Traveling with family and friends has its charms, but few things are as liberating as taking the world on alone! While vacationing alone or making your mark as a digital nomad should go off without a hitch, solo travel does make you more vulnerable to certain risks. Here’s what they are and how to handle them.

Carefully Pick Where You’ll Stay

Accommodations play a major role in your travel experience. As a solo traveler, you’ll want to stay in a safe neighborhood and a separate room. This means doing a lot of research beforehand. Luckily, booking platforms provide all the info you’ll need.

Start by researching the destination, focusing on its safest and most troubled areas. Once you have an idea of the area you want to stay in, look for accommodations that fit your price range while offering security and amenities. Pay attention to reviews, especially recent and descriptive ones. When in doubt, consider that a hotel chain or highly-rated hostel will likely tick all your boxes.

Get to Know the Local Scams

While safe during the day, touristy places inevitably come with scams you need to watch out for. Shell games, fake taxis, petitions… criminal creativity has no limits. Read up on local scams beforehand so you know what to look for and how to avoid them.

Think Twice About Using Public Wi-Fi

Remaining reachable has become a travel necessity, especially if you’re a digital nomad whose livelihood depends on a fast and stable internet connection. The places you’ll visit are happy to oblige, either through co-working spaces or the free Wi-Fi you’ll encounter at every airport and self-respecting café. If you’re wondering whether public Wi-Fi is safe, sadly, it can be as risky as it is convenient.

A Wi-Fi hotspot is easy to fake, meaning you may end up connecting to a hacker-controlled network rather than the one offered by a restaurant or shopping mall. Ordinarily, anyone who monitors the network can see what you’re up to, from the websites you visit and files you download to any unsecured login details you enter.

If you do have to use Wi-Fi while traveling, make sure to activate a VPN first.

Party in Moderation

No trip is complete without getting a taste of the local nightlife, which can put solo travelers in a vulnerable spot. Even more so if you’re a woman. Going alone doesn’t mean you should avoid partying — you’ll just want to be more careful about it.

Research is your friend again, so start by finding clubs and other party spots with a reputation for being safe. It's a good idea to scope them out during the day so you can more easily find your way back at night. Being friendly with everyone is likely your first instinct, but it's totally fine if you lie about being solo or where you're staying.

Drink moderately so you always remain conscious and aware. Never lose sight of your drinks, either.

Don’t Forget Digital Safety

We already mentioned the dangers of Wi-Fi. That’s where the best cheap VPNs can be helpful. They will encrypt the connection and protect your privacy, without breaking the bank. This way, it’s impossible for hackers to see what you do online or intercept any information you exchange

But that’s just one aspect of digital safety to consider. You’ll likely pay for a lot of things with a credit card, so let your bank know you’ll be traveling abroad to prevent security blocks. Paying contactless is the safest option, and be sure to check for credit card skimmers if you use ATMs.

There’s also the matter of ensuring your travel documents, project files, etc., remain accessible and secure throughout the trip. You’ll want to store digital copies of your passport, reservations, and other important documents in the cloud and locally for easy access.

Keep in mind that organizing travel and paying for expenses means creating a lot of accounts. It’s tempting to give them weak or similar passwords for ease of access, but it also makes you more vulnerable. Be sure to use a password manager to create strong, one-of-a-kind passwords for each travel-related account you need so that losing one doesn’t compromise others.

Conclusion

Solo travel is safer when you plan ahead, stay aware of your surroundings, and keep your digital life locked down. If you build a few smart habits into your routine, you can focus on the good part: being on your own terms, in a new place.