Independent-travel safety perceptions vary sharply by setting, gender, and the type of risk being considered. Surveys from England, the United States, and international solo-travel studies show that darkness, isolation, unwanted contact, and accommodation security can influence whether people travel alone, where they go, and how they move around after arrival.
Contents
- How independent travelers feel at night and on public transport
- What makes solo travelers feel unsafe
- Gender differences in solo traveler safety perceptions
- How safety concerns shape destination and trip choices
- Safety precautions used by independent travelers
- Confidence, incidents, and reporting
How independent travelers feel at night and on public transport
The National Travel Attitudes Study Wave 8, conducted in England in March-April 2023, found that 20% of respondents strongly agreed and 28% agreed that they avoid traveling alone when it is dark. The gender difference was substantial: 63% of female respondents agreed or strongly agreed, compared with 34% of male respondents.
Public transport is a routine part of independent travel. In the same England study, 63% had used a train in the previous year, 64% a bus, 41% a tube or metro, and 11% a tram. Among respondents who felt unsafe at least some of the time, women more often identified each stage of the journey as unsafe:
| Public-transport setting | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Walking to a stop or station | 38% | 23% |
| Waiting at a stop or station | 34% | 21% |
| On the vehicle | 35% | 22% |
The Allianz U.S. survey, conducted October 19-20, 2018, offers a different baseline. In that survey, 68.2% of respondents said they had never felt unsafe while traveling alone; 14.5% felt unsafe minimally, 11.9% somewhat, and 5.3% very much. Accommodation security or safety was the top concern for 26.6% of solo travelers. These are historical figures, not 2026 measurements.
The 2024 Solo Female Travel Survey reported on 2023 travel experiences and found that 70% of women said personal safety was a worry when traveling solo. In a U.S. survey by Morning Consult, conducted February 20-21, 2025, 60% of women named physical-safety concerns among the top three disadvantages of traveling alone, compared with 39% of men.
What makes solo travelers feel unsafe
The England results show that safety perceptions are often tied to the environment rather than to one abstract level of fear. Among respondents who felt unsafe walking to a public-transport stop, poor lighting was cited by 60% of women and 47% of men. Drunken or disorderly people were cited by 62% of men and 59% of women.
Other reasons reflected the vulnerability of being alone. Feeling isolated was cited by 32% of women and 22% of men. Unwanted attention or contact was cited by 19% of women and 12% of men. Theft or attempted theft was cited by 16% of men and 12% of women. The question allowed multiple responses, so these percentages are not intended to total 100%.
At stops or stations, drunken or disorderly people were cited by 67% of men and 58% of women who felt unsafe there. Feeling isolated was cited by 32% of women and 22% of men. On the public-transport vehicle, drunken or disorderly passengers were cited by 72% of men and 68% of women. Feeling too crowded was cited by 45% of women and 39% of men, while unwanted attention or contact was cited by 23% of women and 14% of men.
These findings distinguish physical conditions from social experiences. Lighting and crowding describe the setting; isolation, disorderly behavior, and unwanted contact describe how that setting is experienced by someone traveling independently.
Gender differences in solo traveler safety perceptions
Across surveys, women generally reported more safety-related concern, avoidance, or exposure to unwanted behavior. In Allianz’s October 2018 U.S. survey, 76.6% of men and 60.3% of women said they had never felt unsafe while traveling alone. Catcalling was reported by 38.9% of women and 11.6% of men. Mugging or pickpocketing abroad was reported by 9.7% of solo male travelers and 6.1% of solo female travelers. The same survey found that 35.2% of women had never traveled alone, compared with 25.2% of men.
Hostelworld’s 2024 State of Solo Travel Report, based on a May-June 2024 poll, found that safety was a concern for 54% of female solo travelers and 19% of male solo travelers. It was also a concern for 48% of non-binary solo travelers and 15% of transgender solo travelers.
The England study found narrower differences in how personal safety was defined, but larger differences in some practical signals. Personal safety was defined as a low risk of physical injury or harm by 69% of women and 70% of men. However, 79% of women versus 62% of men associated it with a well-lit station or stop, and 75% of women versus 60% of men associated it with staff being able to deal with threats.
How safety concerns shape destination and trip choices
Safety perceptions can affect the decision to travel, not only behavior during a trip. In the 2024 Solo Female Travel Survey, 62% of women said safety was a factor in choosing a destination. Among women who had not traveled solo, 61% cited safety as a reason they had not done so. Getting lost worried 43% of this group, while 35% worried about language barriers.
Travel format also mattered. Among women who had not traveled solo, 78% said a women-only small-group trip would make them more likely to travel solo. For a first solo trip, 56% said European countries were the best destination, while 17% recommended their own country.
The same survey reported that 70% of women actively tried to meet locals during solo trips in 2023. A local guide was used at least once by 56%, including 60% of Boomer respondents and 50% of Gen Z respondents. These figures show that independent travel does not necessarily mean avoiding local help or social contact.
The Safer Tourism Foundation reported from its 2024 research that 66% of women said safety played a big role in choosing a destination. In the Morning Consult U.S. survey from February 20-21, 2025, men were 13 percentage points more likely than women to have traveled alone in the previous five years.
Safety precautions used by independent travelers
The precautions reported by travelers range from communication to route and timing changes. In Hostelworld’s May-June 2024 poll, 30% of solo travelers informed friends or family about their location, 25% researched places in advance to address safety concerns, 23% avoided going out or walking alone at night, and 15% met other travelers and stayed in groups as a safety tactic.
The Allianz U.S. survey from October 2018 found stronger gender differences in several behaviors. Avoiding walking at night was reported by 59.9% of solo female travelers and 34.9% of solo male travelers. Informing others of their location was reported by 47% of women and 22% of men. Avoiding conversations with strangers was reported by 32.8% of women and 16.7% of men.
The England study found that 24% of women and 10% of men had shared their location through an app to feel safer while walking or cycling. Walking or cycling with others was reported by 52% of women and 25% of men. In the 2024 Solo Female Travel Survey, 30% of women used anti-theft bags on their trips, including 48% of Boomer respondents and 23% of Gen Z respondents.
Confidence, incidents, and reporting
Avoidance is common even where travelers continue to take independent trips. The Safer Tourism Foundation’s 2024 research reported that fewer than 50% of women felt confident traveling solo or with other women. It also reported unwanted attention or harassment among 23% of women travelers and 15% of men travelers. Seventy-five percent of women avoided walking alone at night while traveling, and 50% avoided exploring destinations after dark.
Information quality was another issue: only about 50% of women were satisfied with the safety information currently offered by travel providers. This helps explain why travelers may rely on personal networks, advance research, local guides, or group arrangements when evaluating an unfamiliar destination.
Reporting intentions in England varied by incident and by gender. In the March-April 2023 study, 65% of women and 61% of men said they would report theft or attempted theft on public transport. For physical intimidation, assault, or harassment, the figures were 64% of women and 60% of men. Unwanted attention or contact was less likely to be reported: 29% of women and 20% of men said they would report it.
The same study found that 64% of women versus 53% of men would report a harmful public-transport incident to the driver or onboard staff. Together, these results suggest that perceived safety involves more than the chance of an incident: lighting, staff presence, social conditions, confidence, information, and the willingness to seek help all shape the independent travel experience.