Best Destinations For Women Traveling Alone

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Despite what many people say, women can and do travel the world alone in relative safety. No place on earth is perfectly safe, but if you are a woman traveling alone, choosing one of the following countries as your destination can help keep you as safe as you would be in any city in the United States.

  • Australia. Home to both a thriving tourist trade and people who speak English, Australia is reknowned for having some of the most friendly locals in the world. Australian scenery, wildlife and also the beer are not to be missed!
  • Nordic countries. Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Norway have extremely low crime rates, beautiful natural scenery, and peaceful safe atmospheres.
  • Ireland. Irish women are known for being “fiery” and outgoing, so many American women will blend right in! Go here if you like to party, because women and men alike have no problems with drinking a lot here.
  • Vietnam. The Vietnamese are a welcoming and friendly people, and female travelers often make this country their destination. That means if you’re traveling alone, you can make lots of friends who are doing the same thing!
  • India. India has a positive relationship with the United States, and many locals in popular areas for travelers speak English. The general attitude toward women is one of respect.
  • Costa Rica. One of the safest Latin American countries for women to travel in alone, Costa Rica offers gorgeous scenery, friendly locals, and enough tourism that being a foreign woman traveling alone won’t single you out.

If you use common sense while traveling alone, you can see the world safely.

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Legal Concerns When Traveling Abroad

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A surprising amount of Americans travel abroad without even being aware that they aren’t under United States legal protection anymore while out of the country. What may be legal or perhaps a minor offense in the United States can be severely punished in some other nations — in fact, many Americans have ended up arrested or serving jail time for such innocent mistakes as bringing along prescription medication that happened to be an illegal substance in the country that they were traveling in!

To prevent such an incident from happening to you, always thoroughly research the laws of the country you are planning to visit. Pay particular attention to laws that apply to your specific situation; for example, if you must bring along a prescription drug, look up whether that drug is legal in your destination country or not.

If you absolutely must take along a prescription drug that you think might land you in legal trouble while abroad, make sure to bring along not one, but two copies of a letter from your doctor stating that you do in fact need to take the medication for health reasons. Store the copies of the letter in separate places — in the event that one gets lost or destroyed, you will still have the other.

Research customs and acceptible behavior to decrease chances of offending anyone. It would be helpful during a trip to Japan to know that people don’t call each other by their first names unless they know each other well, for example. Always pay special attention to your own gender and age group’s common clothing and behavior, and try to stick to it.

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