Ditch Polite. Travel Far. Come Home Safe. | Solo Woman Traveler Safety Guide
Said buenos días. Meant well. A mile down the road, I had company I hadn't invited. León Cathedral, Nicaragua — and the story that follows.
Women in this community have always lived on their own terms. Traveling on your own isn't a departure from that — it's a continuation of it.
Which is exactly why it deserves to be protected with the same clear-eyed intention you bring to everything else.
The instinct to manage other people's comfort before your own safety is deeply learned, widely shared, and in the wrong moment, exploitable. This guide is built on real experience, real mistakes, and nothing softened for comfort — written with full respect for the judgment you have spent decades earning.
Put Your Phone Away
Your phone is your greatest liability on the street. A visible device broadcasts a single message to everyone within range: tourist, distracted, available. Put it away.
Keep a small fold of cash in your front pocket for cabs, street food, and tips. Call rideshare only from a secure, indoor location. Navigate by voice command, smartwatch, or my low-tech preference — handwritten directions on a scrap of paper. None of these announce you.
For storage: use an interior jacket or vest pocket. In warm climates, a slim fanny pack, runner's belt, or hidden-pocket clothing all work well. Mine goes in my quick-dry sports bra. It works. Pick your system, hold to it, and don't break your own rule.
Prominent travel blogger and author Matthew Kepnes was knifed in Colombia after breaking his own phone rule. He told the story without vanity, and it is worth your time. Let it reinforce your system before you need it to:
👉 Getting Stabbed in Colombia — Nomadic Matt(opens in new tab)
Your Cloud Checklist — Before Every Trip
Store the following in cloud-based storage before you leave home. Retrievable from anywhere in the world, on any device:
📄 Passport photo page
🏥 Travel insurance — policy number and claims number ⬅ Non-negotiable
🚁 Medical evacuation insurance — policy number and claims number ⬅ Non-negotiable
🪪 Driver's license
📞 Emergency contacts
💳 Credit cards
If your bag is stolen on day one, this list is what stands between you and a genuine crisis.
Close Calls — Put Yourself in My Shoes
Inspired by Matt Kepnes' honesty, here are mine. As you read each one, ask yourself: where would the instinct to smooth things over have slowed me down? What would I have done differently?
Plaza Grande, Quito, Ecuador
A woman in her 70s — apparently chasing a toddler — stopped beside me and launched into an effusive introduction. Two men nearby had their eyes locked on me the entire time. I didn't wait for someone to fall or faint. I ran, straight toward the last place I'd seen uniformed police.
A day earlier, two sharp, serious young women had warned me that distraction scams were everywhere in that square. Their warning is the reason I clocked the threat in time to move. I still see their faces.
Parque Central, León, Nicaragua
I smiled and called "good morning" to two vendors as I passed through the market. A mile down the road, one of them appeared behind me, calling out a story about needing money for her children. She had followed me — far. I turned, assessed, and walked away without engaging.
The smile that started it was pure reflex. Her follow was a reminder that pleasantries can signal availability to the wrong person.
A Concierge in Nicaragua
A woman who had been genuinely kind during my months-long stay reached out after I returned home. She described how she could never afford a house for her daughter. Then she asked me to enter a green card marriage with her nephew in Arizona.
My response was measured: "We must have had a misunderstanding. Marriage fraud carries fines and potential imprisonment in the US. A real friend would never ask that of me."
Then I blocked her. No guilt. Done.
O'Hare Airport, Chicago
A flight delayed twice. A young man beside me talked freely and at length — then came the patterned questions. Where are you staying? ("Centrally.") Let me show you the bus system. ("My transportation is arranged.") I was civil. In hindsight, I could have been sharper. A quick "I need to check something" and a move toward the gate crew would have been the cleaner call.
What would you have done?
When Yielding Is the Right Call
Outside Paris Gare du Nord, a cab driver stowed my bag in his trunk without asking — warning sign one. We negotiated fare. At my hotel, he blocked the trunk and demanded a "tip," barely containing his fury. My laptop, my luggage, a police report, a physical confrontation with no reliable witnesses — none of it was worth the money he extorted. I paid. I walked away. I moved on.
In India, I hired a vetted guide through trusted contacts. Midway through the trip, in Uttar Pradesh, I was passed to an unauthorized guide — most likely because my spending wasn't generating the merchant kickbacks expected. When we arrived at my lodging, he followed me to the door of my room, stepped inside my personal space, and escalated his demand for a "tip" with barely contained aggression. The guesthouse had no security. The door lock would not have held. I paid to de-escalate. I have no regrets.
There are moments when yielding is the strategic decision. That is not weakness. That is threat assessment — recognizing what you can control, releasing what you cannot, and walking away whole. Know the difference before you need to make the call.
You've Earned This. Now Protect It.
You have been making decisions on your own behalf for a long time. This is one more. Take your safety as seriously as your itinerary.
The woman who moves through the world with awareness, practiced responses, and no apology for prioritizing her own safety is not the woman predators choose. She is the woman who comes home and tells the story.
Share your own close calls in the comments. Your experience may be exactly what another woman in this community needs before her next trip. And if this resonated, send it to someone who is planning her own — the conversation it starts may matter more than she expects.
“Pack light. Step bold. Feel deeply.”
The writer can attest that fake guides, pick pockets, and distraction schemes are everywhere in and outside León Cathedral including a young man with a reverent demeanor that sat next to me and tried to hook me by whispering a question the second the Liturgy ended.
A vibrant colonial street in central León, with bright greens, yellows, and blues for homes to reflect the intense tropical sunlight, and keep interiors cool. While the beauty here is genuinely captivating, opportunistic thieves actively watch for and track distracted tourists along these high-tourism streets.
A beautiful classic colonial home with a striking, fully monochrome robin's egg blue stucco facade and a substantial traditional double wooden door painted in the exact same vibrant blue. These streets carry a deep, authentic charm that stays with you. While the atmosphere is genuinely moving, the central locations do put you right in areas where street predators and distraction schemes are active. Photograph with purpose. Snap your shot, lock your device down immediately, and stay aware of your surroundings. Watch your blind spots, and plan to be back at your lodging and settled in before dark.