Women Travelers - solo traveling and safety

I just read this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/women-travelers/282501-travel-safety-tips.html)on safety, and while excellent, I am now a bit nervous about traveling solo in the U.S., after living abroad and traveling abroad for years.

Is a woman traveling solo in New England at risk? Are you more -- and do you feel more -- secure in a hostel, b & b, or hotel? Do you go to concerts, movies, etc. by yourself at night?

Bottomline: is there good reason to feel nervous?

I just read this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/women-travelers/282501-travel-safety-tips.html)on safety, and while excellent, I am now a bit nervous about traveling solo in the U.S., after living abroad and traveling abroad for years.

Is a woman traveling solo in New England at risk? Are you more -- and do you feel more -- secure in a hostel, b & b, or hotel? Do you go to concerts, movies, etc. by yourself at night?

Bottomline: is there good reason to feel nervous?

I don't, but YMMV. I stay in hotels, and go to concerts, movies, and just out walking by myself at night.

I have traveled all over the States (and a number of foreign cities) by myself and have never been nervous about doing so. And I don't use many of Sharon's tips in the linked thread. I usually don't go out at night, but when I do it's in a safe area.

I just read this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/women-travelers/282501-travel-safety-tips.html)on safety, and while excellent, I am now a bit nervous about traveling solo in the U.S., after living abroad and traveling abroad for years.

Is a woman traveling solo in New England at risk? Are you more -- and do you feel more -- secure in a hostel, b & b, or hotel? Do you go to concerts, movies, etc. by yourself at night?

Bottomline: is there good reason to feel nervous?
Stay aware of your surroundings, don't travel in unsafe areas esp at night, ask at your hotel or wherever you're staying about safe/unsafe areas to be, be smart and you'll be fine, but enjoy yourself.

New England is a large place ... if you're talking Boston, be more aware of where you are/what you're doing; if you're talking Maine, its a more relaxed, laid back place but still have an awareness of where you area.

It might be good to pick up a prepaid cell phone if you're worried. 911 will get you emergency here in the States and you can also call the hotel for directions, if you're feeling lost. You can also pretend to be talking on it if you feel threatened by people walking towards you.

I travel all over the states for business and take the same precautions when I travel that I do living in a big city like Los Angeles.

Some basic ones - as a rule I only stay at full service hotels. If I have any concerns about the area and there is a choice between valet parking and self park I will valet, that way I am not walking alone to my car in a garage. Most good full service hotels are sensitive to the issue of giving out room numbers. They usually put the room number on a card and then show me the card and say this is your room you take the elevator over there to your floor, etc..

One reason to stay in a full service hotel - if you don't know the area you don't have to go out for dinner you can order room service or stay in the hotel. Likewise they tend to have more security and people have to walk by the front desk going in and out. You can even call security for things like noise complaints at full service hotels. I have done that when there are people out in the hallway talking late at night after a party.

If I have a rental car and need to drive I always get online before hand and print out directions from google maps so I have an idea how to get to where I need to go. I also try to study the directions ahead of time so I don't have to look anything up while driving.

I won't stop to buy gas for the car if I have concerns about the area. I return the car only partially full.

Typically on business I go from plane to hotel to business site and back again so I just need to know how to get to these three points. I don't go exploring while on a business trip usually I'm too busy anyway with work.

If I am in a foreign country I usually have a host and hopefully they will show me around some if that is desired. Also I will not let a foreign host put me in a substandard hotel - if they are on a budget I just pay for myself and book a full service hotel abroad.

I have not traveled in third world countries on business so for me it is more or less places like Paris, Rome, Madrid, etc I have been to all of those and more while on business travel by myself. Ditto for New York, San Fran, Chicago, etc. I've fended off pickpockets in Madrid and seen others get pickpocketed in Paris. I've witnessed a fist fight in Hamburg when on business travel. Overall I've probably seen worse things abroad than in the US while on travel.

If I do not have a car with me I will take taxis to get around unless I am very comfortable with public transportation. In London I take the tube - I've been out to see a show by myself and taken the tube back to my hotel at 11pm but there are many people around and I feel comfortable doing that. In NYC I have taken subway with others or taxi by myself. In San Fran I've taken BART during the day, walked during the day, taxi at night. San Fran has taxis on almost every corner in downtown. While there are some odd looking people on the BART, I've not had a bad experience. In fact one time my necklace came off and I did not notice and a guy with a bike came running after me to give it back to me. In DC the metro is pretty good all day long and I'm not usually out much at night. I remember one night in DC I needed dinner, did not like the hotel restaurant but did not like the neighborhood either for safety reasons so I got out google maps on the laptop, found Dominos down the street and had a pizza delivered to my hotel. Likewise I've had Chinese food delivered to my hotel when staying in San Fran. Food was great and I got to eat it from my king bed with the remote control and flat screen tv. Also about half the price of room service at the hotel.

It helps to have some "working knowledge" of what are good areas in some of the biggest US cities. I've lived in or near Chicago, Boston, NYC, LA, and have family/friends in San Fran. This helps to have a basic knowledge of the bad and good areas. If you don't know that then go ask the Concierge in the full service hotel where you are staying. Or use some of the online fora to ask questions.
I've gone to a show by myself at night in San Fran. I was staying downtown so I walked to the theater in the early evening. Coming back I decided it was a bit late so I started walking ahead of the crowd down the street and snagged a taxi a block or two away from the theater for a ride back to my hotel.
I went with a friend one night for dinner in the tenderloin in San Fran - he claimed he knew a place with really great Thai food. When we left we just grabbed the first taxi - and one showed up within a minute or two. But it helped to know this was not a great area so best to grab the first taxi. Fortunately San Fran has lots of taxis everywhere all the time it seems.

I would not let safety fears keep me from e.g. going to the theater in a strange city. But I would research how to get there and make sure I have safe transportation to and from before I set out to go there.
Note that a decent restaurant should have no problem calling a taxi for you. Likewise any hotel even one where you are not staying. Basically any place with staff or a doorman can get you a taxi. I've done that in some random building in Barcelona when I was not feeling well - just stepped inside and asked the guy at the front desk to call me a taxi. No problem it was done.

In general I suggest to take a few precautions, be resourceful when needed, pay a little extra if needed for safety reasons, and then just go and enjoy your travel.

I travel internationally for businness and pleasure alone all the time. Many of my trips are to Brazil (for business) or anywhere else in the world. I tend to stick out in a crowd when in most of the world (5'10" pale redhead) so it is obvious that I'm not a native. That said, just use common sense and don't let it stop you from exploring. I'm always aware of my surroundings. I try to keep a phone with me that will work internationally (I take my corporate global Blackberry and figure I can pay for personal use if needed) and I know the emergency numbers in most countries.

I ask at the hotel for tips if I'm concerned at all but I often wander around alone. I walk quickly and like I know where I'm going, even if lost.

If people approach me and I don't want them too, I'm really good at projecting the "leave me alone" vibe. Confidence does wonders

I travel internationally for businness and pleasure alone all the time. Many of my trips are to Brazil (for business) or anywhere else in the world. I tend to stick out in a crowd when in most of the world (5'10" pale redhead) so it is obvious that I'm not a native. That said, just use common sense and don't let it stop you from exploring. I'm always aware of my surroundings. I try to keep a phone with me that will work internationally (I take my corporate global Blackberry and figure I can pay for personal use if needed) and I know the emergency numbers in most countries.

I ask at the hotel for tips if I'm concerned at all but I often wander around alone. I walk quickly and like I know where I'm going, even if lost.

If people approach me and I don't want them too, I'm really good at projecting the "leave me alone" vibe. Confidence does wondersAbsolutely! More women here in FT should read your mantra about confidence and common sense.

I've travelled solo to many places solo, including parts of New England. My safety stragedies don't change much whether I'm solo or in a group. It includes things like not wandering into sketchy areas at night, not showing off valubles, knowing where I'm at and how to get back to where I'm staying, being aware of my surroundings, etc.

When I'm going solo, I do make sure that other people such as a family member know where I'm staying, what my schedule is, contact info, etc. in case of emergency.

I've traveled solo. All the suggestions are here are good.

I will stay in motels on the road, but only those with inside hallways and a desk. (Comfort Inn, etc.) I use a GPS system, so if I get lost I don't have to stop and turn on a light to look at the map or directions.

I used to travel a lot by car in the 90s.

I travel constantly by myself both in the US and internationally and what everybody says about being aware of your surroundings is probably the most important thing. Research where you are going and stay in areas were there are other people. Don't wear flashy jewelry, keep your cash and a credit card in your pockets (or bra) and plan ahead on what you are going to do if you even feel like somebody is going to hassle you (like scream, swing and hit them with your purse, etc)...

Incidents are going to happen, but in 20+ years of traveling solo, I've only had one and it hasn't stopped me... I do a lot of night photography and try to make sure that I'm super aware of who is beside and behind me at all times. The only even near-incident that I've had was right below the London eye around 8:00pm last winter and there were quite a few people around... I could see a shadow coming up on me and just knew that something was wrong. I swung around and surprised the guy... The only thing that was in my backpack was my tripod and it hit him in the throat and he started coughing like crazy and grabbing his neck. I couldn't have planned better but it made me even more aware of how things can happen and how you need to stay aware of what's going on around you...

Some of the advice is OK, and some of the advice is silly. You might as well stay home if you can't travel solo unless it's by taxi to a "full service hotel." Some of my best hotel stays as a solo traveler have been to hostels or B&Bs, that are actually someplace special. A full service hotel chain is just a chain. Would you travel the world solo and then eat at MacDonald's? You know that's silly and unnecessary. You can eat real local food and not get food poisoned, and you can stay in a non-chain, non-bell-desk type of place and not get ax murdered. Feeling obligated to stay in a certain type of "full service hotel" is just another way some women end up paying a much higher price than other people do -- and, here, you are actually paying the higher price to have less of the travel experience. OK if you're traveling solo for business anyway. Not OK if you're traveling to see the sights.



As for taking a taxi everywhere as a solo traveler, no, just no. Getting in a taxi with a strange man is getting in a car with a strange man. I'd much rather use public transportation. In some places, you do have to taxi for whatever reason, and here you have to be careful that it's a "real" taxi and, even then, I think we've all been treated to some interesting digressions that could have become dangerous if the taxi driver was so inclined. In some areas of the U.S. the taxi drivers don't seem to be locals or to be properly vetted at all. I pretty much won't take a taxi solo in Vegas now, the shuttle may take longer but at least it takes me where I intend to go and not on a tour of cactus land. You can file a complaint, and I have, but it won't do any good -- I was told that some other taxi driver was using the ID I copied down from the placard in the taxi. So? That's an excuse for abducting me? Seems to me that whoever is allowing his taxi to be used by lowlife needs to be fined and/or removed from the taxi game altogether. Instead, in some parts of the U.S., renting/leasing one's taxi permit is a COMMON occurrence, and you have no clue and no proof of who you're getting in the car with. And when you file a complaint, you'll be told, too bad, so sad, both guys say the other guy did it, so the taxi authority has decided to do nothing. Like that makes a lot of sense. Anyways, that's what happened to me, so I'm only a little bitter. :-)

Sorry peachfront you had trouble in Vegas. Truth be told I have no experience with taxis in Vegas. I live close enough that I drive there and if I flew in I'd probably rent a car rather than taxi especially because the casinos all have free parking. And if you are staying on the strip there is of course that tram that goes around to the Casinos. I've not traveled alone in Vegas we typically go with Mr. BT2 and our dog and stay outside the strip, driving in from LA.

In SF there are tons of clearly marked Yellow cabs and the BART is very good (public transport) and cheap. I often take BART in SF rather than taxi or certainly rental car. But it depends alot on the context and how far and when you have to walk to the nearest BART station. From SFO into the city you take BART.

Also I have to say that it matters what you are doing on travel. When I travel on business I'm typically not really interested in being there for the travel experience and simultaneously I have sufficient travel funds to stay in full service hotels and take taxis if need be. I typically need to work during dinner hour and thus prefer to have food brought to my room or go to a restaurant in the hotel. I have gone out to see shows in SF, London, etc on my own and whether I take public transport or not depends a lot on the context. The London tube for example is great and there is really no need for taxi there unless you have luggage and need to get to the train station. Madrid also has a good subway system. But there are other cities, like Chicago, where I feel much safer in a cab than trying to navigate public transport in the evening. Especially having lived there for 5 years and knowing lots of people who were mugged walking the streets at night in Chicago but no one who ever had a problem with a taxi driver. Thus it seems like a good idea to find out from the locals what is the best thing to do in your particular context.

Having stayed in B&Bs, Hostels, inexpensive, and full service hotels during various times of my life, I much prefer the full service hotel over all the others for a variety of reasons only one of which has to do with safety.