From Famously Dangerous To Surprising, Here Are 50 Destinations That Solo Women Travelers Didn’t Find Safe

India. I traveled with 2 female friends and as a woman I have never felt so powerless. It’s like men will always have the upper hand, and you’ll be constantly feel like you’re not being heard or even acknowledge. when I was in an uncomfortable situation I didn’t even know who to turn to. It was weird.

India is a tough place for solo travelers period. I did it at 24 not knowing any better - and was groped multiple times - but even the solo men I met backpacking were worn down by the constant attention, scams, etc. I think you’ll have a better experience if you have someone to travel with there to diffuse the stress and to add an extra layer of safety.

Maybe you should put this trip off until you have a travel buddy.

Delhi is a rough to city to be in. Most cities in north India. Fun fact, the further south I went, the safer I felt as a woman. I am of Indian descent, and I know that I was less of a target than the white American friends I sometimes traveled with. I’ve heard Jaipur is horrific.

But in south India, I highly recommend Hyderabad, Chennai, Kerala. I wouldn’t walk around at night alone, or even walk much in general because frankly you can’t be guaranteed a sidewalk and traffic is dangerous. But I felt comfortable as a woman. When I was younger, I could only afford an auto rickshaw and those guys will try to rip you off which I didn’t mind so much because I was giving them a dollar instead of 50 cents. But I could afford a private car with driver last time I was there, you can actually get one on Uber, and it’s like 10-15 dollars for the whole day.

Okay everyone. This whole thing about India needs to be taken into context. And the context is this:

India is a HUGE country with a MASSIVE population. Think if all of Europe was a country - that is what India is. Many different cultures, languages, cuisines and customs and combined into one country. Therefore, it is a very diverse place and one can have a wide variety of experiences there.

The North of India is the most unsafe for women. All these stories about rapes and kidnappings and honour killings? Most of them come from North India. This is also the moist touristy area of India because of Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan, the mountains etc.

As a solo woman traveller, I would urge you to avoid north and central India. Instead, go to the North East or the South. Or even the West. The Lakshadweep and Andaman Islands are also a great place to go for diving.

There’s many great options in india as a solo woman traveller if you’re willing to forgo the usual tourist stuff like the Taj Mahal and Delhi. Because that’s usually the most unsafe area of India. So as an Indian, please come to my country but come to the safer parts!

Edit: some things you could do -

Go to the cloud forests of Meghalaya and Nagaland. Massive waterfalls and incredible treks.

Go for a tiger safari in Tadoba or Bandhavgarh. Or go see the last of the one horned rhino in Kaziranga

Go relax in the backwaters of Allepy or the tea estates of Munnar in Kerala. Go to an elephant sanctuary

Go diving in the Andamans

Go see to ruins of Hampi or party on the beaches of Goa.

Saudi Arabia, specifically Jeddah. I know it's not women's paradise but I had read everywhere that it is one of the safest countries in the world, crime index close to 0 blablabla. I spend 4 months there for work and the reality is that if you are not in the city center, you will get attention ALL the time, cars honking at you at stopping next to you (yes, some are taxi drivers, but many of them are not and there is no way for me to know), men shouting at me "Sister! Habibi! Come here, have fun!". I was always wearing a black abaya and sometimes even hijab.
Also, all streets are deserted which does not help. Traffic is crazy, worst drivers I've seen and I've been to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Italy...
Maybe the likelihood of something happening is low, but this is the only place where I would dread going out as a solo women.

Istanbul, I was surprised by how relentless it was. I stayed in my room for 2 days because I couldn't handle going out anymore. The men there really ruined that trip for me 😭.

Egypt.

Especially when you're a young woman <40 and can not pass as a Egyptian woman. All of my friends and female relatives that went there were harassed (even when their husbands were there) No offense to any Egyptians here, one of my best friends was half Egyptian and her family was amazing but it is pretty much all I have heard. I have heard a lot of bad stories about Morocco for both men and women, but women's stories seemed a lot more sexually related. Italy, Israel I have heard stories of as well but never been to either so IDK.

The places I have personally experienced a lot of harassment/cat calling was in Romania, and Hungary as well. The only country I hadn't been catcalled once or had any creepy experience was in Norway.

It feels bigoted to say avoid arab nations but like Morocco, Algeria, Egypt but they do have huge issues on their views on women and their actions towards women.

Avoid Johannesburg at all costs.

shineyink:

As a south African female, I suggest avoiding SA altogether. But especially Johannesburg.

I've traveled to about 30 countries before the pandemic, mostly alone, and the only two countries where I was physically assaulted (groping) were Morocco and Indonesia. I've lost count of countries where I was verbally harassed. And India and Turkey are the countries I want to visit but haven't because I don't think it's safe enough to go as a solo female traveler.

Parts of Central Asia, NW Pakistan ( wilder than the wild west). Some parts of rural Bihar and Rajasthan you get followed around by men in India - some parts of the cities too.

But hell in the right circumstances even safe places like Singapore can have predators.

I saw some bad [things] in regional China but never got harassed- a bloke beat his girlfriend? to the ground while his mates cheered on. Another when some Han Chinese were harassing Tibetan school girls was pretty rank.

Palermo, Sicily. Without knowing, I had booked my first accommodation in a dodgy neighbourhood. During the day was fine, but once it got dark I was utterly terrified to walk back alone.

Met up with a guy from the US on Couchsurfing on my first day, and he had stories of starting to walk up streets at night and being blocked by gangs.

Met up with someone else for a drink that night and once I told him where I was staying he refused to let me walk home. Gave me a lift back and waited until I was safely inside.

Luckily I moved to a different apartment later on which was much safer, though I still got home pretty early and would just go for a drink in the bar below my apartment with my book.

Naples, Italy. I have been all over South America and felt less safe in that pocket of Italy.

anon:

A lot of loitering by groups of men, being “bumped” in order to pickpocket me (they failed), being followed, traffic that won’t stop when you cross the road, people ignoring me and refusing to serve me in shops, people taking [illegal substances] in the street, and my female instinct was on high alert throughout.

San Francisco.

I... Did not know what a tenderloin district meant and found a really glamorous looking but surprisingly cheap hotel there. (I later looked up the history of why tenderloin districts are called tenderloin districts and it all clicked into place.)

I was there for a conference in Berkley so I didn't really notice any vibe cos I wasn't there much. Conference finished, I took a day for sight seeing. Hired a car from a place about ten minutes walk from my hotel, drove across the bridge, went to Muir Woods and Harbin hot springs and saw me some naked hippies. Stayed really late cos it was just gorgeous. Drove back and dropped the car off just before midnight.

The following ten minutes were very tense indeed. The only people I saw who weren't [illegal substances] dealers or [illegal substances] takers were the police, cruising past very slowly, shining spotlights on people. I'm from the UK, I thought that only happened in films. I walked faster and faster and faster. Kept my head down. As the hotel came into sight I was going so fast I could have rivaled an Olympic speed walking champion. Made eye contact with the _enormous_ dude who was standing outside to act as a bouncer - to stop all the [illegal substances] takers and sellers from entering. All he saw was someone barreling towards him at very high speed and was obviously getting ready to repel me. I shouted, "I'm staying here! I'm staying here!" His expression cleared, he opened the door wide and shouted, "Get in! Get in!" I fell into the lobby, he slammed the door shut behind us and I felt like I'd got the last chopper out of Nam. He then, very politely because he was a hotel employee, basically asked what the [hell] did a little white girl like me think she was playing at walking through this neighborhood at midnight? He was that mix of cross and relieved, like parents get when their kid has been missing in the supermarket.

That's the worst place I've ever been and I still did ok. Big gangs of Arab immigrant men around Western European train stations are not fun, but nothing compares to the tenderloin in San Francisco at midnight.

Not dangerous, but annoying: Walking the streets in Colombia, it's more or less socially acceptable for men to cat call women. I (American fella) had to explain to my Colombian homies a few times that it's not acceptable.

If you're blond and have long hair, well, you're gonna get it constantly, every time you leave your front door.

Side story: My grandparents visited Italy when they were younger, and my grandmother was disappointed that no one cat called her. So my grandfather paid a guy to pinch her [bottom].

I’ve traveled to a lot of places people told me were too dangerous for women alone. Most places should be fine if you keep your wits about you and be knowledgeable of local laws, customs, and most importantly, scams. You’re already quite well traveled and seem to have a good head on your shoulders. 😊

That said, I did spend a couple months in India with my male partner at the time, and would not want to ever return alone, at least outside the far north. I never felt in danger per se, but the staring, photos without my consent, and hard selling really got to me in a bad way. There were a couple instances where I may have narrowly evaded danger, but no real way to tell. I have always trusted my instincts and will exit any situation that seems off (good advice in general: always have an exit strategy!). It felt terrible with a male partner, so I can only imagine it would be the same or worse if I were to go alone. However, I met plenty of women on the road who had little to no trouble there, so ymmv. It’s a wonderful country with endless things to see and do.

I have heard from folks across the gender spectrum about the trials and tribulations of traveling alone to Egypt, though I cannot speak from personal experience.

The biggest surprise imo was Nepal. I was told it would be very similar to India in terms of staring, photos etc, but I found it very comfortable and so rewarding. Easily one of my favorite countries overall!

I will probably get downvoted, but avoid muslim countries, especially if you are attractive. If you do choose to go to them, go on a tour group with local guides and dress modestly. I have a friend who is very religiously Christian who just went to Tunisia a month ago. She obviously didn't wear any Christian religious simbols, and wasn't going to wear a headscarf. The solution she found? Pick her hair up in a bun and wear a cap on top. She had no problems, however only stayed in nice hotels and used a lot of local guides/tours.

Pakistan, India, Afghanistan.

Stay away from the Horn of Africa.

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