BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi. I'm 17, almost 18, and finishing out my senior year of high school in the US. I've been planning a RTW gap year trip for a while. I'll be going alone to Asia, Australia, Africa, and Europe. My dad's pretty supportive of my trip, but my mom isn't. She's extremely worried for my safety. And she's starting to get me worried too, but I know that this trip is what I've been dreaming of and that I can't just cancel it.
What are your opinions? Do you think this trip is dangerous? Have you ever travelled solo long-term?

i'm 17 right now too, and planning on doing the same sort of thing after i graduate. (12 straight years? yes. a break is needed!)
i'm pretty much a research whore once i get any plan into my head, so i've read a thing or two on the subject of solo female travelers.. :P
it seems to me, although there are of course safety concerns (like any american city) as long as you stay aware and do some research ahead of time as to what is expected of females in certain areas (africa, asia?) you should probably be ok.
i mean really.. everything you can do in the world carries the possibility of danger, right? and i think most of the people on these boards will agree that getting out into the world is one of the best decisions you can make in life, and a little risk isn't worth skipping your life for.
wish us luck, eh?

thank you for your response. I'll just try and keep telling her that I'm researching all the countries and what's expected of women in them. maybe I'll take a self defense class!

where are you going on your trip?

hehe.. i've always thought it'd be cool to know some sort of martial arts for the peace of mind that comes with being able to kick anybody's butt that touched me. but alas.. :]
ahh, who knows. i want to go to australia right now, but my plans change fast.. i've never properly been outside the U.S, so i guess it's all up for grabs.

Although I now travel with my husband and our two children, I traveled a lot before I was married. The main thing I remember from those days was that I was RARELY alone! It seemed like I always met people and joined up with them for a day or a week or a month. I actually spent five months traveling with a German girl before we each went our separate ways. Just head out with an open mind and you'll be fine. Don't do anything stupid, but don't be fearful either...

That's funny - I just flipped across to BootsNall because I saw your post on the Thorn Tree and I was going to link you to Malena and Bunglegirl's blog pages - I guess you have probably found them by now!

Checking the blogs of experienced successful solo female travelers might be a good way to get mum to understand what the trip will involve, how best to help you prepare and how to be happy for you...

Well, I'm 30 now, but I did start traveling when I was 20 (a little different than 18). In fact, from the start I was traveling alone because I overslept and my friends left me on my first trip!

I must have looked so young and naive, but I figured it out and didn't get taken advantage of. It helped to start in Europe where I didn't have to bargain for things. Don't go out by yourself at night (I do now sometimes depending on the place but you should be careful starting out), take everything anyone says with a grain of salt and always be aware of yourself and your surroundings.

One of my readers was heading out on a trip by himself and his parents were extremely worried about him. He sent them my blog and told them "hey, here's a girl who's 10 years younger than me and she went to even scarier places and survived!" His parents took some comfort in that and when he was in Syria he actually had me get my mom to call his and talk to help her calm down.

I've had 10 years to condition my parents into this lifestyle, gradually going to more obscure and "dangerous-sounding" places. Even so, my mom still worries but at least she doesn't tell me about it. Your parents will always worry, but taking some steps (self defense class, reading books and tips) you can show them that you're mature enough to handle it.

I'm 26 and have done a bit of traveling with friends before I left on this trip, but I guess I look much younger Everyone I talk to (especially my parents) end up extremely worried about me when they find out I'm off by myself. I'm traveling for 18 months with the majority of it solo.

I agree that there are things you can do to help ease your parents' fears. I would start off in some of the more traditional destinations (maybe Australia and then Southeast Asia) before going to China, India, or Africa - as much for your own benefit as theirs! Keep in touch with them while you're traveling - even just a quick email works wonders.

Tons of British and Australian 18 year olds take gap year trips and are totally fine - it isn't the norm in the US but maybe try and show them how common it is in other cultures?

little different from the traveling bit....but a perspective of someone who did the unknown in a place that is scary for some...
i graduated high school at 17 and moved to nyc. i didn't turn 18 until i had been there 3 months. i moved with only the money i had saved from my over the summer job and no plans of how i would make more. i knew NO ONE when i moved there. found a place to live and off i went....
the point being, i had ALWAYS known i would move to nyc. i knew it was where i was supposed to start my life. even though i had no one there or any model to go from on how to do it.
i went to school, started a career, met my husband, had 2 kids.... a wonderful life. 22 years of living in nyc.
and i have always said (with total agreement from my husband) that if either of our kids wanted to venture off into the world before starting college, we would back them 100%. no sense in paying insane tuition for them to have the first year (which is mostly learning how to live on your own) of figuring it out. i'd rather they see the world.
now, as we are planning our rtw life with our kids, they may choose to be more settled in their post high school days. who knows?
and, our daughter, who is a freshman this year....we haven't changed our feelings on her finding her way and listening with her whole heart about what her future holds. we have given her a good foundation on trusting who she is, and it sounds like your parents have done the same to foster such confident young women. college will still be there when you are done.....it isn't going anywhere. i would suggest you follow your gut on this one and take the leap of faith.

thanks to everyone for your responses.

i'm really glad to see this thread, and be able to look around in malena and bungles blog. Thank you guys for providing them!

My father is getting more and more nervous about my trip and my mother well she's been distraught since I first suggested it. I'm 26 and have never traveled alone. My only travel experiences have been to resorts and on cruises so this is going to be a completely different world.

I'm 28 now but started traveling around 18 and always alone. My upcoming RTW is actually the first time I've traveled WITH someone! I'm also female and 5ft tall, so on the "worried about safety" side, I can empathize. As some have said on these boards, it's important to trust your gut (ergo - when spidey sense tell you to get the eff out, you get out) and to be prudent about flashing shiny objects like cameras or fancy cells, laptops etc when in public.

In my years of traveling alone, I've had only 2 bad experiences and both were avoidable (read: I was acting like an idiot). I've found traveling alone rewarding and, while at first completely terrifying, it has been a great sense of pride to think that you've done these trips alone, despite people telling you that you shouldn't. I've met a slew of wonderful people and I don't know that I would have been as open to doing so had I been traveling with others.

In the end, traveling can be dangerous whether alone or with others. Solo travel means you have to be more watchful, but you'll definitely meet people along the way as Nancy has said - and in the end you don't want to regret having stayed in place when you could have been spelunking around, experiencing new things.

I think you'll be fine. I went to France for the summer when I was 17 (about to turn 18). My mother was freaking out. I bought a ticket to Italy because a friend told me about a job there. My mother promised she'd pay if I'd sign up for a tour. We ended up compromising with me signing up for a homestay with a family for a month and then traveling solo for two months. So, my mother and grandmother drove me 300 miles to the nearest international airport. That night before my flight my grandmother said to me, "I don't know why I'm worrying about you. I was married at your age". (Talk about a much scarier thought than traveling alone!) So, it was a bit daunting but I never had any troubles riding on trains and staying in hostels. I got some guys hitting on me, but I just hid out with women I met at the hostel if they got too annoying. Since then, I can see I was naive and could have handled things better, but still I had enough sense (as I'm sure you do) to get by without disaster. Have a great trip. And remember to point out that getting married is possible at 18 and it's way more scarier than a solo trip.

Hello ladies,

I'm going around the world soon too and I just to let you know that there are GOOD guys out there who will be traveling too. I know that if I ever saw one of you in trouble I would definitely make sure to help you all out.

If any of you female travelers want to meet me up somewhere let me know. I'm 26 and safe and fun. I will be in Europe for a couple of months then in Africa for a few weeks, and then in India for awhile, and then I will be in Southeast Asia for several months, then Australia for awhile.