She has always traveled. The parents of Suzanne van der Ploeg (36) were backpackers and she celebrated her first birthday in the United States. She still travels a lot – often alone. India, Nepal, China, America or city trips in Europe; Van der Ploeg has been to several places several times.
She takes her safety into account during those trips, she says. Although she likes to travel without a plan, she makes sure she has already booked a hotel for the first night in a new place and also reserved the ride from the airport. “So that I don’t have to worry about where I’m going and how I’m going to get there on the first evening.”
Solo travel is popularalso among women. But they often have additional concerns: how safely can they move? Should they take extra precautions?
I also went to another hotel once because there were mainly men
Out research from Airbnb, recently conducted among 1,018 women in the Netherlands, shows that safety determines how women plan their trips. For example, more than two-thirds choose a destination based on ‘the expected feeling of safety’. The same goes for their accommodation.
Safety also plays a role during the journey: for example, it influences the route and determines which places women avoid. Van der Ploeg has changed hotels more than once. “In India it happened twice that the hotel owner came to see me because I was alone. And I also went to another hotel because there were mainly men. There was also a grim atmosphere, which made me wary.”
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The Pieterpad
31-year-old Roos Freije often goes into nature with a tent. Eight years ago she went out alone for the first time, about three years ago she started taking longer walks. That first solo walk, on the Pieterpad, she shared online and that caught on. Her book will be published in August Solo adventurerin which she writes about solo travel and safety, among other things.
Freije: “When you are out alone, especially in nature, you always hear a voice in your head in the background. Sometimes I barely hear that fear, sometimes a little louder, then you have such an indefinable feeling. I always think: in the city there is a greater chance that something will happen because there are more people there.”
More than once I have received messages from men asking if I would like to sleep together in a tent
She always takes precautions. “I never share my location live on social media: I have received messages more than once from men asking if I want to sleep together in a tent.” She does share her location with friends or family. “And if I go to an area without coverage, like last summer in Sweden, I have a satellite device with me with an emergency button. It contacts an emergency center, after which local rescue services are called in.”
Freije knows where she will spend the night. Usually, because sometimes that doesn’t work, like when she went wild camping in Sweden. “I had to let go of the preparation there for a while.”
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Choose your own dormitory
If you want to spend the night in a dormitory of a Stayokay hostel as a solo traveler, you can choose from a mixed variant or one for women only. The location in the Vondelpark also has a room for men only. This way, travelers can decide for themselves what they feel most comfortable with, says Ilana Blogg, hostel manager of two Amsterdam locations.
Yet Blogg sees that the mixed rooms remain the most popular. “But as standard we have a room available for women. If it is full, we can always decide to reserve another room for that.” She notices that especially new, solo female travelers opt for a room exclusively reserved for women.
Stayokay does not receive many questions about safety, says Blogg. However, its employees were trained to better recognize and deal with uncomfortable or unsafe situations. The hostels also have posters showing “how we treat each other in a pleasant way”, giving employees tools to approach people. “We are trying to alleviate the feeling of insecurity a little.”
Home front
On spec, that’s how Suzanne van der Ploeg prefers to travel. “That is more difficult for women, you have to take more things into account.” Sometimes she also had to take a step back. For example, she was once groped during a bus trip. “After that I let go of the adventure for a while and took a taxi a few times breather to have. And also to remind myself: not everyone is like that.”
Van der Ploeg also keeps the home front informed. “In recent years I have become more aware of my safety. When I was 23, I traveled from… coast Unpleasant coast in America by public transport and without thinking about it. Now I’m thinking about the journey a little further. I have experienced situations that I could have prevented with better preparation.”