Travelling alone as a woman is a dangerous game. I'm not sure if you've paid attention to the media lately, but if you did you'd see terms like "risky endeavour", attacked, murder and sexual assault associated with the concept of freedom to travel solo. Can you imagine if you, as a solo female, actually dared to step out against all these threats to your safety? Much easier to stay wrapped in the confines of society, in the safe place you know as home, living exactly the life that was expected of you.

The trouble is, I live in the UK which is considered one of the top 25% of the world's safest countries. So safe in fact, that someone I know was randomly jumped and attacked while walking the streets during the day. So safe, that someone attempted to mug my little sister while she was out training for a marathon and steal her phone. So safe, that every woman I know has experienced some kind of abuse from men - no matter which form it has taken. I don't say this to attack the UK for being unsafe, I love living in the UK and always recommend to travellers to visit. But to remind you that violence and danger exist everywhere.

The truth is, as a solo female travel expert who has travelled for over 10 years to 50+ countries, I've felt safer walking alone at night in countries like Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Morocco and Thailand despite some publications such as Forbes listing them as some of the most dangerous countries in the world for women. Don't get me wrong, I've had my moment as a solo female traveller where I've felt unsafe or vulnerable, I've had challenging days when I've had to really rely on strangers to do the right thing and help me. But I've realised, that the world isn't as scary and dangerous as they would have us believe.

If you're preparing to travel solo as a woman, I'm here to share with you the real dangers you might face if you take the leap.

The (real) Dangers of Travelling Solo as a Woman

Discovering true kindness without expectation

One of the biggest risks of solo travel is you could discover that actually complete strangers will go to the ends of the Earth to help you when you are in need. They'll do this with no expectation of reward, they simply do it to help. Imagine how much this would challenge your understanding of the world – that people are actually good and kind, they're not just looking to harm you.

Making friends from around the world

As a solo traveller, there's a good chance you'll be trying to connect with strangers and make friends. While this is incredibly dangerous according to the media, perhaps one of the biggest dangers of travelling solo as a woman is making friends all over the world. One of the greatest challenges as a solo traveller is leaving pieces of your heart scattered across the globe, some with people you will connect with time and time again. Others, you may have just had that one moment of time and it was perfect. A moment you'll have to be forever grateful for.

Realising that education isn't everything

Education isn't for everyone but we're often told to value it above everything else when we are growing up. I mean, if we're not going to university, what are we going to do with our lives? Surely, without a qualification we have no real value to the workforce and can't be expected to build a life. Solo travel really opens your eyes to a whole new world where different skills are valued around the world, where you gain so many valuable life skills that you never learned at school. Perhaps this is why so many long-term travellers become entrepreneurs and build new careers online that fuel their travels. If you're interested in becoming a digital nomad, read this post on 35+ Digital Nomad Jobs to Change Your Life

Learning that the poorest people are often the most generous

Something that astounds me time and time again, in the western world we have such a scarcity mindset where we worry we won't have enough. Travel outside of your tiny bubble and you quickly realise how much people are willing to give with no expectation of reward. You know that phrase "it takes a village"? Well, it's true. I am constantly in awe of how generous people can be when they have so little, it's very humbling. A danger of solo travel is it will keep reminding you how little you need to actually be happy in life.

Challenging your world views

We all exist in an echo chamber and we've been raised to believe a certain world view based on our experiences. But imagine if everything you knew was wrong. What if your way wasn't the right way to live? What if you're not the best version of yourself, and you're simply a product of your environment? Ooof that's a big thought isn't it. Solo travel throws you constant challenges to your belief system, to your values and opinions. It leaves you feeling off-kilter and questioning yourself and those you left at home. Although we're led to believe solo female travel is dangerous, it makes us take a closer look at the person we want to be, and the way we want to live.

Learning to value yourself (and your own company)

I spent my whole life constantly with people before I travelled solo, I was cushioned from my own company by a constant stream of friends, family and boyfriends. It meant I never had the chance to truly connect with my thoughts and to understand my value beyond the way I was seen in the eyes of others. Solo female travel opened my eyes to really understand my value, both to complete strangers and to myself. I learned to love my own company and thrive alone. I started to care less when meeting new people and to know that if they didn't like me, it really didn't matter. Such danger lies in solo female travellers understanding their power and value.

Tuning in to your natural instincts

As women, we are constantly taught to ignore our true instincts. Be polite, be quiet, be smaller. We learn to listen to every voice out there except our gut, which actually is the one voice that truly has our best interests at heart. Imagine how dangerous it could be if we used solo travel as a catalyst for tuning those voices out and tuning in to our bodies, our minds and our spirits. Women travelling alone do have to trust their natural instincts to keep them safe and when you only have yourself to rely on while travelling, this really speeds up that process.

Seeing how capable you truly are

How confident you would be if you knew what you were truly capable of – if you truly understood your uncapped potential. Travelling solo as a woman is a great way to unleash this side of you, to build your confidence and get closer to the person you could be. While it could be dangerous to leave home and venture out into the wilderness, but imagine how dangerous a world full of self-assured women who can handle anything the world throws at them could be.

Allowing your creative side to be free

Constantly experiencing new places, flavours, textures, colours and the vibrancy of travelling life encourages your creative side to grow. All those times we are stifled by routine, by expectation and by the mundane are gone, instead inspiration fuels our zest for life. Travelling solo gives you the chance to feel constantly inspired in spite of the alleged danger. Imagine if you used that inspiration to create something new, something exciting. Perhaps the real danger of solo travel is it allows women to dare to dream of more?