How to Stay Safe When You’re On Vacation (Especially If You’re Traveling Solo)

Solo traveling dominates social media, with content creators documenting adventures and chasing sunsets across Tulum, Mykonos, and Bali. A 2023 report from Condor Ferries shows that 84% of solo travelers are women. But here’s what no one’s posting about: the darker side of solo travel. The side that doesn’t trend. The side that ends with your photo on the evening news instead of on your TikTok FYP.

In 2021, I reported for Travel Noire on a sex trafficking lawsuit where a Black woman claimed she was drugged, raped, and trafficked from a major Miami hotel. CNBC subsequently picked up the story because these incidents aren’t rare. 

Predators aren’t hiding in the shadows. They’re at the same resorts, bars, and pool parties you tag in photos. And they’re also counting on you being distracted.

Traveling Solo? Here’s Some Safety Tips

Real talk from Coming In Hot 

Coming In Hot host Caroline Baudino sounded the alarm about spring break safety, especially when traveling, with brutal honesty:

“I’ve been in so many situations that, by the grace of God, nothing happened,” Caroline shared, before recounting the recent chilling story about a 20-year-old who went missing in Punta Cana. “I was very lucky to listen to my gut instincts—or have friends who made sure I wasn’t left behind.”

Caroline immediately made the connection to Natalie Holloway. “She left with a group of guys and was never to be found. It’s like—how many more of these stories do we need? Friends leaving someone behind, girls taking too many shots… especially when you’re not in your environment.”

No Man, No Party, No Story is Worth Your Life

Caroline got real about alcohol:  “Don’t do shots,” she said flatly. “Shots get you wasted. That’s how you black out. And what happens when you blackout? Anything can happen to you.”

Despite this, social media glamorizes blackout drinking, but, “no party and no guy will ever be worth you having nightmares for the rest of your life,” Caroline warns.

Being smart isn’t optional. Your education, appearance, or background won’t protect you. “Just because you come from a good family and you’re cute, that does not mean that nothing’s gonna happen to you,” Caroline emphasized.

Trafficking doesn’t always look like Taken. Sometimes, and in fact, it’s as simple as a stranger offering to walk you home or buying you drinks at a beach bar.

Your Non-Negotiable Safety Checklist for Traveling Solo

1. Stick together

Never leave anyone behind. “You think I’m gonna leave you in a fraternity house filled with a bunch of drunk guys while you’re wasted? Absolutely not,” Caroline said. That’s the energy. Always. No questions asked.

2. Watch your alcohol

Know your limits and stay in control. In addition, skip the shots and always err on the side of caution.

3. Keep it public

And don’t go anywhere alone. “Nothing’s being discussed in the bedroom of a hotel or someone’s apartment. If it’s business, it happens in the lobby—or not at all,” Caroline said.

4. Share your location

Send license plates, hotel addresses, and then let someone track you. 

5. Guard your drink 

“It takes two seconds to roofie your drink,” Caroline warned. “Or spray something in an Uber that makes you numb. Or leave something on your car handle.” Yeah. It happens.

6. Trust your gut

They bought you dinner? Great. You don’t owe them anything but a thank you. “Someone’s supposed to be nice to you,” Caroline reminded us. “That should be fucking normal.”

7. Take trafficking seriously

“If you think sex trafficking isn’t real, I can tell you it is,” Caroline said. The court cases prove it. “Nothing is worth it. Nothing is worth you getting hurt.”