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As a girl, do you want to travel alone? Explore at what age can a girl travel alone and tips on what you need to know about being a girl to travel alone. Learn about the benefits and basic tips to plan a budget for travel alone. Learn about basic requirements for travel and factors that can cause any problem during your trip.

As a girl crosses 18 years of age, she has the same rights as a man. She can apply for a job, travel alone without needing a man, and drive exactly like men. Travelling alone in or out of the country can be a rewarding and challenging experience. It helps build confidence and self-reliance because you are responsible for your safety, not the whole family. In this guide, we will help you how you can travel safely as a girl. We will discuss legal requirements and other security concerns to make travel safer and more enjoyable.  

For travel alone, age matters a lot because, over time, girls’ confidence level is boosted. Therefore, most teenagers are not allowed to travel alone by families, as they need more ability to protect themselves and get puzzled in unexpected situations. Moreover, for travel alone, the selection of destination also matters. You should select a place that will be safe for women, and you have to go to crime-free places to enjoy a danger-free trip. For travel alone, develop your confidence and build your personality as a strong and independent girl. Keep your own opinion and be firm about your decisions. Let’s discuss in detail at what age can a girl travel alone.  Read Also … 25 Safety Tips for Solo Female Travelers

Legal and practical considerations: 

Travel alone by girls is not a big issue in this developed and digital world, where you can reserve all your bookings on online websites without the help of others. Therefore, you don’t need to wait for friends and family to consume their time for your trip. For travel alone, having all your identity documents with you is necessary. The destination does not matter for which you are travelling, but you must keep all these documents.

A passport is vital to pass through immigration, particularly if travelling internationally. A passport can also be used as an ID for getting accommodation and for medical purposes.

Check for your visa requirements for your decided destination and get an official visa from the government embassy. A driving license is also needed to drive your vehicle during your travel. Tickets and reservation confirmation are necessary, and having a hard copy in your backpack is safe to avoid any inconvenience. Before leaving home, check your credit card and debit card and check its validity because it will save your transaction and secure your money. Keep your travel insurance documents with you because they help you in emergencies. 

After COVID-19, some countries also require a vaccination certificate, so check about recent updates and keep your vaccination certificate with you. A Bank account statement is also important for getting a visa in some countries. Regarding your bank statement, the embassy ensures you have enough backup income.

Social and emotional factors: 

For travelling alone, age matters a lot. Because human personality, confidence level and maturity develop with age. Usually, teenage girls are not mature enough to handle the situation alone. But on the other hand, mature women aged 20 plus have firm personalities. They can handle unexpected scenes and plan a safe trip according to their personality requirements. Mostly, in our society alone, women have to face various social and emotional factors, creating hurdles in their personal lives for being independent girls.

The gender gap is a major factor which a woman has to face in any country or at any tourist destination. Women have to face man and woman discrimination in education, politics, healthcare and other economic facilities. All these issues have an impact on women’s solo travel. Solo girls’ travellers also have easy access to thefts and criminals. Therefore, the crime rate of any tourist destination is important to check before going to ensure safety.

Domestic violence and sexual harassment are also social factors that can be affected by solo girl travellers. Most of the women are not allowed to travel alone due to the fear of sexual harassment. They fear being alone and always try to find a partner for safety on their trip. Instead of all these factors, the world has progressed a lot, and you don’t need to fear at all. Police and security departments are just one click away; you can share your online location. Solo travelling gives you a chance to build your confidence level, and you can explore yourself. Girls can take a getaway from their normal hectic routine by travelling alone. 

How to choose a travel destination: 

For the destination selection, we must check the factors mentioned earlier for any tourist place. First of all, we have to check the steps taken by management to protect the women. Then, friendliness ranking also needs to be checked before going to any place. All these rankings are available online, and we can check online provided information about our selected destination.

Before travelling alone to any country, we have to know about the current situation of politics of that country. We have to read about the current affairs of the destination, and through the internet, we also need to know about crime rates and gender-based violence rates because the places with high crime rates are not safe for a girl to travel alone.

To plan a safe and budget-friendly trip, checking the accommodation and other travel rates online is good. It will help you to keep enough money for your safety. Top tourist season is also important to know for solo girls’ travellers. As in season, the destinations are full of people, and girls have no fear and can enjoy their trip in a friendly environment. Before travel, weather conditions also need to be known, as it helps in packing and keeping all essential accessories according to weather requirements. 

How to budget for solo travel: 

Budget planning is the most important thing for travelling alone as a girl, as you can not rely on another person to help you financially. Therefore, to ensure safety, proper budget planning is important. You can use the following tips to fix your budget:

Get a fair idea about flight costs and check the rates of different flights to decide the flight according to affordability. Don’t rely on one destination, and keep different options in mind. For budget planning, two ways are common; first, if you want to enjoy a luxury-style trip and like to eat at special restaurants, then you just need to estimate the actual cost of the whole trip. Visiting in the off-season is favourable because the rates of accommodation and travel fairs decrease in the off-season.

On the other hand, if you have limited money and travel is also necessary, you can save money by planning a tour of less expensive destinations. Try to travel with groups of solo travellers and with low single supplements. By contact with locals, you can also enjoy free accommodations, but as a solo person, you must treat locals carefully. Many free guiding apps are also available for certain cities that guide solo travellers about routes and accommodations. 

Tips and advice: 

Solo travelling is not a big deal in this era, but still, you need to take some precautions for safety concerns. Such as:

• Plan short trips near your home city before going on any international tour. Observe everything that you would require for a tour, being a girl. 
• Tell someone at home about your travelling itinerary and keep in touch with him so that in any emergency he can find you and help you. You must have a reliable phone, charger, adapter and SIM card or internet access to ensure connectivity with your family. 
• Back up your identity documents with you and pack your luggage light because you don’t have any partner to share your luggage with. Overpacking or having heavy suitcases or backpacks will also attract unwanted attention towards you, which will be irritating for you. Packing will also keep you from slowing down. 
• While packing the clothes, remember the culture and weather conditions of your desired destination. Dress appropriately and try to follow the norms of the respective country. It will make your tour comfortable and unforgettable. 
• Don’t keep all your money in one pocket, but divide it into many small portions so that if any pickpocket tries to steal money, you have enough backup to reach home safely. You can use some secret pockets in your dress or your handbag. You don’t need to take all your money in cash as it will be difficult to carry. 
• Meet new people and try to explore new activities with female travellers, but don’t unquestioningly trust new locals. Make friends to enjoy your trip as like-minded people from different countries can share their insights regarding their culture, traditions, religion, and country. Doing so, you will spend quality time. 
• If you want to take any information about the route, try to interact with females and keep your body language confident. You can also use online sources like websites and pages to get information about specific places or activities. 

Before going on a tour, you can also read some inquiries from different people. It will help you understand how you can benefit from a tour, how to enjoy it and make it memorable, and what opportunities it can offer you. For example, Kate McCulley started her journey as a solo traveller at 26 and planned to visit Southeast Asia. Her six-month tour was turned into five years. She has visited more than 65 countries, and she guides women on how they can travel independently, keep themselves safe and enjoy a lot.

FAQs

Can I travel alone at 16? 

Yes, you can, but for travelling alone at 16, there are certain requirements, like you may need your parent’s consent, your medical clearance, etc. So always check the requirements of the flights before planning a trip. Also, check the rules and regulations of your target country.

Can a 14-year-old girl travel alone? 

Some airlines may allow a 14-year-old girl to travel alone. But remember that a 14-year-old girl needs an unaccompanied minor service. For this, she will need extra fees. She has all the necessary documents like a valid passport, parents’ consent letter, etc. 

What are some benefits of travelling alone for a girl?

If you are a girl and want to travel alone, you will get several benefits like:

• Travelling alone will boost your confidence, and you will feel independent. You grow mentally and spiritually.
• You will discover new places and enjoy learning about new cultures, languages, religions, and traditions.
• You will learn multiple new skills like communication and languages. You will also learn to adapt to different environments and tackle different situations. 

What are some challenges of travelling alone for a girl?

Being a girl, you may face several challenges while solo travelling. Some of them are:

• You may feel lonely. It might be stressful for you at some times.
• You may face harassment and violence at some time. 
• You may also face some unwanted situations, and you can find it difficult to tackle them. 

Final Analysis

This is all about at what age can a girl travel alone. If you have the spirit to travel alone, then age does not matter. Still, for safety concerns, if you are a school or college girl and do not have enough solo travel experience, it is suitable to travel after graduation. When you first travel, you may feel some fear, but soon you will discover more people with the spirit of travelling alone. By travelling alone, you can discover the world from your perspective. Travelling alone develops new learning skills, and you build a strong bond with yourself. But it also has some risks for women because they have no freedom about their itinerary and must consider security first.