone you trust so that if anything happens someone will know where you were supposed to be on any given day/time which segues to #3
3. Have a check-in partner and emergency contact
Especially as a solo female traveler, it is critically important that you designate at least one person that will hear from you daily. I have at least 3 people but at least 1 is enough. Agree upon a morning and evening check-in ideally and make sure that person hears from you at your agreed upon designated time frames. A quick text is all that is needed. I usually check-in first thing in the am with my son, my sister, and a close cousin via WhatsApp. I check-in again in the evening before I go to bed. I also share my TripIt itinerary with them along with my best friend. I cover many bases because if I go missing, I want someone to notice quickly and I want them to know where to start looking.
4. Always pack and travel with a flashlight a first aid kit, a mini smoke & carbon monoxide detector, and an emergency alarm.
In many countries, there are no streetlights and at night it is pitch black. And some countries do not have stable electricity. It helps to have a mini flashlight that you can tuck in your purse or attach to your belt or purse. Here is a brand that I love but there are many others.
It is also imperative that you travel with a mini first aid kit with things like band-aids, Tylenol, bacitracin, cold medicine, and charcoal pills to name a few of my essentials. You may not get deathly ill on a trip and need medical attention but there is a high possibility that you may catch a cold, have a tummy ache, or just have a headache. On a trip to the Republic of Georgia, a colleague stepped on a nail while we were walking down the street. It went straight thru her sandals into her foot. Because I had a kit, when we got back to the hotel, I was able to provide her with alcohol swabs, antibacterial ointment, and a Band-Aid. It wasn’t serious but it could’ve gotten serious without those items! Here is one from Amazon that I love but I pack mine with the things that I need.
Many hotels, especially small cute but low-cost ones, do not have smoke or carbon monoxide detectors in their rooms. That doesn’t have to deter you from nabbing that great deal! Just purchase a travel-size smoke & carbon monoxide detector, tuck it in your bag and bring it with you. Here is one that I love.
Finally, as a female solo traveler, ALWAYS carry a small alarm whistle. If you get in a tight spot and need to draw or expel attention, having an alarm with a loud annoying sound is helpful. I’ve only needed to use mine once but once was enough. Here is the one I always carry with me.
5. Exercise situational awareness and common sense (stay low key)
Always exercise situational awareness. This means pay attention to what is happening around you. Don’t wear headphones when you are walking or exercising alone or on public transit. When you are walking not who is walking in front of or behind you. Don’t drink too much or excessively when you are socializing and don’t wear a lot of jewelry, don’t carry an excessive amount of flashy designer items, and just stay low-key and observant. Follow your female intuition and if something feels wrong, go with your gut and exit stage left!
These are not my only safety and security tips for female solo travelers but it’s my top 5 and I hope you find them helpful.
What are the safety steps you follow and tips that you would share with a solo traveler? I’d love to hear them so do share them in the comments!
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