7 of the best places for women to travel alone (+ solo travel tips)
After a decade of solo travel, here are some of my favourite destinations
I went on my first solo trip at 21 years old.
As soon as I graduated university, I booked a one-way flight to Chile.
I spent 6 months backpacking from the south of Chile up to Mexico, through Bolivia, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Belize.
That first trip, I travelled without a phone or a laptop. I would connect to the internet in run-down internet cafes for an hour at a time, usually only once a week or so.
I didn’t have any kind of plan.
I had a tattered Lonely Planet guidebook and that helped me make most decisions. I travelled mostly by bus, turning up to stations and finding accommodation from the touts who would inevitably always be there.
I spoke broken Spanish and was clueless about the world outside of New Zealand.
Somehow, I made it through unscathed (I only got robbed once, and luckily not violently).
Since that first trip, I’ve travelled alone to countries like Rwanda, Ethiopia, Albania, Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines and more.
After travelling to dozens of countries across several continents as a backpacker and digital nomad, here’s my view on the safest places to travel alone.
If you’re a first time solo traveller, or a woman travelling alone like me, check out these places for your next trip.
jump ahead.
Some things to think about when choosing a solo travel destination
The safest countries aren’t always the best for solo travel. Switzerland is safe, but without someone to split the cost of hotel rooms it can be very expensive to travel alone. That’s fine if you’re comfortable in dorm rooms, but being able to upgrade to a private room is also nice.
How physically comfortable do you like to be? Are you okay with cold showers, long and unpredictable wait times for transport, a risk of getting food poisoning? I’m pretty happy to rough it, so I’m open to a lot of places others might not be.
Are you comfortable in cultures significantly different to your own? A lot of people suggest Japan as a solo female travel destination, but one thing worth keeping in mind is how much of a barrier a different alphabet — not even just a different language — can make. It’s a lot harder to read signs, find the right train, order from a menu, and so on, when you can’t read. So it’s worth considering how alienated you want to feel.
My favourite places to travel alone in the world
1. Finland
I spent a whole month in Finland, up north in Lapland, miles above the Arctic Circle.
For me, what’s truly spectacular about Finland is the forests. The forests are huge and expansive, with gentle fells rising above the trees and giving views of the lakes and horizons.
During the month of September 2023, I would work until early afternoon and then go hiking in the national park.
Hiking in Finland was a breeze. The national park had an excellent trail system that was clearly signposted, and lots of shelters for both day walks and overnight hikes — all free to use.
I spent hours hiking through the park alone and never once felt like I was in any danger.
The solitude in Finland felt very soothing, instead of scary. I treasure my memories of walking alone in the forests and breathing the scent of pine, and stopping alongside dark lakes to reflect.
I also found Finland very easy to get around. The trains run on time and are easy to book online.
Most people spoke English, and even the people who didn’t — like the bus drivers in Lapland — were generally helpful and accommodating.
As it’s part of the EU, it was also easy keeping track of money in Finland (I was already familiar with the Euro) and I could use my phone plan from the UK there, so I had mobile data readily accessible.
2. Slovenia
Slovenia is one of the most peaceful countries in Europe, coming in at number 8 on the 2023 Global Peace Index — the only Central European country to make the top 10.
This tiny European country deserves that spot as it feels like a secure place to travel.
It also has solid sustainability credentials, having won National Geographic’s 2017 World Legacy Award, as the most sustainable tourist destination, and in 2016 Ljubljana was Green Capital of Europe.
Small, green, and beautiful, Slovenia is a perfect introduction to solo travel.
The country is so compact you can get between Ljubljana and Lake Bled or the coast quickly and easily — it takes less than an hour to get from the capital to Bled.
I visited Slovenia on one of my solo adventures around Eastern Europe, crossing the border from Italy and then carrying on to Croatia.
I fell in love with Ljubljana.
The capital city is colourful and lively, but still has a calm and relaxed air. In summer, people sit riverside at the many cafes and restaurants, and the long daylight hours meant I wasn’t worried about rushing home before dark.
The natural attractions in Slovenia are also ideal for solo travellers, if you like to escape busy cities.
Lake Bled is a popular enough destination that the buses are easy to navigate, and hostels mean it’s easy to meet other travellers.
I went hiking solo on trails in Triglav National Park. The trails were well-marked and I felt secure.
Another factor that makes Slovenia ideal for women travelling alone is how affordable it is compared to neighbouring countries like Italy. or Austria.
A bed in a dorm room can cost as little as $20 a night, which helps your budget go so much further when travelling alone.
3. New Zealand
I have to include my native country of New Zealand on this list.
Not only because it’s probably the country I’ve solo travelled the most extensively, but because it really is one of the safest places to travel alone.
Crime rates and corruption are low, people are friendly, and we famously have no dangerous animals.
Our public transport isn’t great, but we do have great hiking trails and huts, which are clearly signposted.
I hike solo in New Zealand a lot and while I do take plenty of precautions, such as telling people where I’m going and carrying a personal locater beacon, I know that I’ll be relatively safe as long as I don’t take any risks.
The most dangerous things in New Zealand are rip currents at our beaches and weather in the mountains.
As long as you take some precautions, like not swimming alone at surf beaches, you should have a fantastic solo trip in New Zealand.
There are some pretty well-established backpacker routes around New Zealand, and hostels in the main cities make it easy to meet other travellers.
4. Norway
Like the other Nordic countries, Norway is an epic place to travel alone.
Although it’s an expensive place to visit, it’s easy to travel in Norway as most people speak English (only a few bus drivers didn’t), public transport is efficient, and it’s very safe.
I visited Norway once in the polar night and loved it so much I went back for the midnight sun.
I spent nearly a month staying in Furu Hostel in the Lofoten Islands and can’t recommend it highly enough.
The hostel was cosy and homey, and I met great people there who all were adventurous enough to head to the north of Norway in the dead of winter.
I was there in the darkest weeks of the year, from December to January, and it was one of the most magical places I’ve ever been.
These are typically summer months in New Zealand, so getting to experience such a contrast was very unique for me.
Witnessing the polar night, the pastel skies and incredible blue light that lasted for hours, was spectacular.
I loved it so much I went back again six months later, to see the midnight sun.
On that trip, I spent two weeks hiking and camping in the mountains and along the coast of the Lofoten Islands.
It felt very safe the entire time.
The ferries and buses were reliable and ran to their timetables.
Norwegians were friendly and I never felt uncomfortable.
Hiking trails weren’t always marked, but I used Alltrails and never got lost. The fact that you can camp anywhere away from dwellings was fantastic, so I felt secure knowing I could always camp even if I didn’t reach my planned destination that day.
The ease of travelling in Norway, along with its natural beauty, mean it’s a place I would revisit alone time and again.
One of the great things about Norway, and other European countries, is that one sim card usually works around the EU. I had a UK sim card and could use 12GBs of data in Norway, which came in really handy for navigating on hikes, checking bus time tables, and staying connected.
Having one SIM across the whole EU made arriving into each new airport alone a lot more manageable.
Denmark
Denmark is so easy to travel. It’s much less stressful travelling somewhere everything just works.
It’s easy to get around on public transport, most people speak English, it’s safe.
I loved strolling the streets of Copenhagen alone. The canals and waterways are so peaceful, and it’s so safe I felt totally comfortable being in quiet places, like in the pockets of greenery along the water.
I did make the mistake of booking into a giant hostel in Copenhagen — the type that’s more like a hotel, with multiple floors and key cards for the rooms.
I find these type of hostels pretty unsocial and impersonal. Next time I would try to stay somewhere with better common areas.
Denmark, and Copenhagen in particular, is an expensive destination. But as a solo traveler, I’m quite happy to live off danishes and other bakery goods — when you’re on your own, you don’t feel the need to dine in restaurants, which can help save money.
You could still take yourself out for a nice dinner in Copenhagen, but I enjoyed just exploring the coffee shops during the day.
Taiwan
Chile
Chile was my first destination on my first solo trip.
I was a naive 21 year old, and definitely got scammed by a taxi driver when I arrived at the airport, handing over far more cash than I should have.
For the first couple of days in Santiago, I lived off snacks because I was too scared to order food in a restaurant.
I didn’t know how the metro worked (we don’t have an underground in New Zealand) so I walked for about two hours to get to the bus station instead.
I was completely clueless, but fortunately for me, Chile was a great destination for a first time solo traveler.
It was relatively easy to navigate buses around the country, and they were safe and reliable. There were plenty of hostels in each place I went, which helped me meet other travellers and start to figure how to get by in a foreign country.
And local people were kind to me, obviously taking pity on the lost, young girl so far from home.
My favourite place was Pucon, where I spent several weeks. The hiking trails in Parque Nacional Villarrica were stunning, and I felt safe going on day hikes alone.
The small town was peaceful and quiet, and I never ran into any trouble there.
I think that if I managed to visit Chile alone when I was 21, with no phone and no clue, you probably can too.
Is it safe to travel alone as a woman?
I’d also like to be clear that I believe travel is not inherently unsafe.
While sexism and attitudes towards women vary in countries around the world, and women experience more violence in some places, that doesn’t mean that everything bad that can happen will happen.
It just means that if you’re travelling alone as a woman, you need to be more alert to certain things.
If a destination is safe for overall travel, it’s probably safe for women travelling alone. Dangerous countries are dangerous for everyone, not just solo female travellers.
If you’re going to a place that is known for being less solo-female friendly, like Morocco, you just need to be prepared to take precautions.
As frustrating as it might be, that might mean dressing differently, paying for more private guides, transport, and accommodation, and bypassing going out to bars.
But I’m here to tell you that if someone like me, who has been robbed a ridiculous number of times, can travel to more than 70 countries alone and unscathed, then you can too.
Some of the dangers I've encountered while travelling alone
Street harasment
Some countries are worse than others for street harassment. In Latin America, having men make lewd comments is the norm.
I felt a lot of harassment in Nicaragua, Cuba, and Colombia — when I was living in Barranquilla, I tried to wear no makeup and ugly clothes to go to the supermarket, but they would still call out to me.
I actually felt less harassed in Mexico, where I spent 5 months living as a digital nomad.
Getting robbed
I’ve been robbed about six times (I find it hard to keep track).
Coming from New Zealand, I’m an easy target — our country is so safe, it’s not in my nature to be wary all the time.
Sadly though, travelling alone means I’m more of a target.
I’ve been robbed twice in my sleep.
Once on a train from Budapest to Romania (they took a silver bracelet right off my wrist) and once in Colombia, where someone climbed into the tree house where I was sleeping and took my phone.
If I had a travel companion, this might not have happened.
It’s much easier when you have someone else to help look out for your things while you take a nap, or go to the toilet.
Or in my case, to remind me to put my things away and not leave my wallet out where someone in my hostel can steal my cash, as happened in Budapest (yeah, I got robbed twice in 24 hours).
When things go south, you have no one else to support you
I was in a boat accident in Kenya.
In Lamu, I had gone to visit a floating bar just off the coast with friends from my hostel. On the way back to the main island, our boat ran at full speed into another boat which had no lights on it.
I was thrown into the bottom of the boat, and others went overboard into the sea.
No one was badly injured, but we were shaken.
After I got back to my room, I remember sitting on my bed and crying, feeling utterly alone. In that moment, I wanted someone else to comfort me.
Those are the worst moments of solo travel, when you hit rock bottom and don’t know what to do next.
Now I know I just need to be gentle with myself, to spend a day resting if I need it, spend more money on treats, and not pressure myself to be tougher or a ‘better’ traveller.
Places I travelled alone where I didn’t feel safe
Just to be clear, I loved all of these countries — I just didn’t feel particularly safe there.
I took extra precautions, like paying for private transfers and hiking guides, and made sure to pay attention to locals’ advice.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia was probably the most challenging place I’ve travelled solo.
My phone was stolen on the first day, pickpocketed, and I couldn’t navigate how to buy a new one. I decided to go without instead, and travelled the whole month I was there with no phone.
There were other challenges, too.
I booked a private transfer from Mekele to Lalibela, to save myself a long and arduous bus journey. It should have been safer, but the driver was a creep.
He suggested I sit in the front seat, and I accepted — there was a better view of surroundings from the front.
I quickly regretted my decision, though.
At one point his hand drifted over and touched my knee. He didn’t leave it there, but the contact was enough for me to immediately understand I wasn’t safe.
When we arrived in Lalibela, he insisted on dropping me off at my hotel and escorting me inside. I tried to protest but he ignored me, taking my bags and speaking to the person at the reception desk.
She handed over the key, which he took, and he swept off to my room.
At this point, I was protesting wildly, but he kept ignoring me or pretending not to understand English.
He opened the room, took my bags inside, and stayed there. I stood outside.
And waited.
He stalked around the room muttering, then went into the bathroom and spent a long time washing his hands and face. I’m not sure what he was doing, whether he was just playing for time and waiting for me to go into the room.
I stayed outside.
Eventually, he gave up and left. I went straight inside and locked the door.
Everything was fine in the end, but it was the atmosphere of threat that really unnerved me.
I still loved my time in Ethiopia, and to this day it’s one of the best countries I’ve ever visited. I have a huge passion for the country and its people
Morocco
Morocco was beautiful but I found it exhausting to travel alone.
The street harassment was often so intense I had to take breaks during the day. After a few hours exploring, I felt like I needed to retreat to the comfort of my hostel.
I loved visiting the Sahara desert, exploring Marrakesh, and visiting Chefchaouen.
But after two weeks, I was ready to leave. It’s tough feeling constantly uncomfortable as a woman alone.
Looking back, I can’t pinpoint exact moments that made me feel this way. It was more the pervasive, constant stares, comments, and general attitude of men toward me.
There was also a noticeable lack of women in public spaces, which always makes me feel more out of place.
Nothing bad happened to me in Morocco, but I still felt like it was a difficult place to travel solo. If you’re thinking about visiting, you should definitely go — just make sure you have a calm, peaceful accommodation you can retreat to at the end of the day.
Cuba
Cuba was challenging because there aren’t hostels persay — you stay in casa particulares, which are people’s private homes.
This can be isolating from fellow travellers, so I didn’t make many connections.
I also found the street harassment in Cuba to be difficult.
My Spanish is good enough that I understand what men are saying when I walk past them in the street, and it wasn’t pretty.
Then there are added challenges like not having easy access to the internet.
Colombia
Tanzania
I spent nearly a year living in Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania.
I found it difficult for a few reasons. For safety, I stayed in a house in a walled compound. It wasn’t easy to just go for a walk down the road, which is usually how I would unwind.
When I was there (and this might be different now), you had to be careful to only sling a backpack over one shoulder when walking down the road, in case a motorbike driver grabbed your bag on the way past.
There were multiple incidents where people were dragged behind motorbikes when this happened. When thieves grabbed my friend’s bag, he refused to let go at first. He gave up after he was dragged several metres along the dusty road, and came away with bruises, grazes and cuts.
I was pick pocketed once while in Iringa, but luckily I was with a Tanzanian friend. She saw it happen and yelled at the guy to give my wallet back, and he sheepishly did.
On one night out, I also had a phone stolen out of my handbag, but that was mostly my fault for being drunk and not paying attention.
I did travel around Tanzania by bus though, and that was fine. Most people left me alone.
There were many times that I was intimidated to travel in Tanzania, including at chaotic bus stations and busy markets, but it was an incredible experience getting to be there.
Thanks for reading this far! I hope this has helped you find some confidence to travel alone, and get some inspiration for your next trip.
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