Unless you plan on taking your chauffeur-driven limo, your gap year is likely to find you using mucho public transport.

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Female safety on buses, trains and taxis Sometimes hilarious, sometimes hair-raising, always eye-opening, public transport makes great fodder for anecdotes (often involving chickens) with which to bore your mates when you get home. Take a few precautions and you can travel in comfort and safety. Taxis - Always take registered, licensed taxis with identity numbers. In different countries there are different ways of recognising reputable taxis (those in Manali where I spent my gap year were white vans with a yellow stripe). - Hotels or hostels will normally call you a cab or provide details of a trustworthy taxi company. - Don’t flag down a cab on the street. Always carry the phone number of a taxi or minicab company and book over the phone. - When you phone, ask for the driver's name and the make and colour of the car. - Give the operator a name (it doesn’t have to be your real name - Doris will do), and when the cab arrives ask the driver their name and company and the name of the person they’re expecting to collect. - If you're calling a taxi from a public place, don’t let people overhear your name or details of where you’re staying. - Always sit in the back of the car, and if you chat to the driver don’t give them any personal details. Stick to the weather. It’s been nippy recently, wouldn’t you say? - Try to share a cab with a friend. Buses and Trains - Plan your journey and book your transport in advance so you can travel confidently. Make sure you’re not arriving in a new place when it’s dark. - It’s best to travel with friends, especially when you’re inexperienced. Later you can branch out on your own. - Be prepared to pay a little more for a higher class of public transport, sweetie. Talk to other travellers - they may tell you that tourist-class buses or first- or second-class carriages on trains are safer and worth the cost. - Sit where there are plenty of other people, particularly other women. - Trust your instincts. If you feel uncomfortable, don’t just sit there, get up and move. - If the local sleaze isn’t keeping his hands to himself then don’t be shy to make a noise about it. A local woman would. - Get kitted out. Carry a personal alarm, and a bike-chain to lock your backpack to a pole or handrail. - Pickpockets love public transport. Carry your valuables in a money-belt or don’t carry them at all. Click here >> for more transport advice Click here >> for more safety advice Click here >> to buy safety gear in our online shop More safety advice Click here >> for advice on meeting local people Click here >> for advice on staying safe in the sun Click here >> for advice on alcohol and safety Click here >> for advice on self-defence Click here >> for advice on what to do if attacked overseas

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