Rail Pass & Train Safety: Girl Alone!
 

Everyone was so helpful on my last question & has been to all of mine that I figured I would ask another in another thread...
I purchased a global rail pass for my 2 month journey throughout Europe during summer & am satisfied with my purchase but am also very concerned for my safety (of myself & my things) & also how hard it is to get around using the pass in the first place. If anyone has ANY suggestions or comments to help my mind be put at ease or to just in general be informative that would be much appreciated. Thanks guys!!!

Perhaps you might have a look at the replies to this....

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop..._Campania.html

Peter

This website is great and tells you tonnes about using a railpass: http://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-E...pass-guide.htm

As for safety, use common sense. Keep an eye on your belongings (there is space usually to put small bags above your seat for example) and dont leave things unattended. Trains are widely used by all walks of life in Europe and are usually very safe. I have never felt unsafe on a European train. If you plan overnight journeys you might want to do some research about berths etc so you can keep your belongings safe when you sleep.

Relax and enjoy the journey!

I have used over a hundred railpasses for years and never have seen any solo female being hassled or bothered on any train - keep an eye on your bags at all times, especially if they are in racks at the end of the train cars where mobs of folks may get on and off (some folks being a small chain and lock to secure them to the racks themselves) - if you have a first class pass then it is all simpler - since there are often lots of empty seats in first class I always seem to be able to put my bags on an adjoining seat - in 2nd class it is more crowded so find room in the overhead rack where you can see them. Always keep all valuables like c cards, money, passport and railpass in a uncer the clothing money belt or security device - always on the train and off.

I have always found using railpasses so so easy - put angst to rest about that. And check out these fantastic sites IMO to learn loads about European trains and using your pass - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com.

You don't say how old a girl you are, but if you are under 30, you can expect some unwelcome attention directed your way, not only on trains, but when you sitting alone at a cafe (maybe even more so there). You will quickly be able to assess what is flirtatious and what is worrisome -- the cultural signals and clues are pretty much the same among all the Western countries -- and probably none of it will be worrisome in any way.

However, if any of it is, just solicit the help of anybody nearby, move to where there are other people if you feel isolated and stick with a crowd if you are exiting a train. Go into a store or cafe if you are getting fed up with anybody.

In other words, the kinds of things you would do if you were by yourself in any city or on a campus.

Don't let people give you or buy you food or drinks. Males or females. And while nobody likes to give travel advice to be unfriendly, keep your guard up if strangers try to get friendly until you are sure you know what they are up to.

But you are safe in Europe for sure and so is your stuff. Feel confident walking around and have a great time.

You will find traveling easier in many ways if your luggage is minimal.

If you are staying in hostels you will probably link up with some other young people and be able to travel together at least for part of your journey - so you will have company.

I have had some unpleasant experiences while travelling (much of which I did solo in my late teens, up to my thirties), and as a result I altered my behaviour so I didn't go out much after dark alone, or caught taxis rather than public transport at night. I made lunch my main meal and ate dinner as sandwiches in my room at night. None of the experiences I had made me stop travelling. And just be choosy about who you trust - don't get in cars with strangers. Get lockable compartments on overnight trains or ferries if you need to travel at night (which i'd probably avoid myself). It sounds you are already mindful of this kind of safety so probably none of this advice is necessary, but I found myself taking risks while travelling that I'd never take at home (I never catch public transport at night at home, for example). So maybe think about whether you'd do something under normal circumstances as a reality check.

Lavandula

I have traveled solo by train many times in Europe. The only worry I have is about leaving my luggage to go to the restroom. But usually there are people sitting nearby and I do not believe they would allow my things to be taken. If I travel overnight, I splurge and get a single cabin. You can lock up and not worry about a thing. The cabins I rent have a shower and toilet, so I never have to leave.

If you want to talk to folks on a train, hold up and read a book (in English) and you'll get people who want to practice English.

If you don't want to talk, ignore or pretend to sleep. I "slept" through a discussion? on trashing the U.S. and how
#(*$%& up we were. I didn't want to go there.

As with large cities, stay alert, check your surroundings and know what's around you at all times.

lavandula,

Where in Europe did you travel?

There are very few places in Europe where I wouldn't take public transportation at night. In fact, right now, I can't think of any. I would certainly take it anywhere in Italy. I'm not sure the safety precautions one takes in America should be a guide for European travel. All of Europe is a lot safer, but a very large measure.

I can definitely understand getting badly spooked by unpleasant experiences and ending up eating a sandwich alone for dinner in a hotel room. But the cafes and restaurants are safe places for women alone, even after dark.

The only time I ever altered my behavior after unpleasant incidents was that I realized I shouldn't take lonely walks in isolated areas of large urban public parks, even in broad daylight. A woman alone needs to stay in a populated area of a park.

I don't wish Alexandra_Breen to be lax with her safety, but I see no reason she should avoid pubic transportation at night in 99 percent of Belgium, France, Germany or Italy.

I had two experiences in Belgium, once when I was 19 and once when I was 30. I won't elaborate on the earlier experience (a very long story) but the latter one, I was followed off a bus late at night. The bus stop was a little way from my flat and fortunately there was a cafe on the corner between the bus stop and my place, so I ducked in. The man following me kept walking along the same street, stopping at the traffic light, whereas I lived around the corner. I still think of this as a safe, nice neighbourhood. I tried to explain to the cafe owner in my crappy French that I was being followed but he was irritated that I wasn't buying a coffee, so, still spooked, I scraped together my last coins and bought a coffee so I could stay till I felt safe. That put me off catching the bus at night and after that I only caught taxis. But here in Sydney - my own city - I would be reluctant to catch the train at night. There are often serious incidents here on the trains at night and to me it feels unsafe.

The word amongst my younger work colleagues when I lived in Belgium was that there was quite a bit of low-level crime in Brussels. I didn't really encounter it directly aside from that incident but I knew a lot of the mythology, and I had an acquaintance who had been mugged and stabbed in the shoulder near Bourse. He was OK, but angry because through a legal loophole the perpetrator, who was known to police, could not be brought to justice.

Older colleagues typically lived in the outer suburbs which are pretty safe and so would never own to Brussels being unsafe. But there are definitely areas which are unsavoury and where I would not linger. I would like to think you are right and nothing will happen to Alexandra, who seems sensible, but it's also crazy to say nothing could ever happen, because even if you are doing something perfectly normal like going home after a concert, you can still feel unsafe.

I might add that I also once observed an incident when I was living in Wiesbaden, which I would characterise as a very safe city - we lived opposite a church where homeless people and similar types used to congregate because it doubled as a soup kitchen. One night a woman, who had evidently just cut through the area at the front of the church, screamed her lungs out and brought people running from all over the neighbourhood. I'm not sure exactly what happened but the benign interpretation would be that she had been surprised by one of those homeless people and had taken a big risk by walking alone in a dark area, albeit early in the evening. I don't think anything more had happened. But you can blunder into these things, which is what I assume happened to her.

Lavandula

Lavandula,

Thanks for elaborating, and I think all the information is helpful to Alexandra. I think women face an extra risk they need to be alert about and take extra precautions, and listen to their inner alarm system in that regard.

I am sure you not suggesting that women not travel and I am not suggesting that nothing ever happens, even in Italy, where routinely women use trains and buses (although most buses stop at 8pm). I've yet to travel alone in Brussels, but in a large Italian city like Rome or MIlan or Naples, it is always a good idea to ask the hotel reception desk to show you on a map any "unsavoury" areas of town if your guidebook doesn't talk about it. They do exist. In Italy, hotel owners are very protective, and will be very conservative in their recommendations about where to go at night.

>I am sure you not suggesting that women not travel and I am not suggesting that nothing ever happens, even in Italy, where routinely women use trains and buses (although most buses stop at 8pm).

Not at all - I have travelled a lot and would never suggest that women should not travel. But there are strategies, as you yourself put forward, that can keep women travellers safe. But it's easy to believe you're bullet-proof when you're 19 (as I did), even if you've been warned about the dangers a million times.

Lavandula

Well I assume you are a young woman - not a girl - since I wouldn't reco a 12 or 13 year old do al that traveling alone.

You need to research how our pass works (It doesn;t cover berths on overnight trains - which can be very expensive.

Your person should be perfectly safe - and long as you can say get lost in the local language. But you will need to keep a strict eye (and hand) on your belongings. A friend of mine (a mature woman) chose (god only know why) to sit in a seat on an overnight trains. She thought everything was secure - but her camera _ stuffed between her body and the side of the seat - was stolen during the night. (Naturally she moved a little in her sleep and someone was able to just slide the camera out,)

I would do an overnight train only in a compartment either alone or with people that you know.

I went everywhere alone on my trips in Europe and this was in the days before cell phones. Best tip -- wear a fanny pack inside your clothes on trains and keep it to the front at all other times. When you sleep, put your passport and cash inside your clothes. If you wear a purse, sling it across your shoulders bandolier style and keep it low so you can rest a hand on it. Make sure it's one that zips. Use the same common sense you do at home and you'll be fine.

I (older female) have done a number of overnight trains in a compartment with strangers. I haven't lost anything yet. I have the vital stuff in a money belt, but I usually sleep with it under my pillow rather than on me. The merely expensive (camera, netbook, etc) is in my day bag in the berth with me.

It is unrealistic to tell someone traveling solo on a budget that they should book an entire sleeping compartment.

If have no idea what Jax76 is talking about. You need a money belt worn under your clothes, but I find it more comfortable with the pouch at the back. You should NOT access it in public - keep a days money supply somewhere handy.

In a couchette always try IMO to book the uppermost berth in a three-tiered on each side of the center compartment - 6-person couchette as you have the great chance of safety of you and your belongings up there, well out of way of anyone walking in - there is also a lot of extra room up there in the part of the compartment that extends over the aisle outside the compartment - tons of room to store all you luggage as securely as possible.