TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

Women traveling on their own is becoming increasingly common. However, women should take certain safety precautions to help ward off any potential mishaps.

Being safe whilst traveling has a lot to do with common sense. Don't go anywhere alone at night, and if you sense you are wandering into a bad part of town, leave immediately.

Never accept a drink from anyone (no matter how good-looking he may be). You have no idea what may be in that drink - he may have laced it with something that will put you to sleep.

Carry pepper spray in your pocket or an easy to reach location in your purse. There's no sense in throwing pepper spray into an overstuffed purse if it just winds up at the bottom where you can't get to it in a hurry.

Carry a whistle, either around your neck, in your pocket, or in your purse (see above). If someone starts giving you trouble, blow the whistle and hopefully others will take notice.

If worse comes to worse, and you have no whistle nor any pepper spray and someone tries to attack you, scream at the top of your lungs. If someone is trying to hurt you, don't be afraid to fight back. Use your fingernails and go for their eyes. Use the palm of your hand to hit their nose up into their face. Kick him in the groin. Do whatever you can to get away.

It's not a pleasant subject to talk about, but this kind of stuff does happen, and it helps to be prepared. You may want to enroll in a women's self-defense class before going on your trip.

Above all, be sensible, stay alert, and use your street smarts!