Guide to Solo Female Travel

Solo travel is one of most liberating experiences on the planet - you've got no responsibilities to anybody but yourself, you can do what you want and leave when you like, and the buzz you get from the sense of freedom is immense.

There are, however, considerations to be taken into account - especially if you're a female solo traveller. As long as you do some careful planning and pack your common sense, then there's no reason why you can't have just as much fun as the boys. And then some.

Author Jodun Dunseath has travelled solo in Tanzania, India, Israel, Vietnam, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Tunisia. Her travel experiences range from volunteering in Vietnam to modelling in Mexico...

Before you leave - plan!

There are so many aspects of your trip you need to plan before you fly off to the tropical island of your dreams, and that's where we come in! Take a look at the following tips, and absorb everything you need.

Dealing with parents

Parents can be notoriously protective of their daughters. Get them involved in your planning from an early stage.

Consider buying a phone card that allows you to make calls from abroad at your parents' expense.

Don't promise to ring at the same time each week - this is often not possible when you're on the road, and they'll worry if they're waiting by the phone.

Help your parents set up an email account if they don't already have one.

Packing

Buy a female-friendly backpack with adjustable back systems and remember less is more: consider your shoulders and halve your load.

You won't need masses of beauty products, strappy shoes or smart outfits. Your fellow travellers won't be in full make-up! Take one small item that makes you feel a bit dressed up (lippy or jewellery, maybe) and save it for special occasions. Dress appropriately - which often means covering up. This shows respect for local people. Read up before you go to find out what's acceptable in the country you're visiting.

A long skirt is essential: it's modest, can be smart, keeps you cool and is handy for loobreaks. Take a large, cotton scarf to cover any cheeky bits should the need arise.

Thinking of taking a hairdryer or other electrical equipment? Power supplies vary in different countries - read up before you go.

A hat or bandana is useful for covering up a bad hair day (we know you aren't a vain lot, but we try to think of everyone!).

Periods

If you're going to less developed countries, tampons and thin sanitary towels can be hard to find.

Take a supply from home. Remove from their boxes and keep in a watertight container.

Don't rely on tampons alone. It isn't always possible to wash your hands in non-western roadside loos.

Changes in climate, diet and lifestyle can mess with your menstrual cycle. Your periods might even stop altogether.

Sexual Health

Talk to your GP about what contraception to take. The beltand - braces method (pill plus condoms) might be your safest bet. Make sure you have enough of each.

Consider packing the morningafter pill for emergencies. It works up to 72 hours after sex. It offers no protection from STIs and shouldn't be used instead of contraception. Available over the counter, but talk to your GP first.

Thrush and cystitis are particularly unfriendly travel companions. Talk to your GP about taking a course of treatment with you.

Once you're out there...

Personal Safety

Consider doing a 'self-defence for women' course before you go. Ask at your local leisure centre or police station. Carry a personal attack alarm.

Plan what you're doing in advance, so you can look and feel confident. Don't arrive in a new place after dark.

On public transport, sit where there are other women. Only take registered taxis. Carry the phone number of a taxi firm with you. Be really careful with drugs and alcohol - you'll be much more vulnerable if you're off your face.

If someone offers to buy you a drink, either say no, or stand beside them as they order it. Don't let your drink out of your sight. This reduces the risk of those with bad intentions adding drugs such as Rohypnol to your drink.

Should you experience a rape or serious attack, contact the British Consulate in the country where you are, at any time of the day or night. Carry the consulate's contact details with you.

Look out for other female traveller friends, even if you only met them yesterday on the bus.

Accommodation

Some hostels have single sex dorms and many have private rooms that you can hire with mates. Check out our recommended hostels at www.gapyear.com/accommodation.

If you want a complete break from men, try a women-only hostel. Contact the YWCA in your chosen country.

If you do sleep in mixed dorms, take a T-shirt and some light trousers or shorts to double as pyjamas. If it's hot, a sleeping-bag liner (just a cotton sheet sewn into a sleeping-bag shaped tube) keeps you cool and may feel more secure than just a sheet.

General travel safety

Let's be fair - when it comes right down to basics, travel safety is mainly common sense. Looking like an easy target makes you...well, an easy target. We like you, and we don't want anything bad to happen, so we've got some suggestions on how not to get in to trouble.

Never carry more money than you need. Instead, wear a slim money belt that fits under your clothes, or a leather-look money belt that contains hidden compartments. Either way - if you look like you're carrying a lot of cash, you're asking for trouble. Bags with cross-body straps are a great idea, since they can't be nicked in a grab'n'run.

When you're out and about, take an ID card rather than your passport - but only do this if you know your passport is somewhere safe.

When you buy your backpack, check to see if you can lock it. Buy combination locks, so you don't run the risk of losing your key.

If you can't see your bag, it needs to be locked. This applies to trains, buses, and all other methods of transport. When you're traveling with your bag stowed, carry all valuables - like your passport and money - on you. Don't leave it in your backpack.

Carry a single bag and wear it on your back. This way, you can keep your hands free (handy if you stumble!).

Make sure you know where you're staying before you arrive somewhere. This will prevent wandering the streets at night trying to find a bed somewhere.

If you are lost, and you don't feel safe, walk into a café or restaurant and confidently ask for directions. If you look confident, people will assume you can take care of yourself (even if you're terrified on the inside!).

Zip everything shut. It's very simple, but don't forget it. Open bags, open money belts and baggy open pockets are just targets for pickpockets and thieves.

Travellers' cheques are a good way to carry your money about, but always carry a bank card (and backup bank card) in case of an emergency.

Be sensible and dress modestly - cleavage, thighs and shoulders will attract a lot of attention. If you think you look hot, it's quite likely men will be thinking the same!

Meeting people

Travelling has changed. No longer is it purely associated with unwashed, dreadlocked, peace-loving, soul-searching types, living out of a backpack the size of a shoe (although you may well identify with that at some point on your journey!). Whoever you are and whatever your background, you will meet like-minded people on the road.

One of the most frequently asked questions to lone travellers is "Don't you get lonely?" - the answer is a resounding "No!"

As a general rule, local people are friendly, generous and happy to meet foreigners. Before you realise it you've been invited to someone's house for dinner or their sister's, daughter's or neighbour's wedding. They will inevitably show off their knowledge of David Beckham and the Queen and provide you with stacks of people they know who live in England!

Just like Trekkies at a Star Trek convention, you'll find you're connected in some way to every traveller you meet, if only by the fact you're sharing the same road. In no time, you'll be sharing anything from a beer to a month-long road trip with your new best mates.

If you're still worried about travelling on your own, get a good travel kind like the trusty old Lonely Planet series. If you're ever lonely, find a hostel with a good write-up and use it to meet new travellers. There are always new opportunities, and if you're travelling alone, you've got nobody to answer to but yourself!

Your experiences

Don't believe us? Fine! We'll be over there waiting for an apology. In the meantime, have a look at what other solo female travelers have said. Maybe you'll believe them.

Here's an email we received from Kirsty, a gapyear.com member who's travelled solo...

"Just wanted to let you know that I've recently got back from a six-month round-the-world trip. Your website really helped me make up my mind to go. I wanted to travel alone after uni but lots of people - my parents, some friends - thought it was too dangerous going solo. In the end I did go on my own and I had the time of my life. I was never really lonely because I met so many people - probably more people than I would have met if I was travelling with friends. So I just wanted to tell others not to be afraid of travelling solo - it's easier than you think!"

Cheers, Kirsty!

Here's what Josie D'Arby (TV Presenter) says about travelling solo...

'I only ever travel on my own, never with a companion. The only time I tried to travel with a companion it didn't work out, because I think it defeats the purpose of getting away. I just think I get so much more out of the whole experience if I travel on my own. In that respect I'm completely independent, I often go away and not know where I'm going to stay, but I always seem to land on my feet. People just do.'

Now, about that apology...

Other Downloadable Advice Guides

Guide to Travel Health

by Dr Sebastian Kalwij

Dr Sebastian Kalwij is gapyear.com's travel health expert. He's been involved with travel health projects all over the World, and is now a GP in London. In this guide he takes you through the major health issues that you need to be aware of before you go and whilst on the road. There's information on everything from vaccinations to sun safety, but we have to stress that this is not a substitute for a visit to your GP!

Guide to Gap Year Work Experience

by Elizabeth Clark

Gap years are about more than volunteering in the rainforest or sunning yourself on a beach in Australia. Alongside taking a year out to earn money to pay for university, one of the fastest growing types of gap year, is spending some time trying to get work experience that will help you work out which career is right for you and also, hopefully, give you a bit of a head start over everybody else.

Guide to Travel Photography

by Lucy Cartwright

Want to come back from your gap year with some awe-inspiring photos? Just want to avoid blurry snaps of randoms with red-eye? Lucy Cartwright talks you through what kit to take, pre-trip preparation, lighting, framing and how to get the best from the situations you're most likely to encounter. You don't need a load of expensive gadgets to come back with a photo album to be proud of.

Guide to Vegetarian Travel

by Laura Chapman

Quorn to be wild? Or, to put it more simply; like to travel but don't eat meat? You sound like the sort of person who could use this handy guide. Laura Chapman has covered all the major gap year destinations, rated them for veggie-friendliness and suggested some 'in case of emergency' dishes for each of them. Beats the hell out of eating Super Noodles for a year anyway.

Guide to Buying and Driving a Car in Oz

by Carolyn Martin

The best way to see Australia is with the freedom of your own vehicle. Go where you want, when you want and stop off at every single novelty outsize fibreglass fruit along the way if you damn well see fit. If you like the sound of this, but are put off by the red tape and expense involved, this is the guide for you!

First Timer's Guide to Hostels

by Rachel Ricks

Hostels are simple, fun, friendly, cheap and geared up for people like you. However, if this is your first time away on your own and you've never stayed in a backpacker hostel before, you've probably got a few questions that need answering. Rachel takes you through the etiquette, safety and security issues involved and, hopefully, reminds you that rustling plastic bags at 5am in a dorm is really quite irritating.

Guide to Buying and Packing a Backpack

by Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com

It might sound daft that we need to write a guide telling you, all perfectly sensible, grown up people, how to go out and buy a backpack and then how to put some stuff into said backpack, but it's actually a fine art. If you want to avoid back pain, fit everything in as efficiently as possible and be able to dress in lovely crease-free garments, then have a read...

Guide to Fundraising

by Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com

If you're heading off overseas to donate a few months of your time, the chances are you're going to need to raise a couple of grand. Whether your money is going to an organisation that is supporting your volunteering or whether you're independently going to help a cause of your choice and want to be able to make a financial contribution, we can all do with some ideas and tips on how to squeeze the most of of friends, family, colleagues and passers-by.

Guide to Becoming a Travel Writer

by Rich Knight & Charlotte Hindle

Two-guides-for-the-price-of-one from former gapyear.com editor Rich Knight and Charlotte Hindle from Lonely Planet. These two experienced travel writers give you their personal views on how to make the most of your gap year to launch your career as the next Bill Bryson. They offer advice on how to appear professional, how to get noticed and the mosteffective ways of getting your article ideas in front of travel editors.

Traveller's Guide to Malaria

by Rob Pineda

Backpackers die from malaria. It's a sad fact that too many people leave home without properly understanding the risks posed by this widespread disease. This guide gives you an idea of where you can get malaria, what it does to you and some basic tips on reducing the risks involved with travel in malarial regions. No need to freak out or anything, we just want you all to be properly clued up. We're sick of hearing the question: 'Can I get away without malaria pills? They're really expensive...