7 Useful Tips for Women Travelling Alone in Europe

Every year, thousands of women join on a tour and travel through Europe alone. It’s not as bad as you may think, it can be even better than travelling as a couple. Still, there are some things you need to know. Check out 7 useful tips for women travelling alone in Europe.

1. Deciding on a Place

The glow of cities sheds light on the detailed exaggerated terrain and translucent water of the oceans

There are so many beautiful things to see in Europe. Depending on what you’re looking for, Europe offers you a variety of different things to choose from such as medieval fairytale cities like Bruges in Belgium, a whole night partying in Amsterdam, Netherlands, calm beaches of France or non-stop partying in Ibiza. In any case, there’s some homework to do.

First and foremost, decide what you want to see and do on your trip to Europe. Surf the internet to find the best sites. Read other people’s experiences and testimonials and do your best to assemble your trip in a way to get the most out of it. Traveling alone and want to visit Europe? Here are top 3 places for a holiday. Make sure you made a good plan for your trip.

2. Look for Things to See

Once you’ve decided on the place(s) you’ll be visiting, take some time to find out what are the best things to see there. It could be a specific museum or a monument, or maybe a restaurant that serves special food.

I would suggest that you arrange your trip in a way to see at least one thing of cultural or historical importance, try at least one local dish, see the nature around that place and spend a night out partying. That way, you can cover it all.

3. Learn a Couple of Phrases

a shot of a beautiful caucasian traveling woman reading a map

Although you’ll usually find people that speak English wherever you travel in Europe, it might be a good idea to learn at least a couple of phrases in the local language. This is especially important if you’ll be travelling to a small town instead of a capital city or a typical tourist destination.

Of, course, it’s best if you can actually speak the language, but you can’t really learn a new language for every trip. I always learn four basic phrases in the language of a country I’m travelling to – “I’m hungry”, “I’m thirsty”, “I’m lost” and “I don’t speak your language”. It’s a great idea to have a dictionary of most common phrases at hand or, even better, install a translator app with voice recognition to your smart phone. Are you interested in learning key travel phrases in 10 different languages? Read an article.

4. Travel Alone but Don’t Feel Lonely

You may think that you’ll feel quite lonely during your whole trip if you decide to travel alone, but that could easily be changed. Learn how not to feel lonely.

The easiest way is to decide to stay in a hostel, instead of a hotel. Hostels usually have bigger rooms with more beds, so you’ll have an opportunity to meet someone right there. Don’t be shy, introduce yourself and make some new friends. Who knows, maybe your new best friend or the love of your life is just in the bed beside you.

5. How to Meet New People?

Apart from staying in hostels, there are other ways to meet new people during your travel through Europe. The fact that you are a woman means that you’ll probably find it easier to meet other people than you would if you were a guy or travelling as a couple.

Tourist attractions are always crowded with people you can meet. If you don’t know how to start a conversation – your camera can be of great help. Ask someone to take a picture of you, or offer to take a picture of someone else.

If you’ll be staying longer and you’re in a city that has a University, ask if you can hire one of the English language students to be your guide. You’ll be helping a student by giving them a job and you’ll have a local guide and possibly make a new friend.

Eat in smaller, more crowded restaurants instead of in a hotel restaurant. If you can find a self service restaurant, like a student canteen, you’ll probably end up not eating alone.

6. Don’t Attract Thieves

excited traveler with her passport and money in her hand

Travelling to a new place is always great, so don’t let anything spoil the experience for you. Don’t be a thief magnet, you never know who’s around you.

Keep your money and your passport with you at all times; never leave them in a hotel room. Carry a daypack instead of a purse and carry the amount of money sufficient for one day in a money belt. Don’t put all of your money in one place, and if you’re going to leave some of it in the hotel room, make sure it’s hidden away.

Don’t ever leave your camera or your wallet unattended. Leave all the expensive jewelry you have at home. Try to blend in as much as possible and not look like a tourist. If you don’t draw any attention to yourself, you can’t attract the thieves either.

7. Take Care of Yourself

Although travelling alone can really be fun and great, you’re still a woman and you need to be quite careful. You’ll probably attract men who would want to talk to you and most of them will have good intentions, but you never know. So, be alert.

If you’re carrying something for self defense, you absolutely have to check if that is legal in the country you’ll be visiting. Europe is not as liberal when it comes to weapons and self defense items as America is, and in a lot of countries even the pepper spray is illegal.

Learn how to say No in the local language and if someone is bothering you, be firm in saying No to them. Don’t be afraid to make a scene if you’re feeling threatened. If you can’t get rid of someone bothering, start screaming for help and yelling until someone comes and helps you. Don’t worry if you’ll look like a lunatic, it’s still better than to get hurt.

If you don’t want any of the local men to even approach you, the easiest way to do it is to wear a wedding ring, no matter if it’s real or fake. Don’t tell anyone that you’re travelling alone and carry a picture of a real or a fake husband in your wallet. Blend in and don’t dress provocatively, and you won’t have any problems.

Oh, and don’t forget to make a vacation package checklist. Here are the items that absolutely have to be on those lists.

Follow these useful tips for women travelling alone in Europe and you’ll be just fine. Start an adventure of a lifetime.

About the author

Sarah

I’m a free spirit who likes to travel, cook and fly. Licensed paraglider pilot, I spend all my spare time flying. In the meantime, I like to share my recipes and travel experiences.

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