Ladies Discussion Forum

[Winston]

To any travelers here:

Which countries are safe for a girl to travel alone in? How about Europe? Asia?

Any tips on safety for women traveling alone?

Also, if you are white girl who went to Asia or India, did all the stares there bother you?

[BellaRuth]

I'd feel comfortable travelling in any country in Europe.

I've not been to Asia or India but I've been to Turkey, and I'd never go there on my own. The men are something else, especially if you're blonde. Scary stuff. It's not just stares, but actual pouncing, even if you're minding your own business and not wearing anything revealing. I was fine with family, but on my own I'd definitely feel on edge.

[Renata]

Bella what is pouncing? What happened? Ther are so many blondes in Turkey though, but I can confirm that Turk men are agressive not in a dangerous way but they can be relentless & persistant. You see lots of British slags & American women come to the touristic areas & have these holiday romances. The perception of foreign women here is that they are easy to bed. I blend in well until I start speaking in Turkish with my Caribbean accent.

[BellaRuth]

I've been to Turkey twice and had exactly the same experience when I was as young as 9.

I find Greeks, Cypriots, Italians, Spanish and Portuguese men persistant, but they seem to take some regard of social cues and personal space! They are also fine to talk to. They just flirt and have fun with the process, I think.

I've had pretty bad experiences with Turkish guys, though, and I'm quite easy-going. I didn't go to the more notorious areas where the more 'rough' Brits go as I avoid them here and certainly don't want to meet them abroad, so perhaps that had a factor. I went to what I hoped was 'normal' Turkey.

I do stand out quite a bit being pale skinned and naturally blonde, and I had lots of people (women and children too) coming up to me and touching my hair etc., and men who would stare or try to approach or say something to me. I have no problem with that. But they do cross the line a little bit.

By 'pouncing' I mean literally grabbing me and trying to get a kiss. And not in a jokey way as an Italian might do, but in quite an intimidating, cold way. Following me around persistently to the extent of waiting outside my hotel room and shouting things, waiting for me to get in the pool in the evening and just grabbing a chair to sit and watch me swim (empty pool). It got so bad with one man my father (I was on holiday with family) ended up punching one of them so we could get some peace! He's not someone who likes to make a scene but it was getting ridiculous. I think the main problem was these men just didn't seem to care if I was uncomfortable or even frightened, they had no regard for me as a person, unlike men I'd call 'persistent' in other countries.

Of course some men were just lovely, friendly, jokey, accommodating, but on the whole I still wouldn't feel comfortable being there on my own.

I might have had a bad experience and do plan to go back to Turkey fairly soon. It is a beautiful, interesting country and I really want to visit the salt lakes next time.

[Renata]

Mostly in the heavy touristic areas you get these stories like Mamaris, Fetiye, Bodrum & Dalaman. My worst experiences here were;

A taxi driver in Dalaman making a detour to take me to a net cafe to chat on google translate, that was just crazy.

A mini bus driver parking the bus to, as he said, practice English lol

Army men firing gunshots in my apartment building ... I decided to take a job close to the Syrian border, all seemed well until that happened.

Other than that it's been ok because I've stay away from those touristic areas I mentioned earlier. I've lived in Izmir, Antalya & Hatay. It's a big country, next time you plan to visit stay away from the areas I mentioned above. They are for romance holidays, that's why the guys are overly suggestive, because the rest of Turkey is not like that.

[NinjaPuppy]

[Riyko]

I traveled alone to Chile with my daughter and I had no issues what so ever, but I also kept a few key pointers in mind.

1. Don't stop and talk to anyone, or if anyone asked me a question i'd say no entiendo or no habla español (it's true though i don't speak a lick of spanish haha)

2. Don't go out alone at night unless in a group

3. Don't wear anything that has a lot of value/worth a lot of money

4. Make sure to research where you are going and map out everything so you know the places to avoid and how far it is to the nearest police station, hospital, hotel etc if you are in danger.

Something about Chile is there are always and I mean always cops on the streets and they are everywhere, from the cops to monitor traffic, to those who stand by the banks and all of them have their guns ready to go if they need to use them.

[Ava Paige]

[Ava Paige]

I think the safest country for women to travel in would be East Asia. Local men there are very timid and respectful. Just don't expect a special treatment from them or "ladies first" policy, as in traditional culture, it's "men's first". All in all it's totally safe there for a woman to travel alone.

On the medium safety level, Philippines would be okay as long as you stay in "high areas" or tourist destinations eg. Makati, Boracay, Cebu, etc. but if you want to explore the lower class places, you might as well be with a tough guy or maybe learn a bit of self defense in preparation for traveling there.

While those mentioned above are what I call safe places for women, I advice you to NEVER travel in Middle East countries as there are high rates of rape there, especially with foreign women. Some female workers from my country even reported being sexually abused by their employers, random guys and even high officials there. And I heard that even if you call the cops for help, they won't even be on your side. So if you really want to travel there, you should have at least two male company (from your own country of course, preferably a big and intimidating white guy lol).

[Falcon]

China is one of the safest countries for women to travel alone. Everywhere in rural and urban China, I would see women of all ages and backgrounds traveling by themselves without worries. Street harassment of women in China is extremely rare, since the country feels much more egalitarian than many others do. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore are also extremely safe for solo women travelers.

All over Latin America, women will often get cat-called on the street, but I knew some Australian female backpackers who have traveled solo through Mexico without any real problems at all.

Happy travels!

[Renata]

[Tani321]

The world offers a lot of countries for girls to travel alone. My sister is also like travelling and recently came back . She is a brave girl and she likes to travel alone. Here I want to share the names of safe countries for girls:
1- Australasia, New Zealand,
2- North America, Canada
3- South America, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay.
4- Caribbean,Cuba, Martinique, British Virgin Islands.
5- Europe, Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland

[Sherlock]

I think Austria is one of the safest countries for girls to travel alone. My daughter has been there about a year ago. She said that it is one of the best and prettiest countries of Europe. We can enjoy countless activities in this country. It offers a wide range of heritage and natural sights to see. She enjoyed her trip very peacefully there.

[Tani321]

It is wonderful Sherlock. You give me a good news about girls travel alone. My elder sister wants to go Europe country with friends. She was confused about safest European countries. You have solved my problem. I will suggest Austria with my sister and I hope so she will also enjoy trips peacefully like your daughter.

[Sherlock]

Yes Tani, Austria is an ideal destination for girls. It is one of the prettiest European countries. It is rich in history, beautiful places, tradition and culture. Here I want to suggest some places to your sister that are also most visited places of this country. She can visit the; Hallstatt, Schonbrunn Palace, St Anton am Arlberg and Innsbruck Altstadt during this journey.