10 places where I felt very safe traveling by myself and five where I did not hey guys
I'm Kristen I've been traveling the world for the last 10 years mostly by myself I've been to over
60 countries alone and over that time I've come to know a lot of places to be somewhere that I would
absolutely recommend to a first-time traveler just because it just felt so nice and safe to be there
and five places that really shocked me when things went wrong so beginning with the positives number
one has to be Iceland people will run their car while they're running into the grocery store like
with the keys in the ignition something I really cannot imagine Happening Here in the US that just
kind of speaks to me of the level of trust that people have in Iceland for one another it's a
small population it's an island of only I think a few hundred thousand people if that plus it's
an island so there's just not a lot of places to go if you commit a crime but beyond that I think
people there work together trust each other and that's what makes it a really wonderful place to
visit especially if it's your first time because you can feel safe there amongst the people in
number two Japan I have had just the most wonderful time in Japan with the local people they
are always so kind so helpful even when they don't speak English very well I find that people really
try if I approach them if I have like a translate or something like that I find that people will
put in the effort to help me out crime overall is also just lower in Japan and I will never forget
one time I was walking down the street and we had my son with us he was a baby he lost one of
his socks and someone actually pulled over on the road to tell us that we had dropped a sock and we
didn't notice that really wowed me with how people will take it upon themselves to be helpful to each
other and that's something that I think is so wonderful about Japanese culture I think while
we were waiting in line somebody came and gifted us too many tickets people will sometimes even
save a seat for themselves at a table by putting their wallet on that table so it's just kind of
goes to show that people have trust for each other that it's the kind of place where you can do that
and that's why it makes Japan my number two pick number three Canada is just one of the friendliest
places I've ever been and I really enjoy traveling there especially by myself because I come across
people all the time who are just so dang nice to me people are always willing to help if you're
lost if you need directions they're gonna drive me up there super super nice to them because I
actually had someone give me a bottle of water as a gift at his shop because I stopped by and
I didn't have any cash on me and that kind of friendliness just extends anywhere you go and
it's just generally a place where when I am out and about even in the wilderness I feel a
little bit safer there than I do in its Southern neighbor the U.S where I'm from there's just a
lot fewer people as well and so you've just got these beautiful Wide Open Spaces that are
there to enjoy people feel a lot of pride in their communities and that is really evident everywhere
that I've been in Canada that's why we'd like to produce the best maple syrup in the world number
four might surprise you it's China so I have an interesting first-hand experience of traveling
in China I was down to my last few dollars when I was there and I ended up meeting a local girl
who was also traveling around at the time she kind of took me under her wing and she was like really
into hitchhiking I've never really tried it before so I decided that I was gonna try it with her and
ended up working so well that that is how I got around China and it wasn't only that people picked
me up and gave me rides it was that they would buy me lunch not let me pay they would often buy me
the rest of the bus fare if they couldn't take me all the way not let me pay just the kindness that
people showed me over and over and over in China really blew my mind I was traveling in Yunnan and
Sichuan provinces they're a little bit more remote I was spending a lot of time in the Himalayas and
like Tibetan autonomous prefecture the people in these areas are just unbelievably kind and
welcoming I never once felt unsafe even though I hitchhiked across two entire provinces mostly by
myself and I think that really speaks volumes of a place when you can walk away from it having had
that experience feeling not only welcomed but like people went out of their way to be amazing hosts
something that I will never forget and that I will always cherish about China which is I think one of
the most misunderstood destinations on Earth number five has to be New Zealand New Zealand
is also the kind of place that is just very safe and it's no surprise honestly because again it's
the kind of place where the population is small the people are nice there's so much to do there
by yourself as well you're going to meet so many other Backpackers and that's the wonderful thing
about places to travel alone where there's lots of other people doing the same thing speaking of
hitchhiking it's a very common thing to do in New Zealand and I think the fact that it has
remained common for decades speaks to the safety that people feel when they are there number six
is Malaysia so a lot of the countries that I've named so far on this list are a little bit in
the pricier range but Malaysia can be wonderfully affordable depending on what currency that you're
traveling on whether it's the dollar or the Euro you're going to have an easier time affording
your trip in Malaysia all of Southeast Asia was wonderful to travel by myself but what I loved
about Malaysia is how again locals would kind of go out of their way to befriend me to show
me their culture so I got to go to a local engagement ceremony when I was there I got
to hang out with local people who took me to eat amazing food and I just generally felt that it
was a place to go where people were very welcoming and I just felt very safe there number seven on my
list is Switzerland if you want to go to one of the just cleanest most perfectly operational if
that even makes sense countries on this planet that is also just unbelievably beautiful I can
wholeheartedly recommend Switzerland what I love about Switzerland having been there twice in the
summer and once in the winter is that you cannot go somewhere ugly there it truly is the kind of
place where any Lake any mountain town you go to it's just so quaint and beautiful and even the
big cities feel very approachable and easy to get around I've also found people to be very welcoming
when I've made Swiss friends when traveling they invited me to come visit them which I
did and they also would invite all their friends to come over and do potluck dinners because they
knew that Switzerland was an expensive country and so they were trying to help me save money as
much as possible and I just feel like going to those lengths is probably a cultural thing and
something really wonderful about having visited their knowing people but even if you don't know
people staying in the Huts is a really wonderful experience in the mountain towns they're like just
these warm wooden Huts that are just so nice and have a very communal feel to them it tends to be
the kind of place where it's easy to meet other people one thing that can be hard traveling in
Europe is there can be a lot of pickpockets in a lot of the other countries which I will get
to later but in Switzerland it just feels very safe and like it's much less of a problem there
another thing that I just have to bring up even though it doesn't have much to do with safety is
one time I was on train in Switzerland that was 30 seconds late and the conductor actually came
on to apologize for the delay which shocked me but my friend who is Swiss was just sitting there like
yes this is normal there's a reason why they are the watchmakers man it's just it's just a
pristine perfectly Running Place number eight on my list is Namibia I think there is well I know
there is an unfortunate perception that Africa number one is sort of like this one place even
though it's one of the largest continents on earth and with so much diversity but I also think it's
unfortunate that there is this idea that it has to be inherently unsafe I have never been cat called
once anywhere in Southern and Eastern Africa I've spent a cumulative seven months in that part of
the continent and I've been to over 10 countries and so I just think that that's a pretty good
sample size and I've really felt good traveling in these places the only thing that I would say is if
you're going to travel alone in Namibia if you're truly going to be alone you want that Solitude you
want that sort of in the middle of nowhere feel because it's a country of only two million people
but it's got quite a lot of land mass make sure that you know how to change a tire you have water
with you and you have a satellite phone I still recommend it though to solo Travelers because
it's one of those places where you've really got everything you've got the warm Dunes you've
got dead fly which is so cool those dedication trees you've got the animals of atosha you have
the seaside town of swakotmund and these are all places where I just had the best time traveling
you can absolutely join a tour I actually run them there and I have a lot of solo female Travelers
who join us to have this be sort of their first Africa experience and I think it's where a lot of
people fall in love with the continent so please don't think that Africa is inherently dangerous
when it comes to Crime actually Namibia comes out much better than the US in terms of statistics
Food For Thought next is Ireland Ireland is the third country where I ever traveled and it's a
place that I've been back to I think five times now in just about every season I've also traveled
in Northern Ireland which I was absolutely in love with it's just a place that is full
of really wonderful history but it's also this sort of culture that is very welcoming I've gone
to a pub there before and just been sort of like welcomed into a big group of people who were there
celebrating actually that's happened multiple times it's just the kind of thing that happens
in Ireland you walk into a pub everyone talks to each other sort of party atmosphere even myself
as a non-drinker it's just the vibe it's just the atmosphere of being there that is really wonderful
and you have a group of people who really want to move forward in a wonderful and peaceful way and
who are very welcoming to visitors and I just feel like that is so strong and evident when
I'm anywhere on that island number 10 is Finland or honestly really anywhere in the Scandinavian
country area yeah it is pretty much all very safe there I think that your biggest concern is if
you're visiting during the winter you probably want to have a car with four-wheel drive and
snow tires because you're in the Arctic and their winter is for real but you also have the Northern
Lights you have such a rich culture in terms of going to do the sauna dunk into the frozen lake
which I didn't want to do but they made me and I was glad for oh my God that's enough of that
you have this sort of culture of people who really had to rely and work with each other in order to
survive these Winters and I just feel like that's still there today if you're gonna travel there
alone you could choose to go to a place like romanime where you're going to have more people
there's so many tours that you can join you can do reindeer tours Ice Hotel tours which are really
cool highly recommend Northern Lights tours dog sledding meeting Santa if it strikes your fancy
these are all really cool cultural experiences that you can have while drinking blueberry juice
by the fire Finland really is a place that has a little bit of magic to it so now the five places
five places where things went a little wrong for me and I didn't necessarily feel as safe I gotta
start with unfortunately Berlin Germany I lived there for four and a half years so obviously I
increased my odds of having something bad happen to me but it was just so aggressive some of the
things that happened I had someone actually grab me on the street I had someone chase me
down a sidewalk when he was trying to get my attention to hit on me and I ignored him just
the aggression was too much for me it actually made me almost leave so if you are going to visit
Berlin I recommend that you stay in penflorberg I also like parts of crew design schindenburg
is great you know colon can also be good I just think probably a lot of that happened because I
lived there for so long and it just all happened in this sort of one centralized neighborhood
should I say the neighborhood it all happened when I lived at Hermann place I would avoid that area
plague Germany is also the only place where I've been straight up pickpocketed so
be careful in Europe be very careful they are quick they are good so make sure that you have
your bag here have one that has locking zippers have one that has RFID blocking technology just
do your best to be super aware at all times the next place that unfortunately had a really bad
experience was Nepal so it was actually early on during my stay there I was about to start
the Trek to the Annapurna circuit it was going to be a two-week hike and I got groped the night
before it was supposed to start I was just walking down the road someone grabbed me and ran before I
could even react or see what was going on before my brain could even truly register what had just
happened I considered should I leave should this be the end of my time here I did end up
deciding to do the hike I'm really glad that I did the people of the Himalayas are really
lovely and wonderful it was one bad experience that taught me that walking alone even at desk
probably not a great idea in most parts of the world another place where I had a really bad
experience unfortunately was Santiago in Chile there's a reason why no South American or even
Central American country has been named on this list and that's because of the super aggressive
cat calling but what happened to me in Santiago is really Next Level I was in an elevator by myself
four huge men got in with me surrounded me and just started saying like really nasty things to
me and it was the most uncomfortable elevator ride of my life so I just chose to sit there
silently which feels shitty but at the same time I didn't want to know what would happen if I did
react I think it's best not to react but it's just unfortunate to be in that situation I had been
traveling with a friend and nothing had really happened and then as soon as I was by myself
that's when things got really aggressive and the cat calling started so it's really unfortunate
but that is why I did not name anywhere in South America another unfortunate situation which it
pains me to even bring up because I love this country I've traveled there so many times by
myself the locals have honestly been really wonderful but I I did have an almost break-in
when I was alone in my room in the Philippines a few minutes later my Bungalow shook again and
then I saw someone shining a light from a phone into my room and they tried to open the sliding
glass door the owners were really surprised I never named where it happened I also have not
promoted or shared it or recommended it so don't worry about that but they said that that kind of
thing had never happened there I choose to believe them but unfortunately it did happen to me and it
was really uncomfortable and it made it really difficult to sleep and enjoy the rest of my time
at that particular place I don't want to put the Philippines down at all but it did happen and so
that's just why I share it the only other thing that was very scary that happened on my travels
was a flash flood when I was in Tanzania in the rainy season I learned through three trips
now during the rainy season and Southeastern Africa that it is for real I will not travel
there during the rainy season again due to so many flooding situations but this time I don't
know how close I came to dying but let's just say I'm very lucky that the attendant was there took
it upon himself to come warn me which put his life in risk that a flash flood was coming and
um I'm just forever grateful that I didn't drown that night I am very lucky that over the last 10
years these were the worst things that happened I'm still very happy to be traveling by myself but
I just wanted to share with you the wonderful places that I've been and why and some of the
bad experiences too because you get both in life and on the road I hope that this video helped you
if you want to learn more about how to stay safe on the road watch this video next it has all the
things I would not do when you're traveling alone if you want to stay safe and watch this video if
you want to see my very favorite places to travel alone for the first time thanks guys [Music]