Places and world travel advice for solo woman

I am not a beach person. Although I like to swim and snorkel I do not go to the beach to sit on the sand if I can help it.

I'd suggest Brazil, and places in the Caribbean like Barbados (there is a bus system if you have time, and they have a museum, some colonial houses, a cave system, parks, etc - I've been there for a week, and back five or six times by cruise ship and still have things to see),
Six trips to Barbados
and Bermuda which is really safe and you can't drive unless you rent a scooter or a mini-car which is almost just an enclosed scooter.
Eight visits to Barmusa
Both Barbados and Bermuda they drive on the left like England. Grenada is another island with a somewhat idiosyncratic bus system, and is more than just a place to go to the beach.

i felt safe also in the Virgin Islands.

From Barbados or Puerto Rico you can get cruises that can take you to various other places in the area where you have company and safeguards

You might also consider Canada - Montreal is supposed to be safer than Disney, and Toronto has a goodt transportation system.

You'll need to research each country's entry requirements for EU citizens and, potentially, its visa requirements before you finally sort out your itinerary. Many countries only allow you to apply for a visa from your own country of residence. If you're travelling for a lengthy period this can cause problems if, for example, you want to visit a visa-required country after 5 months of travel.

You can check entry requirements & visa options on the official website of the relevant country's embassy in Portugal e.g.

Brazil https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado-lisboa

Double-check that it's the official site: there are lots of scam visa sites out there.

Make absolutely sure you have good travel health insurance which covers you not only for medical treatment but also for repatriation if you are seriously ill/injured or..god forbid...you die. You don't want your family members facing massive bills.

Also check the Portuguese government's travel advisories. It may well be that your government advises against travel to all or part of a country. If that's the case any travel health insurance you have will be invalidated.

One option to consider if you want to really immerse yourself is something like a homestay or wwoofing.

Can keep your budget down as well as allow you to meet some interesting people. Obviously, as a solo traveller, you will want to ensure that wherever you end up staying in that scenario has plenty of good reviews - enough that you can trust them. But immersing yourself often does require taking a leap of faith.

There are also lots of volunteer opportunities out there. They still typically cost you money, but that all generally goes towards supporting a good cause. It might be another good option to research

Some of the Caribbean is less expensive than other places and it is less expensive "off season". The seasons for various areas vary. Around the equator the season is usually northern hemisphere winter so that means going in the summer or "green" (rainy) season. Fortunately the summer in the tropics is not usually that much hotter than the winter and may even be cooler than the weather in say Chicago in July. And the rainy season is not necessarily rain all day every day. But a reasonable concern is avoiding hurricanes. Barbados and the ABC islands are far enough south that they rarely have hurricanes.

I have been to both Costa Rica and Belize, and I've been to Costa Rica in the summer and we didn't have bad weather although it did rain. San Jose has two wonderful museums and many other interesting places to visit, but it is a city with less attractive areas. My interests were not only the museums and interesting places to see, but I was also visiting to see the indiginous plants and animals. In Costa Rica I wanted to visit the rain forests, and I went to Belize for the diving. But Belize also has significant Mayan sites. I would recommend James Michner's Caribbean as a way to get acquanted with that culture.

Bermuda is apt to be expensive - Mexico and Central America will be cheaper.

I think for a woman to travel solo and be safe ( and I have done it all my life) its more about one"s behaviour than the place. You cant go out at night in most places , you have to avoid certain hours in public transport , choose very well were you are staying and try to never draw attention to yourself at all times. These are my rules, I havent yet been robbed anywhere except in Venezuela ( a country I adore) , and all they took were my medicines.I think there"s such scarcity of medicines I understand the robbery . I went to a local government medical point and they solved my problem. As a woman , I would rather travel with someone.But its hard to find someone going my way, into jungles and wild places , my favourite places.

Hi

My "government job" took me all over the world in another life. But I did not have to book flights, find accommodation, etc. (It was all done for me.) I did book flights from cities in the US to my home state. But never needed to find what part of the city to stay at and book my own overseas accommodation, etc.

Like recommended by Peter in post 4, look into volunteer expeditions overseas. I did this with Earthwatch. First expedition started with a flight to Bali Indonesia, Denpasar and flights from there to Sumbawa Besar for a "Solar Ovens" project. Return to Bali for the flight back home. Other expeditions were in Thailand for archaeology digs in Phimai. Flight to and from Bangkok. Met a lot of good people.

On these expeditions there were quite a few single women, teachers, government employees on vacation and some retirees. Learned a lot about getting about on my own overseas without my employer doing everything for me like before.

• Thailand is a pretty good break-in country for solo women. I have come across many retired female tourists on their own having nice time there. Basic accommodation is reasonable, Bangkok for instance, has excellent city transportation and lots of stuff to visit. Tourism is a big big business for the country with all sorts of accommodation, good restaurants, shopping, etc. Easy to sign up for shared tours in person from local travel agencies. Bali is popular with solo women, with some ladies interested in the "Kuta Cowboys" but most for the tourist things.

Where danger is for anyone overseas is consuming too much alcohol and making dicey on the spot decisions for companionship with strangers!

If into beaches, Google up what month is best for this. Keep in mind, there is a high season for hotels and cost of flights. Low season may mean more rain or cooler in some places but cheaper for everything like flights and hotels.

• Never leave home with a single debit or credit card! You could lose it or damage it and be out of spending money for a while. Keep family and/or friends informed where you are. Wifi available just about everywhere. I even find free wifi in my cheap hotels. (Cheap for me is A/C if needed, private bathroom, hot water, lock on the door, TV and I like a safe or safety box available.) I prefer a hotel where I can walk to nearby stuff like restaurants, malls, pubs and most important local city trains and bus service.

Up to you.