She's traveled to Bali, India and the U.S. alone. Here are her tips for solo female travelers

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From upland trekking successful India to a soundless retreat successful Bali, I've been fortunate to question solo aggregate times successful the past decade.

Over the years, I've recovered that mixing tours with autarkic question helps maine get the astir retired of my trips.

Meeting radical is precocious connected my precedence list, arsenic is feeling harmless erstwhile I travel. Here are immoderate tips to bash both.

Cover your calves successful India

In the confederate authorities of Kerala, India, I stayed at Soul and Surf, a guesthouse successful the municipality of Varkala that specializes successful yoga classes and surfing lessons. While connected the resort's grounds connected a grassy clifftop, I lazed successful a bikini among chiefly occidental tourists. But successful the halfway of the tiny town, I wore agelong dresses oregon pants and made definite to screen my legs and shoulders.

I reveled successful waking up solo and being capable to take precisely what I wanted to bash each day.

Local radical formal modestly, and it was important for maine to respect that: I besides felt that I would beryllium little apt to pull unwanted attention.

Kerala has a estimation for being much relaxed than different parts of India but I inactive covered up. Following section customs is simply a bully mode to acceptable successful to immoderate destination.

Join a circuit — but bash your ain happening too

When traveling by myself, I purpose for a premix of organized tours and solo explorations. On a travel to Vietnam, I joined a sightseeing circuit of the Mekong Delta, a web of rivers and islands successful the confederate extremity of the country.

While the circuit was undeniably touristy, I got the accidental to chat with others and perceive their stories. We had evenings to ourselves, and I enjoyed swimming unsocial astatine the hotel's excavation and eating thoroughfare nutrient for meal by myself.

The writer connected a circuit of an land successful the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

Lucy Handley

After the tour, I enjoyed doing my ain happening connected Phu Quoc, an land successful the Gulf of Thailand. I reveled successful waking up solo and being capable to take precisely what I wanted to bash each day.

I mixed tours with solo question connected my travel to Kerala too. After a fewer days by the beach, I joined an organized trek of the Western Ghats from the elevation municipality of Munnar, hiking done beverage plantations, cardamom fields and rainforests, wherever we had to get disconnected the beaten way truthful arsenic not to disturb the area's chaotic elephants.

Yoga tin instrumentality you everywhere

I person attended yoga classes unsocial successful Las Vegas, the Spanish land of Mallorca, and the tourist-friendly authorities of Goa, India.

A retreat at Villa De Zoysa, a family-owned property successful confederate Sri Lanka, kickstarted my emotion of yoga, and it has helped maine find assemblage erstwhile I question alone. For those who aren't fans, connection and creation classes could enactment too.

While cat-sitting in Mallorca, I joined classes at Bini Balance, tally by yoga teacher Cristina Moragues. She invited maine to articulation a retreat successful the adjacent Serra de Tramuntana upland scope that runs done the halfway of the island.

In Goa, I approached tourists who were walking connected Patnem Beach, carrying yoga mats. They invited maine to articulation a class, and we became abrogation buddies, going connected a vessel travel to neighboring beaches and spending the evening astatine a soundless disco together.

Sit astatine the barroom erstwhile eating out

Dining unsocial tin consciousness exposing, truthful I often look for restaurants wherever determination are seats astatine the bar.

On a solo travel to New Orleans to spot Beyonce execute during her 2023 Renaissance tour, I had brunch astatine Willa Jean successful the city's cardinal concern district. I sat astatine the bar, enjoying avocado toast and a paloma cocktail, portion chatting to a backstage pitchy institution relation and an LVMH executive, who were some successful municipality for business.

Sitting astatine the antagonistic oregon barroom astatine a edifice tin beryllium a bully mode to conscionable different travelers erstwhile vacationing alone.

Westend61 | Getty Images

At Bearcat, besides successful the CBD, there's a ample paper with meal classics alongside Southern crab and lobster specials, and I recovered sitting astatine the barroom a bully mode to instrumentality successful the buzzy atmosphere.

Get disconnected your phone

Call maine aged school, but I emotion a due question guidebook.

I find trawling endless online reviews for edifice oregon edifice recommendations tedious and alternatively trust connected "Lonely Planet" oregon "Rough Guide" books. It besides feels safer — I'm little apt to person my telephone successful my manus scrolling connected an unfamiliar street. Plus, it means I look up much and tin instrumentality successful much of my surroundings.

Guided walking tours are besides a large mode to research a metropolis without your chemoreceptor successful your phone. I took a walking circuit of Ho Chi Minh City with GuruWalk, which runs connected a pay-what-you-can basis.

Stay successful a edifice with radical activities

Hotels that connection activities tin marque for an casual solo trip. Red Mountain Resort successful Utah offers packages that see radical guided hikes, classes specified arsenic Pilates, halfway fittingness and meditation. While there, I recovered these activities made it casual to conscionable different travelers.

Guests tin spell connected a kayak oregon paddleboard "safari" to an adjacent bay astatine Neilson's Beach Club successful Sardinia.

Source: Neilson

Meanwhile, British vacation institution Neilson includes activities similar cycling, tennis classes, paddle boarding and sailing successful its vacations, and its societal eating array tin beryllium a affable spot for solo travelers. Traveling during schoolhouse presumption increases your chances of gathering others who are vacationing unsocial — and it's cheaper, too.

Certain activities pull solo travelers too. In Indonesia, I stayed astatine Bali Silent Retreat, wherever astir guests were traveling solo. Not speaking for a fewer days felt liberating. However, if the soundlessness is excessively much, the retreat offers abbreviated trips to a adjacent blistery spring, wherever talking is allowed.

Safety tips for solo travel

Traveling by yourself tin consciousness hugely freeing. That said, I bash instrumentality a fewer information precautions.

Before I spell away, I permission a elaborate itinerary with my family, including the telephone numbers of circuit guides and taxi companies I'm using, on with my question security information.

If you're a U.S. citizen, you tin registry trips overseas with the government's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program truthful you tin beryllium contacted if determination is an emergency. There is nary akin strategy successful the U.K., but the authorities publishes a database of English-speaking doctors worldwide.

I publication astir of my transfers, accommodations and tours ahead, though I effort to permission immoderate flexibility truthful I tin beryllium spontaneous too.

When I'm retired and about, I deterioration a cross-body purse and debar keeping valuables successful my pockets. I ever battalion a spare recognition paper and other cash, which l permission successful the hotel's safe. When traveling by train, oregon rickshaw successful India, I wore a wealth loop nether my pants. Locals advised maine not to locomotion unsocial precocious astatine nighttime successful New Orleans, and I made definite to publication and hold for taxis indoors alternatively than connected the street.

A cross-body purse is utile for valuables portion traveling.

Mayur Kakade | E+ | Getty Images

When I told friends I was traveling by myself to India, immoderate said they were acrophobic for my safety. But I recovered that erstwhile radical approached maine they usually conscionable wanted to signifier their English.

In Bali, meanwhile, traveling astir the land is elemental via the ride-hailing apps Gojek and Grab.

When it comes to accommodations, I debar ground-floor rooms. I besides utilize each locks connected the doors, so that idiosyncratic with a cardinal can't participate the country portion I'm asleep.

And, I question proposal from section people, arsenic good arsenic different tourists, connected areas to debar oregon circuit operators they recommend.

Finally, my champion advice: spot your intuition. If a person, concern oregon spot feels unsafe, permission oregon question help.

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