Important Safety Tips for Women Who Travel Alone
More and more women choose to travel alone. If you’re feeling independent and you too wish to explore the world by yourself, you may do so. However, it also can’t be denied that there’s a higher risk of harassment and theft for women. It’s important to be extra careful to prevent these unwanted things from happening. Here are some tips to consider when traveling alone.
Be Updated with the Current News
Before even purchasing a ticket for your flight to the country that you wish to visit, check out the latest news about it. If there are situations that may put you in high danger, find another country to visit. Choose a safer one. You can always visit once the situation has calmed down.
Familiarize Yourself with the Place
If there’s no major crisis in the country that may put your safety at risk, you may continue with your plan, but you still need to take precautionary measures. A quick search on the Internet will let you see the places that you can go to on your trip such as malls, restaurants, hotels, etc. Take note of the locations of the nearest police stations so you know where to get help in case of emergency.
Dress Like the Locals
It’s best to be modest with your dress to prevent attracting unwanted attention. Also, observe how the locals dress up and dress like them to fit in. You want to blend in as those who obviously look like tourists are usually the target of thieves and perpetrators. Avoid wearing and bringing expensive items too. Look confident, so they would think that you know your way around. This would give them the notion that you may have been staying there for a long time and you already know the norms, including what offenders often do to their tourist victims.
Use Your Gadget to Read Map
Bringing and reading a printed map screams tourist and this could easily get the attention of bad people. Use your smartphone to read maps. The Google Map can be accessed as long as you have an Internet connection. If you’re worried that you may not have web access in all places that you would go to, there are map applications that were designed for travelers, which let you download the map of a specific area so you can use it offline. With this, you’ll find your way around and you wouldn’t get unwanted attention.
Avoid Walking Alone on Empty Streets
This doesn’t just apply during the night, but on daytime as well. It would be easy for criminals to attack you in secluded places. There’s a lower risk of being harassed when on a crowded place. However, you should also be careful since pickpockets can easily steal your valuables without knowing it. Be extra vigilant to avoid unwanted things from happening.
Make Your Withdrawals in Busy Areas
It’s less likely that offenders would attack you when there are several people around. If making a withdrawal from an ATM machine, choose one where you can see a lot of people walking by. Malls and hotels usually have ATMs. Machines outside banks are also safer since they usually have security personnel nearby, except after bank hours.
Choose a Trusted Taxi Operator
You might be riding a taxi once you arrived in the country that you’re traveling to. Search ahead of the names of trusted taxi operators to make sure that you’re in good hands. You may also use other forms of public transportation during your stay. It’s best to sit next to an elderly woman, a family or another woman, as this is safer than being with guys.
Be Careful to Whom You Ask Questions To
In case you really need to ask questions and get information from a stranger; again, it would be best to ask from an elderly woman, a younger woman or a family. It’s also recommended that you get in a more secured place like a restaurant, hotel or bank and ask from the people there. This is much better than asking from unknown men in the street.
Don’t Get Drunk
No matter how enjoyable the night is, avoid drinking too much and getting drunk. You wouldn’t be able to think properly and your guard would be down if this happens.
Enjoy your travel without compromising your safety. Always be vigilant and never put your guard down.
Photo Attribution:
Featured and 1st image by Pixomar/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
2nd image by Filip.rytych (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
