By Delia Tiu
Every woman I know who has thought about travelling alone has asked this question. Sometimes out loud, sometimes just to herself at 2am while looking at flights she is too scared to book.
Is it safe?
I know the fear feels bigger than that.
I see travelling as your normal daily life, happening somewhere new. At home, you don’t walk through bad neighbourhoods either. There are strangers everywhere you go, every single day. You get in cars with people you don’t know. You walk to restaurants alone. You navigate cities you haven’t been to before.
Travelling doesn’t make the world more dangerous. It just makes you more aware of it. And actually, that awareness makes you safer, not less.
The Real Risk vs The Fear We Carry
Here is something nobody says out loud: travelling in your own country can sometimes be more dangerous, because familiarity makes you careless. When you are somewhere foreign, you pay attention. You research. You take precautions you wouldn’t bother with at home. You trust your instincts more because you know you don’t have a safety net to fall back on.
As women, we are already wired for this. We read rooms. We notice when something feels off. We calculate routes, exits, and risks without even thinking about it. That instinct does not disappear when you board a plane. If anything, it sharpens.
The goal is not to eliminate risk. It is to not create it unnecessarily.
Trust Your Gut. Every Single Time.
I want to say this clearly before anything else: if something does not feel right, trust that feeling. Turn around. Say no. Leave.
If the sketchy guy offering a private tour to a not-so-well-known place makes your stomach tighten, that is your body telling you something. Listen to it. There will be another tour, another place, another guide. There is only one you.
Better safe than sorry is not a cliché. It is the most important travel rule I know.
People with bad intentions exist everywhere in the world, including your hometown. As women, we have always had to be extra careful. We know this. We have known it since we were teenagers walking home. Solo travel does not change that reality. It just asks you to apply what you already know, in a new place.
The Street I Should Not Have Walked Down
I will tell you about a moment I am not proud of, because I think it will help you more than any list of safety tips.
I was trying to get to a place I had seen online. It looked beautiful in the photos. On Google Maps, it seemed walkable. What I did not think about was the route itself, not from the destination’s perspective, but from mine, on foot, alone.
The street was not very populated. There was a small bar on the side of the road with a group of men outside. I had nothing to defend myself with and I was not enjoying a single step of that walk. I was not thinking about the beautiful place anymore. I was thinking about one thing only: getting somewhere safe.
So I stopped, opened my phone, and ordered an Uber.
And here is the funny part. I got into a car with a complete stranger without a second thought. Because somehow that felt safer. And most of the time, it is. But it reminded me that solo travel safety is not about avoiding all risk. It is about making smarter choices about which risks you take.
The Uber Rule, the Fake Phone Call, and the Someone-Is-Waiting-For-Me Trick
If you travel solo, you will use ride-sharing apps. And most trips will be completely fine. But some will feel a little off. A driver who does not follow the GPS. Small talk that crosses a line. A route that does not look right.
Here is what I do: I call someone, real or imaginary, and I say loudly, clearly, “I will be there in ten minutes.” Or I send a voice message to a friend. Not because I need to talk to them. Because I need the driver to know that someone, somewhere, is expecting me. That I am not invisible. That there is a person who will notice if I do not arrive.
And it goes beyond the car. Whenever I am in any situation that feels uncomfortable, I act as if someone is about to meet me. A sister, a friend, a boyfriend. “We are meeting in five minutes just around the corner.” I check my phone as if I just got a message from them. I walk with the energy of someone who has a destination and a person waiting at it.
Does it always work? I cannot promise that. But it changes the dynamic. And more than anything, it changes how I carry myself. Less like a target. More like someone who belongs exactly where she is.
It costs nothing. It requires zero technology. And it works.
Read the Room, Then Dress for It
Here is something we do not talk about enough. There is a real difference between walking with confidence and walking like a target. And sometimes, without meaning to, we give signals we did not choose to give.
We glow. We are happy, well-dressed, arranged, full of feminine energy. And that is beautiful. That is us. But in certain places, at certain moments, it can attract the wrong kind of attention.
This is not about changing who you are. It is about reading the room and adapting. Cover up a little more in conservative areas. Put a hat on. Walk with purpose, not with a tourist look on your face. Sometimes make a slightly unbothered, don’t-talk-to-me face. Not because you are not friendly, but because you are choosing when and where to shine.
As you read the vibes around you, others read you too. If you look uncertain or vulnerable, someone looking for an opportunity will notice. If you look like you know exactly where you are going and someone is waiting for you around the corner, they will think twice.
You do not have to dim your light. Just learn when to turn it down a little. The right people, in the right moments, will always see it.
Most Scenarios, We Can Actually Prevent
The most important safety decision you make on any trip happens before you even pack your bag. It happens when you are booking.
Research the neighbourhood. Not just the hotel or the apartment. The street it is on. The area around it. The walk from the nearest transport. Google “is [neighbourhood] safe” and read what actual travellers say, not just the travel blogs trying to sell you a dream.
A good location means you can walk back to your stay at night without thinking twice. Most of what we are afraid of, we can prevent. Not all of it. But most.
You Are More Prepared Than You Think
The fear of solo travel safety is real. I am not dismissing it. But I want you to see clearly what you are actually bringing with you when you travel alone: years of navigating the world as a woman. Years of reading people, trusting instincts, making quick decisions. Years of knowing when to leave a room, when to fake a phone call, when to smile and walk faster.
You have been training for this your whole life.
Solo travel does not make the world more dangerous. It gives you the freedom to move through it on your own terms, and the knowledge that most of the time you’ll find kindness.
Outro: At SoloWeTravel, safety is not an afterthought. It is built into everything we do. Our vetted partners, curated stays, and SOS support system mean you are never truly alone, even when you are travelling solo.