Last Updated on June 30, 2025 by Christine Kaaloa

How to Stay Connected While Traveling Solo (Solo Female Travel Safety Tip)

Ever worried about staying connected when traveling alone? It’s one of the biggest concerns for solo travelers—if something happens, who will know? Who will be able to find you?

There’s one solo female travel tip I’ve only lightly touched on in my travel safety videos (CTA: safety video link), but it’s something I practice religiously. It gives me confidence when I’m traveling alone, and honestly, now feels like the right time to share it.

Having a plan for keeping loved ones informed is essential. In this video I’m sharing smart ways to stay connected when traveling alone. I’ll even share some tools that I use to stay connected when I travel.

Watch my Must Know Solo Safety Tips to Never Go Missing

What You’ll Learn in This Video:
✔ How to share your itinerary & location before you go
✔ Best apps & tracking devices for solo travelers
✔ Border & customs tips to avoid issues at immigration
✔ Why you should have a lawyer’s contact ready

Right now in the U.S., we’re seeing unprecedented times. Immigration roundups are sweeping up people—sometimes without giving them a chance to make a phone call to loved ones. People are going missing.  It’s not just about undocumented individuals. The government admits to making mistakes as it rounded up a legal citizen

Solo Travelers Need Additional Safety Precautions

As solo travelers, we don’t have a partner or group looking out for us. If you go missing while traveling, who’s going to know? The key is to leave a breadcrumb trail—a system that ensures your loved ones can track your movements if something goes wrong.

Unexpected things happen all the time when you travel. You lose service. You can’t get Wi-Fi. Your phone dies. But having a plan in place isn’t just about safety—it also gives you peace of mind and confidence that you can take that solo trip and handle the  obstacles that life throws at you.

I’m going to  break down simple, smart ways to stay connected, and tools to help you do this. Let’s dive in

Set up a communication system

Before you take your trip, set up a communication plan.

• Designated check-in buddy

Your chenck-in buddy can be a friend or relative back home, who always knows where you are and can keep track of you. Choose someone you can depend has your back at home. Share your travel plans & itinerary with them. For example, I send my mom my itinerary, flight and hotel bookings, etc..

• Set up a daily check-in system

Checking in daily is always best and you can do this with daily texts, emails, calls, or a quick emoji. You can tell your check-in buddy — “I’ll text you a 🌞 every morning so I know you’re okay!”

Sometimes I am juggling so many things I forget to touch bases. My mom emails me if she doesn’t hear from me– “You don’t need to write a story- just respond a short word and let me know you’re alive.”

• Decide on a fallback plan so if you miss a check-in

If you miss a check-in, your designated check-in buddy knows the next action steps to take– call your hotel or tour company, the embassy or a lawyer.

• Have a local “I saw her last” buddy

While If you’re on a group tour, great—someone is always keeping track. But if you’re traveling independently, it’s on you to make sure someone knows where you are.

That’s where befriending a local or a fellow traveler comes in. You need people who might notice if you don’t surface for a couple of days—someone who can say, “I saw her last.” Morbid, I know. 

If you’re staying at a hostel, you can do the same. Befriend a fellow female solo traveler in your dorm and ask if they want to be check-in buddies? It’s a simple system, but it could save your life.

Be discerning and responsible with who you choose. The key is to have a backup plan—so that if anything happens, someone notices.

This is not only for you, but out of consideration to your family. How many times have we seen news about families looking for their missing loved ones and starting with where someone saw them last? Not knowing where your loved ones have gone missing is a painful process for families. Some cases go on for years, families cannot put the case to rest, if there’s a sliver of hope that lost traveler is alive. How tormenting!

When I traveled to Islamabad, local Pakistani women advised me to always tell someone where I was going. It’s common practice there—women let their family or girlfriends know their whereabouts. A few even offered to be that check-in person for me.

I didn’t want to bother them, so instead, I casually checked in with my hotel staff before heading out. I’d ask for sightseeing tips or a taxi, but in reality, I was leaving a breadcrumb trail. If I didn’t come back, they’d know. It worked out—even better than expected—because they ended up connecting me with a reputable driver for the day.

Smart Solo Travel Tools for your Communication System

These days thankfully we have technology and empowers our independence. There are various apps that can help you engineer the above.

Google Docs & Google Calendar

I love using Google Docs & Google Calendar. They allow me to share my trip itinerary documents and calendar with who I designate and it is shared in real-time. Each time you update your document, your designated safety buddy can see it.

Google Docs is great for sharing a summarized itinerary of logistics and important data like contacts and addresses of hotels, guides, tours, etc.. These let your check-in buddy know who to call to look in on you in an emergency.   iPhone has shareable Notes app if you prefer that to Google docs.

Google Calendar is also shareable and can be imported into your check-in buddy’s calendar. It is perfect for those who like to see their daily and birdseye view of their schedule.

If you want me to do a video on some of this, let me know!

Have a System for Crossing Borders

Although prioritized U.S. Border crossings in my video, the truth is that this advice can be used for any border crossing. Border crossings, immigration questioning and searches can feel intimidating. Some travelers can feel their privacy violated.

The U.S. is in uncertain times, and while I support secure borders, some of the recent immigration roundups and detentions raise serious concerns, because detainees are not given the opportunity to make any calls to loved ones before being sent to another city or country for detention. Instead, they “go missing” until they’re allowed to call a loved one or a lawyer.  Even our government admitted to having detained a legal U.S. citizen but then lost track of where they put him!

 Before I traveled to Pakistan, I’d read that you have to be wary of the border agents at immigration because they could pull you out of line for whatever they wanted. Some travelers reported they got pulled out for not going through the formal visa route of getting a Letter of Invitation; instead, they used a hotel confirmation which brought the questioning to asking if the traveler held U.S. dollars on them. Travelers felt it was a ploy for bribes. India used to be highly scrutinzing as well and I had seen them send a traveler to questioning.

Familiarize yourself with the border policies, process and your rights.

Some viewers of my airport security video pointed out that phone searches are routine in Europe, Canada, and Australia—but this is not routine for U.S. citizens.

Before You Go Through Customs:

• Know your rights at U.S. border control: Check out my blog post on how U.S. Airports are changing.  It’s best if you know the border control process, so when anything out of the ordinary happens, you can flag it.
• Have a game plan:  Alert your designated someone before turning your phone on airplane mode. Let them know when you enter border control and when you’ve safely passed through.

• Text your check-in buddy when you’re about to go into immigration: When I land and my SIM is active, I immediately text my family. I let them know:
  • Where I’m going next
  • When I should be completed with the process
  • I have a time frame for them to wait for my call before going into emergency mode. If you’re in a vulnerable group with immigration, you might your check-in buddy to be your lawyer or to have your family call your lawyer immediately if they do not hear from you.

Going through Customs and  Immigration

Being picked to do an additional search

Keep in mind that not everyone will be requested to doing a phone search. This is partially similar to how some travelers get the ‘SSSS’ stamp on their ticket to single them out for additional security search. The last time I got that was in Manila airport on a layover, where they brought my checked suitcase out, did a search through it and almost confiscated my selfie stick. Sometimes doing multiple short connections can look suspicious to officials; some think it can be a sign of a drug mule.

Be prepared with your questions at immigration

CBP will always ask basic questions at the immigration check counter. Based on your answers, they may probe deeper.

Additionally, they will look to see if you have any immigration misdemeanors, are flagged for your past travels and political views (you want to avoid any antisemitic or political U.S. opinion topics). Racial profiling is highly probably to play a part in this as well.

Do you have to comply with CBP interrogations and phone searches?

If you are a U.S. citizen, and have a profession –like lawyer or therapist– where you carry sensitive client documents on your phone that cannot be disclosed, or maybe you just feel uncomfortable with the way CBP is handling their interrogation you can decline the following, along with the phone search.

American citizens must be allowed into the U.S.. American culture tends to be extra sensitive about having our privacy and rights violated. We are a lawsuit-happy country in that regard.

However, failure to comply with the CBP will likely get you held longer and your phone and electronics will likely be confiscated. Some U.S. travelers have experienced bullying and intimidation as much as yelling  by the CBP. They will use tactics to get you to comply.

If you are a foreign traveler, you must comply with the phone search and CBP questioning.

This is where taking a burner travel phone makes sense, as you leave your personal phone at home. If your burner travel phone is confiscated, then no problem, because your personal phone is at home and your life can resume.

• Answer questions briefly and truthfully. Avoid being too chatty.  Some folks are so nervous or try to be helpful and the more you talk, the more details you give which can open a can of worms. Be short with your answers and don’t offer too much detail.
• If questioned aggressively, ask: “Am I being detained, or am I free to go?”
• Don’t sign anything.
• Regarding phone searches, see my phone search tips and here

Stay calm, prepared, and informed. Check out my U.S. airport security video, to know your rights and my common visa mistakes travelers make at the border.

I have a solo travel survival toolkit that is free to download- it shares more solo travel tips for newbies. You can access it here.

What are smart tools to help you stay connected when traveling solo

Having an internet data plan is non-negotiable for me. It keeps me connected for real-time maps, rideshare apps, messaging, bookings, and—most importantly—emergencies.

• I use an eSIM : I like Airalo because I can activate it before landing, so I have internet immediately.
• Share your Location with a Trusted Contact: Enable tracking features like “Find My iPhone” or share your location with a trusted contact. If you have an iPhone, you Contacts/Address book has a features to let assign an emergency f&F know your whereabouts on a map.
• iPhone Shared Albums: Iphone has a “Shared Albums” feature, allow you and your friends to add photos, videos, and comments to a shared album. This updates instantly across everyone’s devices. If your phone allows photo geotagging, it can help pinpoint where you were last. This works if your photos are backed up to the cloud.

Other must-haves for staying connected:

• Portable power bank—I never travel without one.
• Emergency contacts saved—Know your country’s 911 equivalent and have the address of your embassy, major hotels, and police stations. If you think you might be targeted for racial profiling, have a lawyer’s contact saved as well
• Cash on hand—in case digital payments fail.
• Printed/digital and cloud backup of important documents and IDs—passport, visa, ID, travel insurance.

Staying connected when traveling solo is non-negotiable—especially in today’s world. Whether you’re crossing borders, flying internationally, or just exploring new cities, keeping loved ones informed is key to staying safe.

What’s your go-to safety tip for solo travel? Let me know in the comments!