Safety Tips for Solo Female Travelers in Brazil

From a paranoid solo traveller, who listens to way too many true-crime podcasts.

Before heading tor Brazil, safety was one of my biggest concerns. This was amplified by every conversation I had before departing for my trip, which inevitably led to the words "but aren't you worried about travelling alone there?". Even many of the Brazilians that I met repeated their concern about me staying safe in Rio/ Salvador/ Sao Paulo as a solo female traveller.

The good news is - to me, nothing happened! I generally felt a lot safer than expected, despite using public transport most days, walking around cities alone (during the day), and even using my phone on the streets. I did meet a few people who were robbed (all in Salvador to be fair), but most of the other travellers I got to know had similarly felt really safe in most urban areas in Brazil.

According to Statista, most women (69 perfect!) view safety as the biggest obstacle and concern when going on a solo trip. So I'm here with a few tips on safety for female solo travellers to ease any stress regarding this.

The unsafest area is the one in which you are alone

This is by far and away the most common tip that I received. It doesn't necessarily apply when you are in small towns, but in large cities, empty streets are best to be avoided. Areas where you are alone leave you the most vulnerable, so it's best to stick to busy streets.

Don't ask for directions from randoms in the street

This is a tip that has been given to me by multiple Brazilian friends and seems to hold true across the country. Do not ask that random man in the street how best to get to X, Y, Z. Always ask staff on duty, or people you trust how best to arrive at your desired location.

A couple of times I have been directed to places by people I have met on the street, but these have been overwhelmingly women where I have had a good gut feeling. This hasn't stopped me looking over my shoulder every five seconds to see if they were subsequently following me. But then, that's just the paranoid, true-crime lovin gal in me.

Get an Uber door-to-door at night

Again, this is dependent on where you are and how safe you feel generally. I felt safe using the metro in cities like Sao Paulo and Rio at night, but stuck to Ubers in other places. It's cheap enough that it won't dent your budget too much, and Uber felt more reliable to me than local taxi companies.

Disclose location information to only those you trust

It's often recommended that you lie about travelling solo and that you should never tell strangers that you are on your onesies. I have, however, got myself in a fair few mixups by trying to lie about this, so have developed a better strategy.

If people ask if I am travelling solo (I am, after alll, sat there alone in the Uber), I say yes. But then I follow up by saying that I am meeting up with friends in that particular city. They might be friends I have met previously on the trip, or life-long friends, but this allows me some wiggle room. If they ask where the frineds live - don't know, not sure, they're meeting me at the hostel in an hour. Are they local? Yes, always.

I did almost get caught out in my lie at a stop during a long bus journey on my way to Campo Grande. This really sweet older women was asking me about my trip and asking about my next stop. When I assured her I was meeting a friend there, she started to ask (kindly!) about where I was staying and where my friend was going to meet me. I obviously had no good answers for these questions, so just had to awkwardly duck out from the conversation and then hide on the bus once we arrived until she'd gone. Oops.

Minimise flashy jewellery

I wore no jewellery during my trip, mostly because I was too lazy to put any on and my levels of beauty sunk to below sea level. HOWEVER, this was also advice given to me when out and about in the bigger cities (especially Sao Paulo, Rio and Salvador).

I'm including this tip as it was often repeated, but I'm honestly not sure how true it holds. I saw lots of very stylish looking ladies and gents walking about and they seemed fine?? Maybe if you have a very obvious gringo vibe, this is worth adhering to.

Trust your gut

Some people will feel more confident in certain situations, e.g. by public transporation. If you're concious that this lies outside your zone of comfort, listen to your gut. It's not worth feeling scared, just to save a couples of reais.

This all being said, I have found it a lot easier to stay safe in Brazil as a woman than I expected.