One Girl and a Big World

I studied abroad in Ireland for my sophomore year of college and solo traveled in my free time. Here are some strategies I implemented to help keep me safe:

1. Share location with close family and friends – This helps your close people know where you are at all times if they cannot reach you. Chose three to four people that you trust to have your location and let them know when you’ve arrived at the airport, when you are taking a taxi, when you are at your hotel, etc.

2. AirTag in backpack and jacket – My dad placed an AirTag in my jacket and in my backpack as a backup location device. Additionally, this is good if you happen to accidentally misplace your personal belongings. You can never be too safe 🙂

3. Research the place you are traveling too – I only felt comfortable traveling to locations that I felt were easier for me to navigate on my own. For example, Amsterdam was super easy to navigate with a GPS and public transportation was available from the airport directly into the historical district where I was staying. The island of Guernsey had an easy-to-follow public transportation system as well and thus made it much less stressful to get around.

3.5 – Check the city for potentially dangerous districts and know what to avoid. Don’t arrive obliviously. For example, Amsterdam has a large red light district. Although safe during the day, it was still not an area I would want to walk around by myself at night. Additionally, any food place in Amsterdam that sells food with marijuana in it has the name Coffee shop in it. I had never heard of this and I was very lucky that I did not buy food from coffeeshops before finding out what they actually sold. It is things like that that one has to be extraordinarily careful with and research beforehand.

4. Take group tours – If I ever wanted to take a tour, I always chose a group tour as there are more people around you. Group tours are also more fun as you get to meet new people.

5. Don’t stare at GPS – This is a BIG one. One of the easiest ways to pinpoint someone who isn’t from the area is to see how much they rely on their GPS. If you need a GPS and you are walking, make an effort to not follow it blindly, but to memorize streets and directions so you are pulling it out less often.

6. Walk confidently – My dad has always told me, “Walk like you know the city like the back of your hand.” Even if you don’t know where you are going, act like you do. A portrayal of confidence makes you less of a target.

7. Wear reliable shoes – You should be able to kick and run in your shoes if you’re traveling by yourself. Especially during the winter, I wore a good pair of Timberland waterproof boots that could hurt someone if they were kicked with them.

8. Don’t advertise that you are traveling solo. If it happens to come up in conversation, then it comes up. But do your best to avoid mentioning it for security purposes.

9. Don’t tell any stranger where you are staying. If someone asks where you are staying, I found the easiest way to deter the question was to answer them with “I am staying in this district” , “I am staying close to this monument”, or “I cannot remember the name of the hotel” etc. If you can avoid mentioning at all where you stay, do so, but NEVER mention the name of the hotel/hostel/AirBnB you are staying at.

10. DON”T COME OFF AS PARANOID! – Let yourself relax and enjoy your trip. That last thing you want to do is come off as paranoid or anxious. Take precautions, but don’t overthink it. If you are ever unsure about a situation, handle it calmly or make up an excuse, but do not give off an anxious, paranoid vibe.

I hope this helps anyone considering traveling solo. Make sure to follow on Instagram or subscribe to this blog to keep updated whenever I post new travel blogs!