Solo female travellers: "Nowhere have I felt safer than in Iran"

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Traveling without ties,

, can be the path chosen as a radical and different way of life, but also, why not, an alternative like any other to conventional vacations.

You don't have to

, or agree on destinations, or agree on budgets.

Solitude and freedom, in this case, go hand in hand in favor of oneself.

The pillow and the current account, then, become the only partners in our bilateral negotiations (to say the least).

In the case of women, there is no doubt that the idea of ​​traveling abroad alone hovers, more or less closely, the ghost of security.

A disturbing concern that is sometimes castrating enough for the illusion of knowing

to be extinguished.

In those cases, unfortunately, the local option triumphs.

To shed some light on the path of those who want to live their experiences as they decide, the insurer SportsCover Direct has prepared a study on the

to travel alone, calm and safe.

In the classification, variables such as the quality of the tours and activities (according to the TripAdvisor portal), the number of five-star hotels, the number of tours to travel alone, etc. have been taken into account.

Spain, the best destination for single women

Interesting data is extracted from his study and, be careful,

comes out very well, since it is the best destination for women who want to travel without a companion.

The ranking is established based on a maximum of 50 points and our country has garnered 47.

Ireland follows closely behind, followed by

, which also stands out for its high number of five-star hotels.

In Yo Dona we have spoken with two women: one who left Spain to see the world and another Argentine who, with the same desire, has been in our country for a few months, although she already has her passport ready for the next stamp.

What does she think about whether Spain is such a good country to travel alone?

"When I was 24 years old I discovered this life and I saw it clearly: I'm not going back anymore"

Courtesy Angie D'Errico

Angie D'Errico is 34 years old and is from Junín, Buenos Aires.

Hers She is her only daughter and she has always known that being settled in one place was a bond for her.

That life, the one her parents yearned for her, was not her plan A and probably not her B either.

She had to study a career to be an English translator and thus she covered the file and calmed anger.

She worked, she saved and when she finished her last exam, she didn't think much of it and she went to New Zealand.

"It was the first time I left Argentina. I went to a hostel, I met young people my age from the most diverse countries. I couldn't believe it. The world opened up to me and it was clear to me: 'I'm not coming back'".

That was

and yes, like Ulysses in the Odyssey, she returns to her own Ithaca, but for a visit.

He is not sure if he has traveled to

.

Angie doesn't keep track very well and she's not worried about it.

"I like to travel slowly. It's the best way to get to know the people and culture of a place," she says.

She has lived through periods of work and travel, such as in New Zealand, where she stayed for more than a year, in Australia, in South Korea... "She With that money, she can travel without a problem.

"I have pruned trees, harvested broccoli, I have worked in a frozen food company, in bars, as a maid in hotels, in the reception of some hostel... I like these physical jobs much more than thinking about

With I can't," he admits.

She is now a

and what she started as a hobby to tell her traveling experiences has become her livelihood.

One of those trips took her to Iran and Kurdistan.

She spent two months there and fell in love with their hospitality, the people, the women, the culture... But above all, how different the country turned out to be, in contrast to all those preconceived ideas with which we see it from outside.

From that experience of hers, a book has remained, 'And where are the terrorists?', where she reflects everything she saw in those days and the connection that has remained in her forever.

"They love to receive you because they are surprised to see how some of us visit them despite Iran's reputation for being dangerous. And even more so as a woman. But that is where

. They do not have any evil: they fully trust others, they put you at their house and they introduce you to their whole family, they entertain you... I have no words," he explains.

"It is true that women are covered up, but also that many men I spoke with totally disagree. And for them, too, their life has changed after the [1979] Revolution: they cannot go to bars or travel. Everyone suffers a lot," says Angie.

To present his book, he landed in

and has been in Spain for a few months.

Angie acknowledges that because she is Argentine, she has experienced situations of violence for being a woman.

"When I walk I have two eyes in front and two behind. That was my life there. That's why I tell other women in my country who are afraid to travel that we are already trained, unfortunately."

And in Spain?

"Here they have also shouted at me in the street, for example. And it has caught my attention. I thought that I would not find macho attitudes or that I would have to face some old debates, but yes", he affirms.

Angie will probably leave in September and the Middle East will probably be her next destination.

Or Latin America, a territory that, paradoxically, is not the one he knows best.

Depends.

That's the good thing about

.

10,000 kilometers hitchhiking, alone

Andrea Bergareche is 30 years old and her headquarters is in Getxo (Bilbao), although she rarely steps on it.

She studied Fine Arts and also started Journalism.

On a university exchange trip, she visited Mexico City.

She there she was 'inoculated' the virus of the adventure.

The next thing was, neither more nor less, a trip of 10,000 kilometers hitchhiking with which he toured

It lasted seven months, in which he had time to start his blog Pencil Nomad.

Today, that hobby is a business venture with more ramifications, like her book 'I Travel Solo: Explore the World Your Way.

You dare?'

and the organization of trips for single women "and warriors" to which she is also dedicated.

"I started writing the blog to tell other women who wanted to travel alone but were scared, that you can, even if you weigh 50 kg, like me," explains Andrea.

At the time of the interview she comes from

, but then she leaves for

.

So, almost always.

His last long trip has lasted 14 months and has passed through Asia.

Andrea reassures the rest: "It's not bad to be a tourist sometimes. Sometimes I also use a free tour, because it's comfortable, or I go to a hotel instead of a hostel...", she says.

She is not afraid of traveling alone.

That has been her life for many years and she haggles: "Other more 'normal' things like tying me to a site or a mortgage, they do scare me!"

She acknowledges not having been in any real danger, despite what many people may believe, even hitchhiking.

She does remember an

in India .

But except for a little stupefaction... Nothing more.

Her experience of being a woman, she says, is that it arouses a lot of curiosity in some countries, but she has not suffered from inappropriate behavior.

Women feel safe in her presence and they feel paternalistic, so she recognizes that she "always wins" because they always "take care" of her.

She also states that she likes to "teach others that there are other lives out there and

".

Andrea is a

However, the first thing she does when she arrives at a destination is to get a local SIM card and ensure good connectivity.

And cheap.

She needs it for the administration of the trip and also to feed her profiles on social networks.

To the often asked question of when she is going to settle down and think about motherhood, for example, she does not respond with anything lapidary: "I don't consider anything in the short term. If it comes, it will come, and I don't think it will change my life. There are many

."

Many think that traveling is expensive, but she is clear that when she doesn't, she spends "much more money".

"On a trip, I spend half, I assure you," she says.

And she reassures us again: "It takes half an hour to pack and I add another hour of stress in case I carry everything. Those of us who travel like me are not superheroines. We just have more practice, but

. "

What a relief...

Tips for solo female travelers

Elina Ilieva, Digital Marketing Executive at SportsCover Direct, based on their study and testimonials from their respondents, offers some advice if you're planning a solo trip:

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

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