Young single female traveling alone in Europe

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have a friend who I love (as a friend) dearly. She’s always had the desire to tour Europe and now she may have the opportunity to do so. I’ve never been myself (sadly) so I don’t have a lot of expertise on the matter, so I turn to the Dope.

My concern is that she’s a very helpful, giving person who will go out of her way to help someone in need. For instance, one time after leaving my apartment late at night in downtown KC, there was a guy whose car wouldn’t start or had a flat or something and she — good samaritan that she is — helped him out. That’s kinda cool but also kind of worrying. She even said at the time that she didn’t feel like it was the safest thing she could be doing. She’s mentioned on occasion that she sometimes has trouble saying “no” to people.

She’s also fairly pretty and slight in build.

So, if the concern I have is I don’t want her better nature taken advantage of traveling alone in Europe.

I’d like to recommend a book or some resource for “traveling safe” but don’t know of any.

I might also not be giving her enough credit or being a worrywart.

Any feedback is welcome.

2

There are millions of attractive petite women who have traveled through Europe without harm. She needs to be a bit sensible when it comes to alcohol and going through sketchy parts of towns. i’d say that Europe is generally safer than the U.S.A. Travel is not without risk, but the positive experiences will completely outweigh any negative experiences unless she finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. She’ll meet up with fellow travelers who will provide safety in numbers.

Buy her a copy of *Let’s Go Europe *or Lonely Planet and she’ll be good to go.

3

Sadly I think you’re right to be concerned.

Europe varies in safety and also in custom and expectation (what women wear, whether they are alone etc).
Of course wherever you are, the time of day and the neighbourhood matter too. (Nighttime worse; rough area worse)

How about the Rough Guides, which have a book for each country?

4

Europe in general is pretty safe, but some countries, and indeed towns and cities, are riskier than others. The biggest risk is theft - pickpockets and bag thieves. From repeated personal experience, such thefts are rarely violent events. Instead, things vanish so deftly it’s as if the Enterprise beamed them up while you weren’t looking.

It’s entirely possible to wander naively through Europe with your head in the clouds and get away with it. (I’ve done it, and I’m on full-time autopilot!) It’s also entirely possible to be a suspicious cynical security maniac, and STILL have some artful dodger vanish your moneybelt without you noticing. (I’ve done that too, in a country sufficiently alien for me to turn my autopilot off. These guys are good, they do it for a living.) But you’re much less likely to be selected as a target if you give out the impression of a suspicious cynic rather than a naive tourist, or at least look like you’re paying attention.

The best thing to do is give yourself a lot of contingency options. Don’t carry around large amounts of cash; use debit cards and/or credit cards. One main card, one spare, and don’t keep them together. Make sure they work in Europe, especially in ATMs, BEFORE you arrive - check with the bank. Scan your important documents - tickets, passport, insurance, and email them to a web-based email that you can access anywhere. Same with important phone numbers.

The worst things to lose are: Passport, credit/debit cards, holiday photos. A stolen passport is not a total disaster - an American consulate should give you a document to get you back into the USA, and once in Europe you can travel around without a passport. (Except to the UK, we’re a bit backward.) Loss of one card isn’t a disaster either - cancel it and use the spare. If they run off different bank accounts, make sure you have money in both. With internet banking, you can even shift your money around from an Internet cafe, and they are EVERYWHERE.

Losing holiday photos on the other hand will gnaw at your soul for the rest of your life, and cameras are a favourite thieves’ target. Photoshops everywhere will let you burn your memory cards to CD. Do it often.

All of which is a long way of saying, if she makes a few preparations before she arrives, takes precautions and uses her common sense, she should be fine and have a fantastic time.

5

This is good advice. (and matt’s as well.)
Doing beforehand research and preparation is important,especially if they allow for some flexibility once your trip is underway.
I traveled alone in Europe in the 70’s a couple times (when young and pretty :wink: ), and did another much more recent stint in '06. If a lone traveler wants company, this can easily be accomplished. But there are a lot of good aspects to traveling solo.
A money belt or neck pouch is not a bad idea.
And if she goes to Rome, tell her to look out for that #64 bus.
I’ve had some interesting experiences on it.

6

Well, Europe is a pretty big place. Are we talking about hanging around places like Amsterdam and Berlin, or are we talking about hitch-hiking through Ukraine? The former, as safe as anywhere in the US, I’d bet. The latter, bad idea.

Remember that in a lot of European countries people in the street tend to speak horrible English, if they speak it at all.

If she’s interested, I bet there’s a bunch of European Dopers who’d be willing to show her around and give her a place to stay. If I lived anywhere interesting, I’d volunteer myself.

7

If your friend is going to be travelling through the Netherlands, where I live and work, I can pass on places to visit and things to see, as well as advice for the country. Ditto for Spain (my country of birth).

Just my 2 eurocent!

JoseB

8

Actually, I feel less secure in Amsterdam (but not other Netherlanden cities) than in Ukrainian outback. A lot of friendly people in the latter.

But that reminds me about other good advice: talk to locals. Make friends wherever you can. Ask them about good and bad spots - they would know what districts you should keep away, where local gangs tend to congregate and where are high chances to loose your luggage. Asking such questions to many people help sift out truth - if single person said so, it might be misunderstanding or even trap. If you heard from five to keep away from that street - keep away from that street.

9

Amsterdam is actually safer than some other Dutch cities. Which is not to say your friend will be perfectly ok there, but she won’t be in any graver danger than she would be in any other large city in the US or in Europe. It’s all about being sensible: ask about the good & bad places, don’t act too obviously as an American tourist, don’t be too loud, don’t get yourself totally wasted. Also, your friend will be staying in hostels, most likely, where she’ll be meeting lots of people with whom she’ll be hanging out. This means she probably won’t be alone most of the time, which is good.

On the whole, however, I don’t think it is correct to assume that a young single female traveler is more likely to be targeted in Europe than in the US. Unless she’s stupid, she should be fine.

10

Some non security-related advice: Wheeled luggage is a boon, especially to people less capable of heavy lifting. BUT avoid the temptation to buy a refrigerator-sized case ans stuff it full! Europe has old cities with lots of steps and cobbles, and if you can’t carry your case 100 feet you’re going to suffer in Venice, Rome, Bruge, Amsterdam, on the London Underground…

I’m a rucksack fan myself, but I travel light.

11

Is she really intent on traveling alone? There are many women in similar situations who’ll meet up in one city then go their separate ways later (or end up traveling all across Europe together). But plenty of women go it alone. They put door stops under their hostel doors, pick up a local paper wherever they go, and know not to accept drinks.

12

I’m not sure anyone is making that assumption–just the assumption that being young single and female may put one at greater risk than being old, with other people, and male. Also, since Europe is a place–er, more than one place, really–where this particular person has no experience, it may be harder to judge risk appropriately than many places in the US.

13

I have to disagree with some statements made up thread. Crime rates tend to be generally higher in Western Europe than in the U.S. The U.S. has higher rates of murder and rape but those tend to be relatively rare and targeted. Europe has a crime problem in that countless people are looking to steal from you or pull a scam on you at any given time. That means that the average person has to be aware of potential crime at all times which isn’t true for most of the U.S. That said, all it takes is some common sense and healthy paranoia. You can’t just set your bag down and turn your back and you shouldn’t keep any valuables any place where pickpockets can get at them.

I have spent countless days walking around European cities by myself without being able to speak 5 words of the local language. Most people can speak passable English even in Paris and I never had one problem with that. I have it on good authority that almost everyone in Amsterdam is fluent in English. Some countries are better than other in this regard but she shouldn’t have a problem in any of the traditionally tourist cities. One trick is that, if she has a problem and can’t find a helpful English speaker, she can just go into the nearest hotel. Nearly all people that work in the hospitality industry speak English.

14

Young single female who has done lots of solo travel in Europe, here. Odds are she’ll be just fine. (Actually, most of the travelers I’ve met who have been victims of robbery or other crimes have been male – I suspect men tend to pay less attention to their surroundings.)

That said, it is definitely a good idea not to come across as lost or naive. (Believe me, I attracted a LOT more unwanted attention as a wide-eyed nineteen-year-old studying abroad than a reasonably confident 24 to 29-year-old.) It’s all in the attitude.

You might steer her toward the forums at www.lonelyplanet.com and www.eurotrip.com – they have a lot of good tips for solo travelers.

15

[hijack]

Just curious, but why would you need a passport more in the UK than elsewhere in Europe?
/[hijack]

16

I traveled in Europe by my lonesome when I was 20 - it was a bit intimidating at first, but in the end I had loads of fun with very little grief. (I’m a petite Asian female, FTR.) I did get hit on a lot, and I’m the kind of person who has trouble saying no in general, but smiling and nodding and walking away helps. It’s very important to be aware of your surroundings, though - moreso than you ususally would be. Europe broke me of my habit of leaving my bag casually hanging on the back of my chair or sitting on the chair next to me. (One of my friends got robbed while she was at a vending machine - she took her hand off her bag for like, ten seconds.) But with some common sense your friend should be fine.

(I did have one friend who ended up going over to some old Italian man’s house for dinner because he invited her - a total stranger off the street! I told she was lucky she hadn’t been served her own brain with fava beans. “But he was a nice old man!” He also asked her to marry him over dinner. :rolleyes: )

17

You need a passport to get into the U.K., not once you’re within it.

18

The UK isn’t part of the Schengen Agreement. Schengen Agreement - Wikipedia Lose your passport in France and you can still go Germany and Italy and Switzerland and Spain… lose it in the UK and you’re stuck for a while.

On preview, not Switzerland. But most of Europe!

19

Duh! Sorry I can’t read. I took it as referring to travel in the UK - not travel to the UK from the rest of Europe. My bad.

20

Missed edit window.

On further thought not sure you’re better off without a passport on the Continent. You might be able to cross borders but you won’t have anywhere to stay. In France, Germany, Spain, and Italy I’ve always had to show my passport when checking in to a hotel.