Solo travel can present great challenges. However, the most important thing during solo travel is that you pay attention to your own safety.

If you can’t rely on another person, you have to be a lot more careful because you’re an easier target for other people too.

In order to stay as safe as possible during your solo travel trip and avoid dangerous situations, here are several safety tips that will help you on your trip.

General Solo Travel Safety Tips:

Don’t say you are alone

You’re an easier victim when someone knows you’re alone. When being asked, pretend you’re waiting for someone.

Take Care of your Bags

Always carry your bag and backpack on your body in such a way that no one can simply tear them away.

Don‘t take all your money with you

Never take all your money you have with you. Only take what you need for the day. Also split your money up and stash it in different places. For example in your pocket or in your handbag. This makes it harder for thieves to steal a lot of money.

Research

To avoid dangers, research your trip in detail beforehand. Ask yourself if your accommodation is safe and in a safe neighborhood or what is the safest way to get to your accommodation from the airport.

Buy a SIM card

Even if you are only staying in one place or country for a few days, always buy a SIM card. Don’t just rely on public WiFi. So you are always available and can always try to reach someone even in an emergency.

Always charge your phone

Whenever you leave your accommodation and are away for a longer period of time, always have your mobile phone fully charged. Ideally, you also have a power bank with you. The battery drains quickly, especially if you use Google Maps a lot. So make sure that your mobile phone doesn’t go dead before you drive back to your accommodation.

Take care of your documents

You should always keep your most important documents such as visa, passport or driver’s license in a safe place. It is best to send a photo of everything to your email address so that you can always access your documents in case of doubt that you will lose something.

Never share your location with strangers

Never tell strangers the name or address of your accommodation. Also, don’t post your pictures on social media until long after you’ve left the place. So nobody can know where you are at the moment.

Always let someone know where you’re going

Whether it’s the hotel staff or your family at home, always let someone know when you leave your accommodation where you’re going, with whom, and for how long.

Never leave your credit card unattended

Never give your card to the staff in restaurants, but ask if they can bring the payment device to you. Otherwise, they can take a picture of your credit card and then use it online without you noticing.

Always have travel insurance

Travel insurance protects you from unexpectedly having to spend a lot of money.
The most important thing is to have health, liability and accident insurance. Before you take out the insurance, read exactly in which cases the insurance applies. This way you avoid getting into situations later that are not covered by the insurance.

Avoid buying tickets from non official places

Always try to double check if it’s a real company and no fake where you buying your ticket for daytrips or anything else.
It can quickly happen that a nice local tries to sell you a fake ticket for a tour. Also, never buy tickets through third parties. If you are unable to use the ticket, it will be more difficult to claim a refund.

Install a tracking App

Install a tracking app and share your live location with a friend or family member. With Google Maps you have the option to share your location with others. An alternative to Google Maps or a tracking app is to share your live location on What’s App.

Solo Travel Safety Tips for your accommodation:

Read the reviews

To avoid ending up in bad accommodation that actually looks pretty good on the pictures, always read the reviews of other guests before you book a hostel or hotel.

Always lock your valuables in the locker

Always lock your money, credit cards, and other valuables in a locker. You should not only do this in the hostel but also in the hotel if you have a room alone. You never know if you can really trust the room service.

Check the Location of your Accommodation

Before you book your accommodation, check where the accommodation is located. An Accommodation in the middle of the city is much safer than an accommodation in a remote area.

Never open the door when you’re not expecting anyone

If you are not expecting anyone, do not open the door for anyone who knocks. Also in the hostel you should be careful to open the door to someone. While it could just be one of your roommates who forgot their key, it could also be someone else that you’re not expecting at all.

Share the address with friends or family

For security reasons, you should always share the address of your accommodation with friends or family.

Solo Travel Safety Tips for the airport:

Remove the label with your name from your suitcase

Of course you should have a label with your name on the suitcase as soon as you check in your suitcase. However, you should remove the label as soon as you leave the airport. Otherwise, anyone can quickly find out your name, address or phone number without you perhaps noticing.

Do not leave your luggage unattended

You should not leave your luggage unattended not only because someone could steal something, but also so that nobody can put anything in your luggage. Especially at the airport it can be a big problem if you have dangerous things in your luggage.

Do not put your belongings in the overhead locker

If you keep your valuables in the overhead locker during the flight, you may not notice when someone takes your things out there. So always keep your valuables close to you during the flight.

Solo Travel Safety Tips for woman:

Don’t go out alone in the dark

As a woman, it is of course safest not to go out alone in the dark in unfamiliar places. Always make sure you get back from your day trips before the sun goes down.

Book a female dorm at the hostel

Most hostels offer extra rooms for women. These are sometimes a few dollars more, but when it comes to your own safety, it is worth spending a few dollars more.

Have pepper spray with you

If you can, always have pepper spray with you. Have this always ready to hand in your jacket pocket. So you can defend yourself immediately if in doubt.

Do not take alcohol from strangers

Do not take drinks from strangers in bars or clubs. You never know what went into that drink there. Always keep your hand over your glass so that nobody can secretly pour something into your drink.

Plan ahead

Plan before your flight how to get from the airport to your accommodation. This is safer than meeting dubious taxi drivers when you arrive.

Book your flights at daytime

Try to book your flights to land or depart on the day. This is safer than having to find your way around in the dark at night. Especially after landing in a foreign country, it is safer to land during the day.