As a frequent solo traveler, I know how much forethought and planning go into taking the leap. When you add the layer of traveling alone as a woman there’s even more to consider. 

How do you choose the right destination? What do you absolutely need to bring with you? What happens if something goes wrong? Solo traveling requires you to develop self trust. Whatever comes up, you will figure it out. 

But, if it’s possible to avoid some rookie mistakes with just a little bit of research then why not take advantage of that? I’ve traveled solo in my 30s to destinations including: Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, Greece, Thailand, Vietnam and more so I’m sharing the most avoidable solo travel mistakes you should know before your trip.

Solo Travel for Women: 21 Mistakes to Be Aware of and Avoid

Some of these tips are purely practical and some are about mindset. Both are important, the latter maybe even more so. 

1. Traveling without insurance 

I’ll be honest with you, I never used to do this. In 2021, when I went to Costa Rica in a world recently touched by a health crisis, it was a requirement of entry to have travel health insurance in case you got sick while there.

And it came in handy for a totally different ailment. I got super sick midway through my four months in Costa Rica and had to go to the emergency room. I needed IV fluids and an injection because of a horrible stomach bug. 

The travel health insurance kicked in and my costs were minimal. After that I realized it makes zero sense not to pay a little bit upfront to prevent potentially huge costs down the line. 

So now, even though it hasn’t been required anywhere else, I always purchase insurance through Safetywing before any trip I take. And I get my friends and family members to do the same when they travel.

Not only does Safetywing’s Nomad Insurance Complete plan cover travel and medical emergencies, it also covers me for routine healthcare, screenings, and even mental health.

Click here to get Safetywing insurance before your trip

2. Not having an emergency fund

If you’re a budget traveler, you need to hear this: do not travel without an emergency fund. Even if you aren’t on a strict budget, it’s important to ensure you have access to funds beyond what you expect to spend on your trip. 

I’ve seen in multiple Facebook groups, women posting for help because their accommodations either fell through or they wound up in a place where they don’t feel safe.

But they don’t have the money to change accommodations, so they wind up requesting a place to crash from strangers online. 

Fortunately, there are groups of women willing to help but just as often it doesn’t work out so easily. Either way, this is not a good situation to find yourself in. 

When it comes to solo travel for women safety should be priority number one and that includes having enough money to bail yourself out of any emergencies or mishaps, if needed.

3. Ignoring your intuition 

When intuition speaks, it doesn’t always make logical sense. It can feel natural to rationalize it away. 

But especially when traveling alone as a woman, being able to hear and obey your intuition is vitally important. 

If a situation, environment or person starts to set off your internal alarm then make sure you listen, even if it doesn’t make sense on the surface. 

Alternatively, when intuition nudges you toward something that feels positive it can be equally key to follow that push. 

4. Overpacking 

Remember, as a solo traveler you’re on your own when it comes to carrying luggage! My rule of thumb for myself is one backpack (this one I use feels like a packing cheatcode) and 1 carry-on sized rolling suitcase. 

And honestly I’ve gotten so good at packing these full, thanks to my compression packing cubes, that even these feel almost too heavy for me to manage sometimes!

If you’re a chronic overpacker, consider curating your own travel capsule wardrobe before your solo travels.

5. Investing in the wrong safety gadgets

You might’ve seen this portable door lock that many solo travelers use for extra security at their accommodations. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use one, but it may not be the most important safety gadget to prioritize. 

As a frequent solo traveler my top go-to safety essentials are: 

Airalo eSIM 

Or any eSIM, but Airalo is the only one I’ve ever used because it has never failed me. I love that I can install this before I arrive to a new destination and activate it as soon as I land, so I’m always connected. 

Which means I can easily access a maps app for navigation, translation app for communication, and data to keep in touch with contacts back home or an accommodation host, etc. 

I have a couple discount codes if you decide to use Airalo, too. New customers can use code NEWTOAIRALO15 and if you’ve used Airalo before you can use AIRALOESIM10 (a 1-time use).

Powerbank 

What good is staying connected to the internet if your phone dies? My portable powerbank is constantly with me when I’m traveling.

Especially because I like to take lots of photos and videos on my phone in addition to using it for Google Maps. 

It does make my purse a little heavier than I’d like but it’s still a non-negotiable for me.

6. Keeping your itinerary a secret 

Not everyone needs to know your whereabouts at all times, but it’s a good idea to share key details of your itinerary with a loved back home. Just in case. 

For my recent solo trip to Thailand and Vietnam I rounded up all of my accommodation details, flight numbers and dates of travel between cities and countries to share with my sister. 

I love my independence as a solo traveler and don’t want to feel monitored. But it’s a good feeling knowing that someone will be aware of my planned whereabouts if ever needed.

7. Thinking there’s a “right” way to travel alone

One of the best things about traveling alone as a woman is that you make the rules. You get to do whatever you want, whenever and however you want to do it. 

After my first solo trip I felt confused and disheartened. Sure, I’d taken the leap to travel alone but I spent the whole trip making friends.

I met people at my hostel (back when I stayed in hostels) and made friends with people on my walking tour.

Ultimately, I felt like I didn’t spend enough time alone and that I just wasn’t cut out to be a solo traveler. 

That was a decade ago. I’ve since learned that: 1) meeting people is part of the fun and magic of solo travel! 2) there is no one right way to travel alone. 

8. Choosing the wrong destination

Just because someone you know or someone on the internet had a magical experience in a certain destination does not mean your experience will be the exact same as theirs. 

Taking a solo trip is all about learning and catering to your preferences, and it starts in the planning phase. 

When you’re choosing a solo travel destination consider things like: do you want a beach, mountain or city trip? How far away from home are you willing to go? What level of language barrier are you comfortable with? Etc. 

I go into more detail about how to choose the right destination for you, and how to plan your perfect solo trip, in my guidebook: From Doubtful to Daring.

9. Choosing the wrong accommodations

Where you stay can really make or break your solo trip. You want to stay in a safe and central neighborhood, with clean and comfortable accommodations.

But this can be tricky to discern if you’re going somewhere unfamiliar. 

Here’s my 5-minute video guide on how I choose my own solo travel accommodations: 

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10. Not trusting yourself to figure it out along the way

A big fear that comes up before a solo trip is, “what if [insert scenario] happens?” You’ll never be able to plan for every possible situation.

But you can think through what you’d do in case whatever you fear most were to occur, and how to mitigate the potential of that scenario becoming reality. 

Intentional preparation can go a long way here. But still, part of the excitement is the unpredictability of what you’ll encounter. 

The shift to make is toward self trust. And the more you travel alone, the more you navigate through the unexpected and prove to yourself you can have your own back the stronger your self trust becomes. 

It’s one of the transformative gifts of the solo travel experience. Don’t rob yourself of it by being too scared to start. 

11. Listening to the naysayers 

When I told my family a few years ago that I was going to take a solo trip to Costa Rica, they did NOT understand. I saw the panic on their faces. I knew it would be there. 

Because as humans we tend to fear the unfamiliar. And because our media has taught us to default to fear regarding certain parts of the world. 

So I prepared myself to not let their fears feed my own. 

How? 

I sought out examples of people for whom trips like mine weren’t unfamiliar at all. They were the norm.

And connecting with them helped me ground myself in the idea that there was nothing abnormal or reckless about my decision to travel alone to Central America. 

Look for the people who have already achieved or even mastered what you want to do. Who have totally normalized it for themselves, so they can normalize it for you as well. 

12. Worrying about feeling lonely or bored 

After safety concerns, these are the next biggest hesitations I hear as a solo travel coach. 

Let me be frank. You might feel lonely. You might feel bored. Neither is a reason not to take a solo trip. Both can be overcome. 

I have a whole bunch of tips on navigating solo travel loneliness, here. 

As someone who travels solo a lot and does run into feeling lonely and bored at times I can tell you, it’s still 100% worth going. At least, that’s my take and I’m sticking with it. 

13. Avoiding your self-relationship 

One of the coolest things about solo travel is you’re not alone. You’re with you – a person with their own likes and dislikes, their own beliefs and values. And on a solo trip you get to explore all of that.

If you let yourself. 

But if you constantly drown out your own thoughts or keep yourself super busy the whole time this could be a missed opportunity. 

Not ever solo trip has to be about getting in touch with yourself. But if that’s something you’d like to do then be mindful of allowing space for it. 

14. Giving up after one attempt

Perhaps my own biggest learning on the solo travel front is this: your first solo trip may not be your best one. 

After my first solo trip at 26, to Porto, I was convinced traveling alone simply wasn’t for me. And I’m SO grateful I gave it another shot at 32 because guess what? Now it’s my primary style of travel. 

And it’s allowed me to see and experience so much more of the world than if I’d refused to ever go alone again.

15. Forgetting to download the right apps 

In 2013 I moved to Madrid for 10 months on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant grant. I traveled a lot that year, all over Europe. 

I was in my 20s and we stayed at hostels back then. I remember checking in and being handed a paper map every time. We used our phones when we had access to Wifi. 

Things are so different now and so much easier thanks to technology! Google Maps still feels like a luxury to me every time I travel. Google Translate, too. 

So I strongly recommend researching and downloading the best apps depending on your destination. For example, if you plan on ridesharing in Europe you might want to rely on Bolt or FreeNow instead of Uber. In Thailand, it’s the Grab app, etc. 

Xe Converter is also very helpful to outsource currency conversion math from your brain to your phone. 

16. Arriving when it’s dark out

As a woman traveling alone, I won’t say I’ve never arrived at or left a destination very early in the morning or late at night. 

But I don’t recommend it, especially if you’re newer to solo travel and already feeling nervous about safety. 

Landing in an unfamiliar destination while it’s still dark out can be both stressful and risky. If you don’t have a choice, then I strongly recommend pre-booking a private transfer from your arrival point to your accommodations in these instances.

17. Only speaking English 

No, I certainly don’t mean that you need to become fluent in another language before traveling. Nor do I want you to let a language barrier stand in the way of your travels. 

But taking the time to learn some key phrases in the primary language spoken at your destination can be helpful. 

When you’re able to greet or thank someone in their own language while traveling it shows an added degree of thoughtfulness that is often appreciated. 

At a minimum, learn phrases like: hello, thank you, excuse me, yes, no, do you speak English?

18. Making too much eye contact

As a Chicagoan who has traveled with Canadian friends, I noticed plenty of differences in how we carried ourselves in foreign cities. 

I’m used to looking straight ahead with my eyes set to a don’t-mess-with-me look. I walk quickly and with intention like I know exactly where I’m going, even if I don’t. 

I never leave my valuables unattended, usually keeping my cross-body purse on even when sitting at a restaurant. 

Others are less hyper-vigilant. While I agree it’s nice to be nice, I don’t recommend being nice to every stranger you pass.

Avoid making eye contact with or smiling at people as you walk along streets. Avoid becoming overly friendly with people you’ve just met. 

Take some time to check in with your gut sense about people you meet. And while you can be externally friendly you should also remain internally aware of your surroundings and situation. 

19. Over-scheduling yourself 

Especially if you’re worried about being bored while traveling alone you might decide to pack your itinerary full of things to see, do and explore.

But if you lock yourself into too many scheduled activities you leave no room for spontaneity. 

Part of the fun of solo travel is getting to say yes to opportunities that come up, experiences you learn about while on the ground or simply whatever your mood dictates in any given moment. 

So, while you should have a list of your must-dos and nice-to-dos make sure you leave some flexibility.

If there are tours or experiences you definitely don’t want to miss, book them in advance if you’re worried about availability. 

But keep the rest open to unfold naturally. 

20. Planning too long of a trip 

Your solo trip can be as long or as short as you’d like. A weekend? Yes. 6 weeks? Sure. 

But if you’re leaning toward taking a longer trip really think through how you’ll feel being on your own for an extended period of time, in unfamiliar environments. 

Living alone at home with your familiar comforts is one thing.

Living alone out of a suitcase in hotels and in places where you don’t speak the language, or know how things work can take a toll at times. 

Especially if you’re trying solo travel for the first time, consider whether you’re a person who would benefit from easing in with shorter trips first.

21. Inviting someone to join when you’d rather go alone 

Even if you really want to take a solo trip and are really excited about it, chances are that fear will come up for you at some point in the planning process.

It’s a normal part of the process that many, even frequent solo travelers experience. 

In these moments it can be tempting to start extending an invitation to friends or family members to join you on your trip. Beware!

If you had your heart set on taking a trip and going solo then this can backfire.

If you ask around early in the planning process and someone takes you up on your offer, you’ll now have to factor in their availability, budget and preferences before actually bringing the trip to life. 

If you’ve already done the planning and someone decides they want to tag along, you may feel resentment toward them once you’re on the trip and not able to do your own thing. Even worse, what if your travel styles are not compatible at all? 

Before you reach out to anyone else to join you, spend some time journaling and connecting with other solo female travelers to keep your courage to go alone.

FAQ About Traveling Alone as a Woman

Solo travel for women is not the same as solo travel for men, obviously. Here are a few common questions that may be coming up for you:

Is it a good idea to travel alone as a woman?

YES. As a divorced, eldest daughter and [mostly] reformed people pleaser I am telling you with my full chest: take your solo trip. Please, go. Traveling alone as a woman can be a transformative experience that uplevels your confidence and your relationship with yourself. 

Plus, you get to see the world along the way. Solo travel is an inner journey as much as it is outer exploration.

What are the safest places to travel alone as a woman?

This somewhat depends. Different people have different experiences of destinations. As a woman of color myself, you might want to research how fellow WOC have experienced different destinations but again, individual experiences vary. 

So my tip to you is to choose a destination with really strong tourism infrastructure (the more popular destinations you hear about). Possibly one where you’ll run into minimal language barriers, if you’re nervous about that. 

What does it say about a person who travels alone? 

It says that they have a good relationship with theirself. That they don’t wait around for other people to do the things they want to do in life. And, that they are confident. 

So, what’s next? 

If you’re feeling ready to start planning your trip then read my step-by-step guide on how to plan a solo trip, next.

Or, if you want more individualized support let’s hop on a call. 

For solo travel destination inspiration, check out some of these guides from solo trips over the years: 

Paris Solo Trip

New York Solo Trip

Oaxaca City Solo Trip (video)

For more inspiration come find me on Instagram, TikTok or Youtube: @globegazers