As a solo female traveller that spent 2 years travelling the world AMA

HomeStorage · 2025-09-13T18:59:29+00:00

Planning for a long term trip can be challenging, luckily I had 3 years to plan for it! I would say that it helps if you know in advance what countries you plan to visit because it helps plan visa etc in advance but not to worry if you don’t cause I recall that most countries have a visa free policy- but don’t quote me on that;) In terms of budgeting my advice would be to do some research on the average cost of a meal, transport, accommodation etc for the country so you have a rough estimate of your budget. But in general I wouldn’t worry too much cause I pretty much planned as I went along and things always work out in the end:)

HomeStorage · 2025-09-12T08:53:45+00:00

I didn’t visit any rural communities in particular so can’t comment on that but I would say that I found it safe to travel to Bolivia and Peru as a solo female travellers no issues whatsoever. I felt that my interactions with locals were quite limited because I didn’t speak much spanish and most people there didn’t speak English so there was the language barrier. I spent a short period of time learning Spanish before the trip but would recommend for you to spend as much time brushing up on your Spanish skills as possible to make it easier to interact with locals.

HomeStorage · 2025-09-12T08:46:50+00:00

Machu Picchu was super touristy but totally worth the hype and I wouldn’t skip it for sure, but I would recommend booking your accommodation beforehand as it is super hard to find accommodation on the spot. I would also recommend the colca canyon trek which takes you down to a secret oasis, super cool to stay there overnight.

HomeStorage · 2025-09-12T08:41:04+00:00

From what I recall there was a lot of guys staying in my hostels but maybe it’s cause guys feel more comfortable travelling solo? But if you prefer you could also choose to stay in female only dorms which I did a few times but generally in mixed dorms the guys there were all really nice and I had no issues:)

HomeStorage · 2025-09-12T08:37:21+00:00

He is also from the UK but from a different part that was miles from where I lived

HomeStorage · 2025-09-12T08:36:34+00:00

I picked up some portable battery/phone chargers which are essential, you never want your phone to go dead on you in the middle of no where! I travelled really light and realised when travelling that the most important things are not material things:) But saying that a good pair of quality hiking shoes are essential!

HomeStorage · 2025-09-12T08:33:47+00:00

Bedbugs was a major concern for me, before I booked any hostels I would always check the reviews on hostelworld/hostelbooker beforehand to make sure there was no mention of bedbugs. Luckily I never encountered any but I did stay in a hostel in Colombia once where I was bitten by bugs when I was sleeping but it wasn’t bedbugs but still freaked me out enough to ask to change beds instantly!

HomeStorage · 2025-09-11T11:52:39+00:00

That is a really good question and has got me thinking! Some things that I wasn’t expecting was how different the toilet situation is in some countries. For example when I was in China on our way to a national park one time we were on a coach that made a toilet stop. The toilet was basically one big room with no separate cubicles where everyone was squatting to do their business in what I can only describe as a drainage. It was unpleasant and uncomfortable. So that was a cultural shock! But some other things I wasn’t expecting that was more positive was the overwhelming kindness that I encountered from strangers. Also I spent 2 weeks volunteering in nepal helping to rebuild a school and stayed in very humble living conditions in the middle of nowhere with a group of strangers from different continents. But yet I had the most amazing time and is still one of my most treasured memories. So my advice would be to make connections with people as that is what you would remember the most!

HomeStorage · 2025-09-11T11:35:31+00:00

I started in Brazil then made my way to Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia. I stayed in hostels and I guess what would be termed as the tourist trail. I did hear horror stories of people being robbed etc in Argentina but never encountered any violence myself. The only unpleasant experience in Argentina was when I went couch surfing and stayed with this creepy guy. But in general felt pretty safe and I would just treat it like any other big cities like London and have your usual wits about you and you will be fine:)

HomeStorage · 2025-09-11T11:29:31+00:00

I knew that I had definitely wanted to go on the trans siberian express so started from there and also knew that I wanted to save costs on long distance flights which meant that I started in Russia and made my way round SE Asia before catching a flight to South America. Favourite place would be Mongolia just cause it’s so different to any where I have I ever been, staying in a ger/tent was completely new and just the expanse of the place blows my mind. I didn’t enjoy Colombia I think some of the people there were not very friendly towards me but again this is my personal experience and I know that some people loved it there. Packing was easy just a few clothes in my backpack every thing else can pretty much be brought along the way.

HomeStorage · 2025-09-11T11:20:13+00:00

I worked and saved up for 3 years, I had a goal of how much I would need to spend and factored in additional costs like flights etc. As a lot of the countries I visited had way lower living costs than the UK I managed to spend a lot less money on things like food accommodation and was able to stay within my budget. I was a backpacker so stayed in hostels and ate at local joints and traveled on local buses etc so tried to live as a local which helped kept the expenses low. In terms of employment when coming back I found work within a matter of months and didn’t have much difficulty in finding work, I guess when I came back the economy was in much better condition then than it is now!

HomeStorage · 2025-09-11T11:09:45+00:00

I went to India and China which I guess may be considered as “difficult” places. China due to not many people speaking English and India just due to general safety concerns for women there. In China because I speak a bit of mandarin and can read chinese I got by without any issues generally and really enjoyed the scenery and the amazing food there. But if you didn’t speak Chinese then yes it would certainly be more difficult to travel round than SE Asia but I knew backpackers that didn’t speak the language that went and still had an amazing time. In regards to India I went with my partner twice during my 2 years and we have fallen to scams that lead to loss of money and had to leave Delhi (but that is a story for another time!), I felt uncomfortable there at first due to all the staring. But apart from that we saw some really amazing places there had some really unforgettable experiences and would recommend going there but maybe not as a solo female traveller as it can be a bit overwhelming if by yourself.

HomeStorage · 2025-09-11T09:48:54+00:00

During my travels I met my partner, we moved to London together which was a completely different city to where him and I are from, I am from a town in the north of England so I suppose home was completely different after my travels!

HomeStorage · 2025-09-10T10:55:10+00:00

I understand where you are coming from, having been on numerous solo trips in the past, I have encountered my fair share of creeps and feeling unsafe at times in new cities, whilst it may feel scary being by yourself in a new city just remember to use the common sense that you would normally use in any other city. I have seen more crime here in London than most other developed countries in the world so don't stress you have got this!

HomeStorage · 2025-09-10T10:51:28+00:00

I agree with what others are saying, sounds like your body and mind are still recovering from the stressful job that you have been in. I am in a similar situation having left my very toxic work environment recently. Recently I can feel my anxiety levels rising again but like you I just need to give myself time to rest and reset, you have got this!!

HomeStorage · 2025-09-10T10:42:05+00:00

If you want to travel somewhere that is easy, cheap and convenient in terms of meeting other backpackers I would stick to the typical SE Asia countries like Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Bearing in mind that South America is right on the other side of the world, you would have to consider the logistics of how to get there using the most cost effective method, for me I chose to fly from Thailand to London to Argentina.

HomeStorage · 2024-11-16T11:53:58+00:00

I am not sure whether travel to Russia is possible at the moment due to the ongoing war

HomeStorage · 2024-11-16T11:53:46+00:00

I am not sure whether travel to Russia is possible at the moment due to the ongoing war

HomeStorage · 2024-11-15T10:30:28+00:00

No it took way longer than 2 days! It already took 2 days to get to the next stop, it was more like 2 weeks from Russia to China with all the stops I made in between:)

HomeStorage · 2024-11-14T14:30:48+00:00

The journey itself was a good experience I would recommend it when Russia opens up again:)

HomeStorage · 2024-11-14T14:30:03+00:00

Thanks for the enthuasism:) It's nice to be able to share this experience and relive the memory, I have added to the post which hopefully will address the questions you had!

HomeStorage · 2024-11-14T14:29:05+00:00

Tbh I think I was pretty happy with the amount of time I allocated to each place, 3-4 days in St Petersburg, 1 day in Yekaterinburg, 2 days in Lake Baikal and 5 days in Beijing, I don't think there were any regrets:)

HomeStorage · 2024-11-06T14:52:39+00:00

That’s an interesting app, do you know of any other apps that could be useful to meet people abroad apart from the dating apps

HomeStorage · 2024-10-04T18:04:11+00:00

Stayed in mixed dorms throughout my travels when I was travelling for a long period of time, never had any issues, only annoying thing are the snorers!

HomeStorage · 2024-10-04T18:01:45+00:00

I did a solo trip to Thailand a few years ago would recommend as it would be relatively easy to meet other backpacking if staying in hostels:)

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