From Famously Dangerous To Surprising, Here Are 50 Destinations That Solo Women Travelers Didn’t Find Safe

I was surprised that I felt really uneasy in … Belgium (specifically Brussels; Bruges was fine). This cute little country known for being an easy solo travel destination had (in my experience) some dimly lit, covered alleyways where throngs of men liked to loiter and catcall etc. And I was the only woman on some streets after 8PM. I felt like something could happen and nobody would be aware.

whatever_duh31:

I agree with you as well on this. The first time I visited Belgium I didnt think I would feel so unsafe while walking on the streets or even main roads despite having my bf with me. The metro stations were ghastly, esp the central train stations omg it was a nightmare walk.
Never ever going to Brussels or suggesting anyone for the same!

And yes Brugges was 100% fine instead felt safer!

KeyPosition3983:

I must say i agree. I got robbed there in the city center, the main station was very creepy with a lot of shady characters around, police were very nonchalant.

Osaka, Japan.

I mention it because Japan in general is famous for being safe.

People made a lot of strange comments and didn't have much awareness on what makes solo women uncomfortable…

I felt safer most other places in Asia.

Shinjuku, Japan - I think this is partially my fault because I'd been to Japan once before and its known for being very safe for tourists, so I ventured a little beyond the 'known' areas to find something I was craving that time alone. To my surprise I was followed and catcalled for a bit and it shook me up bc its definitely not something I was expecting.

Have since resolved to stay in the touristy areas if I'm travelling alone.

Two come to mind:

1) St Lucia. I'm not an anxious or fearful person at all, but I felt permanently on edge there, especially in Soufriere. I couldn't quite pinpoint why, just a general off vibe somehow.

2) Barbados. Here I wouldn't say I felt unsafe so much as bothered or mildly uneasy. I really loved the island anyway, but the harassment was nonstop - couldn't walk 5mins without dudes catcalling, trying to chat me up, even sit on my beach towel. It was relentless. Again more annoying than genuinely threatening, so I wasn't on edge per se.

Both surprised me, especially because I'd been to Morocco and Egypt and didn't feel uneasy or unsafe in either.

I don't know how many places are too dangerous for solo female travellers but for sure many feel uncomfortable in Morocco and India from my experience, though I did meet them.

Mid-twenties female friend visited a beach area in Malaysia alone. The women in the shops would ask her "Where is your husband?" When she laid out on the beach, near every man would approach her to talk, even though she was laying there with her eyes closed. Fed up, she made the next guy sit down next to her so other guys wouldn't harass her. She said he must remain quiet and respectful and she would chat with him once she had finished her nap. He must then get up and walk down the beach alone while she went in the other direction and they would not meet again.

She was very much a take-charge person but said she wouldn't bother going to the beach there again.

I wouldn’t say unsafe but I wish I knew the level of street harassment I’d encounter in San Pedro Belize I would have went somewhere else.

Myanmar (Burma) Not great for females. Chance of something really terrible happening is low but chance of having a very poor experience is pretty high. I myself, male, with one other male actually diverted our trip and went to Malaysia for a while instead of Myanmar because a few of our female friends wanted to join us. Definitely wasn’t a necessary change. We would have been fine but likely increased the enjoyment of our trip for all parties.

Sicily in general. Men constantly catcalling, staring and talking to me. During the day I felt relatively safe, but I wouldn’t stay out long at night. This bothered me a lot.

elpislazuli:

Catania, Sicily, and being followed by packs of men who hissed at me and spat at me, in the middle of the day!

Marseilles. Which is maybe not surprising but this was back when I was far less educated and aware.

eriikaa1992:

I found Marseille reeeeeally dodgy. I had a hard time walking anywhere in broad daylight without groups of men in cars cat calling me, men muttering creepy stuff under their breath at me walking past, men opening staring at me walking along snd as I would get closer to where they were sitting, saying creepy s**t to me... I couldn't even go in the supermarket without being approached by like 3 or 4 different guys all trying to hit on me. I look EXTREMELY average as well. Probably less than average since I was travelling for a few weeks.

I was staying at apartment hotel, which turned out to be a mistake- there was no reception on weekends. I had a guy down the hall from me constantly knocking on my door to see if I was 'home'. I couldn't ask to move rooms as there was no reception.

I was so over how unsafe I felt walking around that I ended up buying a bunch of food and just staying in for 2 days straight, being quiet as a mouse when old mate would come knocking.

I literally felt safer in North Africa.

Bhutan, which was very unexpected.

The locals were great(except my guide), but the tourists were really creepy, trying to talk their way into my hotel room(after making polite conversation in an elevator for 30 seconds), taking random pics, and trying to get me to leave my husband(I had a bf at home but wore a fake wedding ring).

My guide made several really weird statements and I actually thought about leaving all together. There was some sort of concert the evening I landed and I was exhausted. He was insistent that we go the concert and that he spent so much money on the tickets. It was really weird and uncomfortable. He made weird jokes and innuendoes, talking about spending a cold night in a tent with a woman traveler and I was just not happy. I should have asked for a different guide and still am unhappy with my lack of assertiveness.

Austin, Texas. Got followed by a huge dude who was walking opposite me, looked at me and said “you some kinda goth or somethin?” And so I diverted and somehow ended up at the same intersection for several blocks and couldn’t shake him until I finally went into a shop to hide.

Vietnam (Saigon), Myanmar (the border was just hordes of men wanting me to travel with them so I left), parts of Lisbon seemed shady, and the empty alleys at night freaked me out lol.

Gurez Valley, Jammu and Kashmir
Located about 130 kilometers from Srinagar, the Gurez Valley is a beautiful combination of landscape, mountains and rivers.
It lies deep in the Himalayas and many travelers are unaware of this hidden gem even today.
Due to its close proximity to the "line of control" between India and Pakistan, this place is extremely dangerous and unsettled.
The threat comes even from random mines. In addition, the Gurez valley is also prone to avalanches, which have claimed the lives of many people in the region, including several soldiers. It is said that 80 mines were found in the area in 3 days.
However, the danger of this zone is offset by its incredible and picturesque beauty.

Even as a man who does mixed martial arts, some parts of Athens made me feel really uneasy and I was on high alert.

I’ve been to 37 countries and I’ve been harassed at some point in every single one.

But I think Spain for me is the biggest surprise. I traveled in the Balkans first and Spain was the first Western European country I visited alone. At the time I thought it would be more progressive so harassment would be lesser… it didn’t go that way at all.

NYC, maybe I am naive, but I definitely felt unsafe and I wasn't expecting that.

Sacramento, California too. I wasn't expecting to feel unsafe in either location, but I was.

I didn’t feel safe in San Jose, Costa Rica. Most of the locals were friendly but a few incidents made me feel on edge. Fortunately I made some friends so I wasn’t alone all the time but so many random older guys would target me because I looked young. One guy even shouted “the young one!” while making obscene gestures toward me. Another guy attempted to follow us into the building where we were staying, trying to invite himself up for a smoke because two of the girls were smoking. I felt so relieved when one of them handed him a cigarette and lit it for him before ushering him away and shutting the door in his face.

Mobile, Alabama. I was in the downtown area and was pretty sure a couple of guys tried to follow me.

Closest safety issue I ever ran into was Bergen, Norway, of all places after leaving a waterfront mid-evening folk music concert with my wife, of all things. I posted here about it a few years back, my wife and I think it was a set-up for a strongarm robbery. And we discovered the Bergen police station is closed on weekends.

Brussels was the first European city I ever set foot in. I knew there were some areas of it to avoid (funnily enough we didn't do the best job of it, once you walk out of the 'old city' it goes downhill pretty quick).

In Lisbon I bugged out of an area because I noticed that every little plaza I was in had guys of a certain look and age just scanning the crowds, and shortly thereafter a similar looking guy tried to either lure me into his car or to stop walking and come up to his window.

Nope.