The 5 safest countries for women to travel alone – 04/10/2023 – Tourism

After a long break from travel due to the covid-19 pandemic, people are no longer waiting for a companion to pack. The willingness to travel alone continues to increase worldwide, especially among women.

Research by Norwegian Cruise Line showed that one in three travelers prefer to travel alone — and older women, in particular, are driving this trend.

According to an internal survey by the Virtuoso travel network, the biggest increase in solo travel in 2022 was among women aged 65 and over. They made up just 4% of solo travelers in 2019, but that percentage has risen to 18% in 2022.

Despite this growing trend, women still encounter unique difficulties when venturing outdoors alone. While everywhere in the world should be safe for women to travel, the reality is that women still face discrimination and safety concerns everywhere.

Therefore, many countries focus their efforts on increasing women’s safety and assessing the behavior of local residents to ensure their safety in their own country.

To find the places that are making the most strides in safety and equality for women travelers, we looked at Georgetown University’s Women’s Peace and Safety Index (WPS); the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report; and the Global Peace Index (GPI), from the Institute of Economics and Peace, a think tank based in Sydney, Australia.

Then, we spoke to women who have traveled solo to the top-rated countries to understand what made them feel safe, hear their travel tips, and discover the best things to see and do as a solo female adventurer.

Slovenia

Slovenia tops the WPS index in Central and Eastern Europe. The nation has made great strides in the perception of women’s safety in recent years. According to the index, 85% of women feel safe in the country.

When Claire Ramsdell first arrived in Slovenia’s capital and largest city, Ljubljana, she walked through the streets at night, taking pictures.

“It could have been a risky experience elsewhere, but in this case it was a pleasure,” says Ramsdell, who is an adventure consultant for travel agency Wildland Trekking and runs the travel blog The Detour Effect.

“No one ever bothered me during my stay in the country and I never had problems with transport, language barriers or anything that can sometimes seem intimidating to sort out when you’re alone.”

Ramsdell also found that the city is very walkable and that public transport around the country is extensive and reliable. For those looking to join like-minded travelers, she recommends the sites Ljubljanayum Food Tours It is Food Tour Ljubljana.

Whether traveling alone or in a group, she suggests trying the štruklji of walnuts and buckwheat, a stuffed pastry, from Moji Štruklji confectionery — “one of the best desserts there is”, according to her. And she also recommends the world-renowned Cacao ice cream.

Avid hikers, Ramsdell went to Slovenia specifically to explore the country’s alpine mountains and abundant nature. And she’s found that they offer an ideal mix of solitude and security.

“While I often felt like I was out in the wild, I always knew there was a city nearby if any kind of emergency arose,” says Ramsdell. “I didn’t feel totally alone, which gave me peace of mind.”

She recommends visiting the Soča River and its turquoise waters, on the western side of the country, close to the Italian border, which was one of the film’s locations. The Chronicles of Narnia.

While hikers can enjoy leisurely walks along the waterway, those traveling by car can stop to explore the pedestrian suspension bridges over the river.

Rwanda

With 55% of seats held by women, Rwanda ranks first in the world for its gender equality in Parliament, according to the WPS.

The country also ranks high in the index’s perception of community safety, and is ranked sixth in the world on the Global Gender Equality Index, which assesses each country’s gender disparity in terms of economics, education, health care and participation. policy.

Rebecca Hansen closely observed this equality when she moved to Rwanda from Denmark in 2019. She realized that it is extremely safe to travel alone in the African country.

“There are police, security and army in almost every place, at all hours of the day and night,” she says. “At first, it might seem intimidating, but you quickly learn that all those uniforms are from friendly people, always willing to help.”

Hansen says that people generally don’t bother you, but they can try to practice their English, occasionally asking “how are you?” or saying “good morning”, especially school age children.

English and French are official languages ​​in Rwanda, alongside Kinyarwanda and Swahili, which reduces the language barrier in the country. Even people who don’t speak English are willing to help and point the way if you get lost, according to her.

After the genocide of the Tutsi people in 1994, Rwanda developed a model work of internal pacification and reconciliation. The country maintains several memorials, but Hansen suggests visiting the Genocide Memorial in the capital, Kigali. It shows not only the history of genocide in the country, but also other examples around the world, in addition to the risks and threats we still face today.

Although expensive, seeing the country’s mountain gorillas is a must-do for any visitor. Hansen also recommends Nyungwe National Park in southwest Rwanda and Volcanoes National Park in the north of the country for primate viewing – or Akagera National Park in the east for photo safaris.

United Arab Emirates

With the highest WPS ratings in the Middle East and North Africa due to women’s education and financial inclusion, the UAE continues to lead the way in gender equality in the region.

Recently, the country achieved gender parity in Parliament. It also has the highest rating of any country in the community safety category, with 98.5% of women aged 15+ saying they feel “safe walking alone at night in the city or region where they live”.

Dubai, specifically, was ranked as the safest city for women traveling alone, according to an index by travel insurance company Insure My Trip.

Influencer Sandy Aouad, who divides her time between Paris and Dubai, says she always felt safe in the city, even on the outskirts.

“Once, my car got a flat tire. I left my car in the middle of the desert, unlocked and with the keys inside”, he recalls. “I knew perfectly well that I could trust the taxi that would come to pick me up and I was sure the car would be safe.”

For solo travelers, Aouad recommends a desert safari, which is an easy way to meet interesting people. But if you’re thirsty for adventure, she personally loved skydiving in Dubai over the palm-shaped island.

Japan

Considered one of the 10 safest countries in the world by the Global Peace Index, for its extremely low levels of violent crime and low number of internal or external conflicts, Japan has a culture of subway cars only for women (on some lines and schedules ) and female-only accommodation, which can increase the sense of security for women traveling alone.

Dining alone and individual activities are also a cultural norm, more so than elsewhere.

“Due to population declines and people not wanting to get married and cultivating the ‘alone time’ culture, there are a lot of things involved in ‘solo’ travel,” notes Mika White, who was born in Japan and founded the tour agency Chapter White. “The magazines always show the best solo karaoke, solo ramen restaurants and solo onsens (hot springs),” she says.

Lulu Assagaf moved to Japan from Indonesia 20 years ago. She works as a tour guide at the Intrepid Travel agency and says she feels safe in the country.

“The locals make you feel at home and are happy to help foreigners,” he says.

But if you travel to more rural regions, she recommends taking a guide, as it will be more difficult to find people who speak English.

Since dining alone is the norm in Japan, Assagaf recommends checking out the food scene, especially in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. In the capital, his favorite spot is the Shinjuku San-Chome area, which is full of restaurants, nightlife and izakayas – type of Japanese bar.

For tourists who prefer to venture beyond the main tourist spots, she recommends the seaside town of Kanazawa, known for being the home of the samurai; and Takayama, in the Japanese Alps.

“Takayama has beautiful traditional architecture and sake breweries,” she says.

Assagaf also suggests visiting Takayama’s Showa-kan Museum, which displays pop culture artifacts from the reign of Emperor Hirohito, between 1926 and 1989.

Norway

Norway ranks first on the WPS for its scores in financial inclusion, freedom from legal discrimination and women’s community safety. It is also frequently included in the top 10 happiest and most gender-equal countries in the world.

For all of this, Norway is known as an inclusive place for visitors of all types, including solo travelers and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Founder of the tourism agency Up Norway, Torunn Tronsvang lives in Oslo, the capital of the country. She points out that the culture of tolerance and social trust makes Norway an ideal place for women traveling alone.

“You can casually ask someone at the next table in a cafe to take care of your things while you go to the bathroom,” she says.

She is also proud of the number of women-owned businesses that have created iconic places to eat and stay in rural areas across the country.

To make the most of it, Tronsvang recommends visitors adopt the Norwegian concept of friluftsliv – the philosophy of living life outdoors.

With NASA, the American space agency, predicting the peak of solar activity for 2025, this could be the ideal time to travel to the Arctic and observe the Northern Lights, walk in the snow on foot and sled during the day, and sleep in family-run igloos and ice hotels at night.

read the original version of this report (in English) on the website BBC Travel.