girl traveling alone....

[Kristie]

Anyone have the inside scoop on where it's "safe" for a girl to travel alone?

Looking at taking some trips while doug's at work and just curious if there's anywhere outside of europe (or inside i suppose) where i can go just me, myself and I...and not have to be watching my back constantly.

I need to learn how to travel by myself.

[Brenda]

oooh, I wanna go! lol But then, you wouldn't be alone, lol.

[madlibs]

Originally Posted by Brenda

oooh, I wanna go! lol But then, you wouldn't be alone, lol.

Ha! That's just what I was going to say.

[jr_lenz]

My cousin lives in China. he is always after me to come over and tells me that it is very safe for women to travel alone there. thats all I got sorry.

[mrs767er]

What type of travel do you prefer? Are you game to take local transport like buses or rent a car? It's really hard to get an idea if I based a prejudgment on "your" photo!! Are you a spa hound, explorer, artiste, etc? Language skills? I can't speak anything fluently besides English, but I can eat, drink and get by in several others. I was shocked how much French I understood and used, just the leftover from high school. I did get very confused in ORY airport, after being in Morocco--I just blanked and forgot I could ask the tourist desk in English! My husband just laughed at me--no Arabic, no French--just "duh" major blonde moment!

[skibum515]

I traveled all over Italy by myself and felt totally safe (except for one creepy guy in Florence). I took the trains alone, visited the museums and other sights by myself (or with random people I met in the hostels).

Italian men can be *very* agressive - and rather than swearing at them or getting pissed off (they view it as flirting?!) you should calmly and dismissivly say "Vie Via" which means "go away" it's something you would say to a gypsy or a beggar and it is pretty effective.

[Kristie]

Originally Posted by mrs767er

What type of travel do you prefer? Are you game to take local transport like buses or rent a car? It's really hard to get an idea if I based a prejudgment on "your" photo!! Are you a spa hound, explorer, artiste, etc? Language skills? I can't speak anything fluently besides English, but I can eat, drink and get by in several others. I was shocked how much French I understood and used, just the leftover from high school. I did get very confused in ORY airport, after being in Morocco--I just blanked and forgot I could ask the tourist desk in English! My husband just laughed at me--no Arabic, no French--just "duh" major blonde moment!

to be honest... i'm not all that sure what kind of travel i prefer.. i like going all over the place. more for relaxation than adventure (esp if i'm by myself). more or less, i like to take it at my own pace...but be culturous where i'm out of the tourist areas, into the local areas and exploring the grocery stores, way of life. I'm not much into doing things like white water rafting (yet)....

I don't mind taking the trains or buses myself (i actually enjoy the mass transit a lot)... totally wouldn't feel comfortable renting a car in a different country. I like to walk a lot and learn my routes yet tend to get flustered when i get lost or out of my comfort zone (esp since languages are different).

My language skills are good since i've been to germany, france, switzerland, italy and so forth. My german and french are probably best but then again, i've already been to all those cities...looking for someplace new to go and try yet i do want to be able to go to germany on my own and be comfortable (ie: being comfortable with it on my own since never done that before) so Stuttgart or Frankfurt will probably be the first place i go just to get comfortable with the idea of traveling alone.

I know copenhagen & stockholm are on my list. copenhagen... always wanted to go... stockholm isn't too far from where my mothers side of the family are from. I'd love to go shopping in Turkey altho not sure how well that would go with just me, myself and i.

I'd love to hit Hong Kong, Shanghi and Toyko (try some REAL tofu) but not sure about hitting the pacific countries on my own since i've never been). I want to go to South America (chile, argentina) and esp Antartica (something about cold water "unreal they can live here" type nature thing i have, same with Alaska)...

I'd also love to travel just around the US too...go to Yellowstone, see Yosemite...tour Napa Valley...NYC...Montana...Hawaii...Portland Beer Festival...

when it comes to the US, i like to get outdoors.. i'm not a big outdoorsy person but i like the fresh air and sound of water and again, walking. hiking, i have to get used to again but going up to the mountains or rockies or grand canyon would be SWEET! albiet, you're technically supposed to take a buddy when you do those types of things so there's yet another *rub* :p

i think my biggest problem will be keeping myself entertained since there's no one else to talk to...no excitement sharing....no set schedule...no one pushing...i can get lazy pretty easy when on the road :p

but i know if i don't do this, then i'll always be waiting for other people (like the hubby) to go have fun and probably end up staying home and regretfully hitting myself in the head for being too scaredy cat to enjoy the benefits while i have them. you can't always wait for others, sometimes you have to do things on your own....it's just a matter of making the right jumps kwim?

[AnnaRose]

I say travel to Hawaii!! My grandmother said it is so clean and beautiful, and Im sure you can learn things about the history and culture while still being somewhat in a US comfort zone. I am hesitant to venture out on my own to central America (thats where BF's company flies a lot) so I figured I could start, like you said, here in the US and work my way out. My friends who have gone have loved it, and your a Delta girl so your bennies pretty much take you everywhere, right?

I have never been to Europe so I wouldn't know where to go first, but my friend just went to Greece and she sent me like 1000 pictures. Let me just say that Greece is sooo beautiful. And we all know that Greece has all sorts of history. I agree that you should use the benefits while you have them. My BF may be getting furloughed in a month (he finds out this week). I wish I would have actually used my benefits to go places other than LGA and ISP.

So definitely go travel and have a blast!! Pave the way for the rest of us

[mrs767er]

Ok--better grip on your travel style/wants/needs--great list of all those things and you can see several places very easily and comfortably:
Hong Kong is good for solo traveler--I di it 4 yrs ago and went to Guangzhou China for side trip (friends of friends--huge P&G city)--just means visa outside of HK--not sure about Shanghai tho.
Have done the cnx in Narita and ICN and apparently both are excellent destinations for single females. I personally would prefer not going to any Arabic country as a lone femme-they treat their women as second class yet ogle and hassle western ones. Not my cup of mint tea...
I found Maui incredibly horrid--tourist junk everywhere--despite the scenic beauty--so many condos and brochures--high prices--and just when you think you've found a paradise beach--here's the BUSful of seniors. I wish I had better memories of my only visit there--I may never go back. I am sure some of the other islands must be better.
Thailand is a good place for single travelers, even tho Bangkok stinks to high heaven--most of where we went was exceptional--we traveled together but saw so many single gals. I would think Bali is as good or better--we're off there this fall for 2 wks.
Brasil is fabulous to travel everywhere but Delta has no NR partners--so it's the black hole for us on ID/zed fares except gateways like Sao Paulo and Rio (gotta just be very cautious there!!) I would go almost anywhere else in the country.
Im taking my sister to either Buenos Aires or Guatemala in a few wks and either one will be fine with us. Soft adventure--sounds like what you might like?
I agree with Anna--I went to Greece for my first shortie and it won't be the last--great people with a good infrastructure for tourism.

[Hokuspocus]

I second Hawaii I love the big Island Dh and are planning on going back (well he doesn't know that yet!) But Volcano's National park is great and really unique they also have a great little winery nearby. We just got back from Europe and decided that until the dollar gets better we will just travel the US. I've also heard that Alaska is great too! Yellowstone is also nice. If you go to the grand canyon let me know I'll meet you there (I've never been but dh said it was great!)