Solo Women Travel

There are both benefits and negative factors to solo travel. One of the major benefits is that your time is your own to do what you want with. If you want to spend an extra hour looking around a museum, you can. If you want to spend an extra week in a town you’ve fallen in love with, you don’t have to discuss it with anyone. Plus, solo travel opens you up to meeting more people – maybe it won’t just be a town you fall in love with. You’ll get closer to your destination because one person travelling alone can often have experiences that aren’t open to groups.
A negative factor is that many women travelling solo experience loneliness. You don’t have anyone to share the experience with. But solo travel allows you to meet people along the way who you can share a day, a week or a month with… and some of these relationships will last a lifetime. Of course it’s important to keep in touch with people back home, and a good chat on the phone might alleiviate some of that loneliness.
It’s also important to consider security when women travel solo. Make sure you keep your belongings hidden and lock your bag with a padlock. Since you’re travelling alone, you don’t have anyone to watch your things, if for example you need to visit the bathroom. A bike lock can attach your bags to a handy post, or you could ask someone to keep an eye on them for you. You’ll have to become a good judge of character!
If you’re a woman considering solo travel, stop thinking about it and just do it! You’ll have a memorable experience that you’ll never forget – you’ll grow as a person, you’ll see things you never thought you would, and you’ll have a great time. Solo women travel is something you won’t regret.
The Indie Travel Podcast is publishing a solo women travel book, called The Art of Solo Travel: A Girls’ Guide by Stephanie Lee. It’s designed to help women travellers plan and enjoy their trips, because we want to see more women traveling solo.