Men Traveling Alone: 10 tips

Hopefully, you don't have to give up your duct tape to repair the plane. See Tip #9.

Ok guys. It’s your turn now. Last week I published a post with 10 tips for women traveling alone. I promised then that I would publish one for men traveling alone as well. You see, a fellow on twitter  lamented the fact that all the solo travel tips were for women. So here you go. A post of your own.

I’ve written extensively about how to travel alone but I’ve never written a post specifically for men — until now. But, truth be told, I can’t claim credit for most of the ideas. How would I know what they’re up against when men travel alone. So I turned to Brian Peters, publisher of No Debt World Travel and author of the No Debt World Travel package for help. He came through with flying colors which isn’t surprising, he’s traveled solo extensively. Here you go…

10 Tips for Men Traveling Alone

1. Sit back and let it happen – Men tend to rush in without thinking. Take the time to sit back and let things develop.
2. She doesn’t love you – Foreign women will come on to men. But they don’t love you. They are likey after a green card or money.
3. Drinking and drugs abroad - Stay in control. Lose control due to drinking or drugs and you could end up lost, broke or worse.
4. Risk taking can be a thrill, but don’t push it. – Know your limits. If you’ve never ridden a motorbike before, Thailand is not the place to learn.
5. Try not to be intimidating – You may not be as approachable as a woman, especially if you’re a big guy, so try to be gentle. Smile, speak calmly and remove sunglasses so that people can see your eyes.
6. Wrap it up – There was a study on backpackers in Australia which saw that they contracted diseases at a high rate than women. Condoms guys.
7. Keep the gadgets to a minimum – If you have a great trip planned seeing the sights and making new friends, your use of electronics should kept to a minimum.  Plus they add weight and more things to keep track of.
8. Protect yourself from pickpockets - Wear pants with a zipped pocket inside the front pocket for keeping valuables. It’s not as good as a money belt but it’s way better than any other pocket. It will reduce the chances of having your wallet stolen.
9. Take a small roll of duct tape – What guy doesn’t like duct tape. Take along a small roll to fix a suitcase, improve your first aid kit, tape up a privacy screen, entertain locals with your duct tape figurines…
10. Know that you, too, are vulnerable to muggings – Men sometimes think that women have to worry more about solo travel safety than men but one set of statistics I read says that men are just as likely to be mugged or robbed as women. However, you can use the power of eye contact to your advantage. Prolonged eye contact by a man is considered an act of aggression. Not so for women.

So, there you go. 10 tips for men. If you have others, I really hope that you will add them in the comments below.

Oh,  in case you’re interested, here’s Brian’s download of the No Debt World Travel package. A bit of a disclosure, I haven’t read it so I can’t suggest it one way or another and, if you do buy, I get a bit of a commission. If you want to get a sense of what he did, you can listen to the interview I did with him in the post: Janice Talks About Solo Travel.

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