Hi Islandbunz :)

I definately recommend backpacking alone. I havn’t done it for a long stretch of time but spent about two weeks traveling around Australia alone once and it was a great time. It’s very easy to meet people in hostels, it’s pretty much inevitable. I have spent longer stretches traveling with just one or two friends and we always met a lot more people along the way. It seems like it’s easier to meet people in hostels that allow you to smoke inside because everyone usually will be gathered in the one “smoking room”.

For traveling alone, I actually like to book myself a room at an actual hotel from time to time so you can just chill and watch tv and take a bath. I would recommend bringing a journal and looking forward to the opportunity to go explore the world solo. That way if you don’t meet a bunch of people immediatley, that’s ok.

Hey! The most important thing about traveling by yourself is to have no inibitions. Meaning, talk to locals, travelers, animals, people on the bus, your waiter.. you never know what someone can share and tell you about the city or travel together. And never have a plan — you might meet someone with a better idea.

As a female, especially in Latin America (I traveled with one other female and we encountered some problems)... you’ll be fine. No matter where you are, even in your hometown, there are creepy men — and women! So you should always be aware. Dress respectively and if men talk to you, don’t lead them on and flirt if you are uncomfortable. Scary incidents tend to happen when the men think your interested.

But don’t be afraid as female — then you’ll never go anywhere! Best traveling advice I could give anyone is – things always work out in the end.

I’ve spent some time alone in London, Paris, Australia, and New Zealand, and was fine in each of those places. Safety for single women will probably vary place to place- big city, small town, what the cultural norms for men and women are…I imagine it may be a bigger issue in Latin America than in most of Europe. Guidebooks can probably give you an idea of whether safety is much of a concern for specific locations.

When I was alone, I worried about safety too. I found some women-only dorms at hostels, and I didn’t go out at night alone (which I kind of regret, but it’s a comfort-zone thing). You can probably meet up with other people in your hostel to go out at night, as hostels often have single travelers. If you are in a city for just a night or two, it’s harder to befriend others in the hostels, because they may have been there for several weeks and already have some friends. If you are staying somewhere a little longer, this shouldn’t be a problem.

Another reason to possibly avoid going out alone at night- if you drink too much, you might not find your way home! This almost happened to me once in NZ, thankfully I was with a group of people and there was someone else heading back to our hostel at the same time, or I would have never made it. Be careful how much you drink if you are out alone, as that can put you in some not so good situations…

Also, look up some day tour options in advance so that if you get somewhere and don’t feel very safe, you can quickly join an organized group!

It’s definitely worth it to do some traveling alone though- I am glad that I had the chance. :)