Top 10 safety tips for women travelling alone

Ladies, travelling alone is one of the best experiences you will ever have - but remember that personal safety comes first to having a great time. Here are my top ten tips for keeping safe abroad: 1. Read as much as you can before travelling. Many forums such as Thorn Tree have a lot of helpful tips. Leave details with those back home. 2. Follow the locals by studying what the women are wearing. Are they wearing bikinis? Or sunbathing? Avoid drawing unwelcome attention to yourself. 3. Plan each day meticulously and make sure you know how to get there and back. It’s also helpful to email friends or parents your itinerary so they exactly where you are. 4. Pretending you're about to meet your husband can be a good way to deflect unwanted attention. Also wear a “wedding ring”. 5. Don't travel alone at night or in quiet areas. It’s safer to take a taxi to your front door. 6. Beware that making eye-contact or smiling can be interpreted as a sign of encouragement in some countries. So remember to be polite, but reserved. 7. Get an early start each day and eat your main meal at lunchtime, to avoid going out after dark. 8. Always stay sober and never leave a drink unattended. 9. Travel light and leave anything valuable - an expensive watch or gold jewellery - at home. 10. Reassure family and friends by doing as much research as possible. Be grateful that they care about you enough to worry.