There are many different ways to travel and discover the world, and it’s just as wonderful to do it alone as it is with a group. We wrote in this article about why it’s great to relax “solo”, and sometimes this is exactly what you need. Today we want to give some tips especially for girls who decide to travel on their own. The fact is that tourists more often than local residents become victims of adventurers and hunters of easy money, and in the case of the weaker sex, it can be more difficult to fight back than to avoid an undesirable situation. Forewarned is forearmed.
Be confident in yourself
The most important point in traveling alone is to be confident in your abilities and look at things soberly but optimistically. Excessive fear will do you a disservice – by locking yourself in a hotel at first twilight and shying away from everyone you meet, you risk missing out on a lot of interesting things. Again, a person with anxiety in his eyes will first of all attract the attention of a potential offender. Walk as if you know exactly where to go, even if you got lost an hour ago, enjoy unexpected discoveries, and when you decide it’s time to go back to the hotel, catch a taxi. If you want to save money and get there by public transport or on foot, ask for directions from someone you trust: a woman, a family, or employees of a nearby cafe or store.
Take cues from the locals
In some countries, they are loyal to the appearance of women, where you can safely walk around in a mini or short top. In others, on the contrary, it is believed that the female body should be covered as much as possible from prying eyes, and a revealing outfit can provoke aggression. If you are not sure what the morals will be like in the country you have chosen for your vacation, do not worry, you will understand everything right away. For example, in India, during a half-hour walk in short shorts, you will catch so many unambiguous male glances that the next time you leave the hotel, you will put on a long skirt or light pants. You don’t want to take risks? Just look at how the local girls are dressed, young people often want to stand out and undress to the limit allowed by moral standards.
Don’t walk at night
Do not walk alone through dark alleys, passages and vacant lots. This rule will not surprise anyone, because it is equally true both for a trip abroad and for your hometown and area in which you grew up. Common sense will tell you that it is better to stick to busy streets and take a taxi back to your hotel well after midnight. The only additional advice we can give is to try to come to new cities and check into hotels before dark, so as not to be on the street at night with all your suitcases and valuables.
Keep an eye on your things
When traveling solo, you are solely responsible for valuables, so it is best to keep them within sight at all times. While you are waiting for the bus, sitting in a cafe or in a park, put your bag next to you, or better yet, in front of you. On a full bus, throw your backpack forward to check that all pockets are zipped. Standard advice for all travelers: do not flash large sums of money or expensive equipment, leave things, passports and credit cards in the safe in your hotel room as much as possible.
Be online
We in no way urge you to look at your smartphone screen all the time; on the contrary, it is better to leave it more often and absorb new impressions with all your senses. However, you yourself will be calmer if you have an agreement with one of your friends or relatives to get in touch, say, every three days. It’s not necessary to tell everything that happened to you, put it off until a personal meeting, but a simple message: “I’m staying at such and such a hotel, everything is fine” will be a safety net.
Write a legend
Men of some nations are famous for their hot temperament, so their courtship can be overly persistent. This gets boring, especially if the person does not arouse your interest, but only the desire to get rid of him as quickly as possible. In such situations, in order not to seem rude, you can simply compose a small legend about your husband who is waiting for you at the hotel or is about to arrive. If necessary, let it slip that he is a former professional wrestler who left his career due to mental problems. If you are not going to meet men on principle, you can wear a wedding ring on your trip, real or fake, it doesn’t matter. Well, as a last resort, don’t be afraid to seem rude.
Drink wisely
Remember an important rule – don’t get drunk in the company of strangers. If you managed to find new friends, if there are some old friends in the city where you arrived, you can give yourself free rein, but never lose your mind being alone in a bar. To protect yourself as much as possible, drink beer, ask the bartender to open the bottle in front of you, and do not leave it unattended. The likelihood that, having had enough, you will get to the hotel and go to bed without incident is not as great as you would like.
Trust your intuition
Psychologists have long established that women have well-developed intuition, and subconscious judgments often turn out to be correct. If for one reason or another, or even for no reason at all, you feel uncomfortable in some place or in someone’s company, listen to your inner voice. You are traveling “solo”, you don’t owe anyone anything, so always be only where you feel good!
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