Traveling as a Solo Female

Traveling to a foreign country, even with a familiar group of people, is a challenging task in itself. However, add to this the stress of traveling solo, and more specifically, traveling as a solo female, and it presents an even more taxing experience. I traveled to a few countries by myself, and it was definitely stressful to plan, but very rewarding afterwards. Because it was my first time traveling solo, I was looking for a blog that discussed the challenges of traveling as a female, and tips for having a safe but fun trip. 

That's when I came across the blog "Adventurous Kate," which is labeled as a solo female travel blog. The author, Kate McCulley, is an experienced traveler who writes this blog for a living. One of the things that I like the most about her blog is her style of writing. She manages to intertwine serious safety tips with humorous stories about her travel adventures. 

One of the tabs in her blog is called "Destinations." This tab lists all of the countries she's traveled to (78 out of 195 countries!), and a detailed description about each place. For example, her article on France includes a whole section about safety as a female traveler, the best neighborhoods to stay in Paris, and 100 travel tips for Paris, among many other France-related articles. 

My favorite section of Kate's blog is called "Solo Female Travel." In this section, she addresses all of the common concerns about traveling alone as a female, as well as many misconceptions people have about solo travel. One of the articles in this section, "Top 10 Travel Safety Tips for Women," proved to be very useful when I was planning out my solo excursions. The intro of this article begins:

Is it possible for a woman to travel the world and stay safe? Absolutely. Even if you steer clear of resorts. Even if you go to developing countries. Even if you don’t speak the local language. Even if you’re traveling alone.

 I created this site so I could help women travel safely and independently around the world. And after five years, it’s working—I get daily emails from women who have gone on their first backpacking trips, their first non-resort trips, their first solo trips, all because sites like mine gave them the confidence to do so. They survived, they thrived, and they had the time of their lives.

But the women who took these trips did so well in part because they prioritized their safety while traveling. What does that mean? Well, this list of travel safety tips for women will give you an idea!

Following this, she lists her 10 useful tips which includes safety advice such as, "Spend extra money on staying safe." After traveling to several countries alone, I strongly agree with this advice. When you are traveling on a budget, you will often try to find the cheapest hostel to stay in, which often ends up being far away from the city center in a room of ten strangers. Rather than risking your safety to save a couple of dollars, I recommend following Kate's advice of "paying more to stay in a central neighborhood with lots of lively activity instead of a cheaper, quiet residential area where you feel isolated." When I stayed in Bruges, Belgium for a night, I opted to pay ten dollars more for a single room for myself at a highly-rated hostel, and the extra privacy and less apprehension I felt as a result was definitely worth it. 

Kate has many more articles like this one that are very helpful for female solo travelers. Even if you aren't female or are traveling with a group, her advice applies to anyone who is planning a trip to an unknown place. From first-time travelers to experienced backpackers, you can never have too much advice on traveling safe.