Traveling solo in the South of France for a woman can be an exciting, thrilling thing to do. When traveling alone, people seem to be easier to meet, destinations are at the tip of your finger, no one is waiting for an answer on where you want to go and what you want to do! You’re not waiting for answers. You don’t really have to worry about anyone else … With that in mind, here are some tips to make a solo adventure in the South of France fun and other tips to make you feel a little more secure!

Just because you start your trip off alone, doesn’t mean you have to remain alone! There are no rules here. Whatever your reasons are, perhaps you have time off and your friends don’t, it doesn’t really matter, the point is to just get out the door. Don’t let Life’s constraints or lack of scheduling skills hold you back.

As you travel, don’t hesitate to meet fellow travelers on planes, trains, buses, in hotels or hostels. This is one of the great reasons for single women to stay in hostels, if that is a comfortable option for you. There are a lot of other travelers to meet, many of them other single travelers, and age at a youth hostel doesn’t seem to be a limiting factor any longer.

There are enough hostels in the South of France. But there are also affordable hotels. Don’t be afraid to strike up conversations with others at breakfast. Whether you stay in a hostel, a hotel, or an apartment on your own, don’t hesitate to share information that you’ve picked up along the way with fellow travelers that you meet!

The people who live and work in the town you are visiting will also make good contacts for information – a must see spot that no one but them knows about, where to find the coziest cafe for lunch, and how to maneuver through businesses open and closed times of the day.

Arriving at your destination by late-mid-afternoon, if possible, gives you a bit of daylight to get adjusted to your new surroundings and get oriented to your neighborhood and the place where you are staying. Mid-afternoon is the quiet time of the day in the south, when not much is going on, so you can get settled into your room and take a walk without feeling like you are missing anything else.

One of the best ways to feel comfortable with your possessions is to use them like you do at home. This goes for how you treat your money and your day bag as well. Besides being incredibly unfashionable, moneybelts, fannypacks, and daypacks worn on your front instead of your back, make you stand out instantaneously as a tourist. Moneybelts were never meant to take the place of a wallet. They are more like a cache that you travel with, not necessarily something to carry with you every waking moment.

If you treat your possessions and your wallet as you do at home, you will be comfortable with your system and less likely to be seen as unfocused and an easy target. Plus, in the summer hot months in the south, carrying crap around all day is just one more way to retain unwanted heat next to your body. Travel light to stay cool.

Keeping your face out of your maps while you are walking around will not only keep you from falling on your face, it will keep your attention on where it needs to be – where you are in the moment. Being a single woman and checking maps while you are on the street marks you as a lost soul and a target. It creates a distance between you and others on the street. No one wants to walk around with a big X on their head. Get your day oriented from your hotel/hostel room or your table at lunch. If you made notes in your journal before your trip or even before you started your day, refer to them, rather than the maps or guidebooks.

Walking with confidence, but not with arrogance, will make you appear as if you know where you are. But at the same time, heed that inner voice when you turn a corner and the neighborhood or street doesn’t feel right by turning around and going back towards where you came from. This is a positive thing to do. No sense in going down a street that feels unsafe, whether it is or not.

Taking a book to read and/or a journal to write or draw in comes in handy when you are dining alone, or taking a break in a park or the back of a cathedral. Taking a moment out of the day to write down your thoughts and experiences comes in handy when you are back home and trying to remember some small bit of your travels.

Travel light, so you can keep an eye on your bag/s when riding the trains. I always put my bags either in the seat or on the floor next to me, or if the train is crowded, I put the larger one in the baggage rack at the end of the car that is facing me so that I can keep an eye on it. If I have to check a bag under a bus, then I try and sit so that I can keep my eye on the baggage container when the bus stops to let passengers on and off. On the trains and buses I always keep my luggage locks on.

No one wants to hear that they should be wearing sensible shoes. But I’m going to say it, again. You should wear sensible shoes for comfort in walking around all day.

Even though life in the south is more relaxed than in the north of France, respecting the French social rules in the South of France is a really a good thing. Sometimes as American women we just don’t get the concept of social rules when we visit another country. Following social rules can sometimes be unnerving and stifling in France but following them can also be simple. Once you learn a French social rule, whatever it is and there will be many, file it away in your head, because you are going to need it again.

Social rules in France will also give you a number of opportunities to laugh at yourself.

Traveling for women in the South of France is very much like traveling anywhere. If you’ve got a nice collection of common sense, you should be fine. The people in the south are warm and friendly and in general they have a great sense of humor.

Bon Voyage!

If you have a travel tip for traveling solo as a woman in the South of France, add it in the comments area below!

Edited: May 15, 2010

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