Women who travel — especially solo women travellers — often enjoy some particular benefits. However, they also encounter some particular challenges and risks. This article contains some general tips concerning safety, health and travel practicalities that are of special interest to women. Tips for women at individual destinations (such as, say, appropriate dress when visiting a temple, especially safety issues) are addressed in those articles.
Of course, other articles such as Pickpockets, Common scams and Tips for travel in developing countries have advice that, while not specific to female travellers, does apply to them.
Man or woman, solo, couple or group; making new friends en route is always fun. As a woman, especially when travelling solo, investing a bit of effort into finding like-minded people may not only make for a memorable exchange of stories, but can make exploring feel a bit safer. Especially in places you know or feel to be risky, mingle. Looking for fellow (solo) travellers? Head for a hostel rather than a large, anonymous hotel. Take a local cooking or language course. Join an organized day tour to a nearby attraction. Don't be shy about starting a conversation with other (solo) travellers; one of you has to be the one to start it.
Of course, remain vigilant and don't give out your hotel name or room number to strangers you just met on the streets. Be especially wary of locals who single you out asking for help or wasting no time to invite you to parties or their home. Keep in mind that smart thugs know not to dress the part, and petty crimes are often enough carried out by children, mothers and other people you wouldn't suspect.
For the most part, precautions to stay healthy apply to men and women alike, but there are a few health issues women travellers should be particularly aware of.
Unfortunately, urinary tract infections (also known as bladder infections or cystitis) are a common issue among women. A simple infection is easy enough to treat, but can develop into a harder to treat infection of the kidneys (known as pyelonephritis). Keep in mind that cystitis can be made worse by dehydration, so make sure to keep up your fluid intake when you experience any symptoms. Common symptoms include a strong urge to urinate without much urine being produced, a burning sensation when urinating and strong-smelling or cloudy urine. Healthy women who catch symptoms early may be able to manage the infection by drinking a lot, but if symptoms don't start to diminish in 24 hours, it's wise to seek medical attention. If you are prone to bladder infections, and know how to recognize it, discuss with your doctor if it's wise to take a simple course of antibiotics with you.
If you want to change your contraceptive for your trip, do so well in advance — not only because you'll need to make the relevant doctor's appointments, but also because switching contraceptives can cause some temporary irregularities in effectiveness and in your menstruation.
If you do not want to get pregnant and your contraceptives might have failed, "morning after pills" may be unavailable or require bureaucracy. If you are considering an abortion, you might want to travel home, to be able to get the emotional support, especially if the laws where you come from make it easy to obtain. An abortion locally may require procedures you don't want to deal with, or it may be unavailable. Laws have been changing both ways, for example with some U.S. states getting much more restrictive in 2022.
There are a number of health issues that women who are planning to travel while pregnant should consider, and discuss with their doctor or health provider as needed:
Check that pregnancy related illness, childbirth itself and medical care for a baby born while travelling are covered by your travel insurance if you're outside the reach of your normal healthcare arrangements. Pregnancy is usually considered to be a pre-existing medical condition that you must disclose to your insurer, and which will have limited coverage, particularly after the 30th week. Pregnancies that you don't know about at the time of application might not be covered. Read your travel insurance documents carefully.
No policies cover expenses associated with a full term birth. Some may cover a very premature birth but then may not cover the baby's healthcare costs (which would likely be considerable).
Most travel insurance policies do not cover multiple pregnancies (twins, triplets etc) or any pregnancy that is the result of medically assisted conception (fertility drugs, IVF etc) even with an additional premium. If you do get cover for a higher risk pregnancy it will not extend as far into the pregnancy as cover for a naturally conceived or singleton pregnancy; it will probably only extend to 15 or 20 weeks. It is close to impossible to get cover for any pregnancy that has already had complications.
Remember that you can't just "fail to mention" pregnancy (or any other information) to an insurer: failing to disclose relevant information invalidates the policy.
Every year, millions of women set out to travel the world, with a companion or alone. While the great majority experiences little or no serious threats, and while the choice of destination can make a huge difference, the risk of unwanted attention and sexual assault is always significantly higher for women travellers than it is for men. Also, women are often considered easier targets for bag snatching, robberies and other crimes. A bit of extra preparation, tips and awareness can go a long way in making you feel at ease and staying safe while travelling.
Being scared takes all the fun out of travelling, and it doesn't help in making good decisions either. Don't be embarrassed to take some extra precautions, even when there's probably no reason to, if they make you feel safer. While you shouldn't be scared, it's good to always be aware of your surroundings and to act accordingly.
Gynopedia is an open resource wiki for sexual, reproductive and women's health care, with related information for several countries and cities, including laws and customs and where to buy different products.
Pack enough supplies of your usual menstruation product (tampons or pads), particularly if you are going to a less developed country where they might not be available easily. Tampons are especially hard to come by in some places. Modern pharmacies in large cities are often your best bet. If you still have trouble finding what you need, discretely asking female pharmacy staff will usually help.
If you use any pain killers for cramps, take them along after checking their legality at the destination. If crossing international borders, leave them in their original packaging so that customs can determine what they are.
In some interpretations of some religions, menstruating women are "impure" and might be expected to stay away from some social contexts. If this is the case where you are travelling, be discreet and consider obeying the rules for visiting religious sites.
For women doing extended travel in areas where obtaining and disposing of normal menstrual products is annoying, reusable menstrual products might be a useful alternative to consider. The primary products in this category are the suction cups: the silicone Diva Cup and the rubber Keeper. These are non-absorbent, reusable and do not even need to be rinsed before re-insertion every time.
Some women travellers might consider using the contraceptive pill to postpone or skip a period. Extended cycle pills such as Seasonale (dead link: August 2020) (one period every three months, rather than every 28 days) are approved for use in some countries, however normal monophasic pills can be used to skip periods as well, by skipping the pill-free period or the different coloured sugar placebo pills. Discuss this use with your prescribing doctor.
Waxing is a popular and often relatively cheap method in developing countries where this is the primary form of removal. When seeking cheap locations in countries with substantial Indian minorities, try to inquire about a "Little India" in major cities. This is a part of town where most of the shops, including salons, are owned and shopped at by Indian people, where waxing can sometimes be considerably cheaper.