Believe it or not - solo female traveling is today much more common than you'd think!
Let's say you're a girl with a big dream to go backpacking in India. You're doubting because none of your friends aren't really up for it, so making your dream come true would mean travelling by yourself, alone - as a solo female traveler.
Now let's be honest. It's a fact the more you differ physically from the appearance of the local population, the more you're bound get potential unwanted attention as a solo female traveler. On the other hand, the local people might be also positively and genuinely interested in a girl traveling by herself. There are always people to whom this is an absolute no-no and sometimes a solo female traveler may be nearly guided by the hand in the middle of streets of Rio de Janeiro - since even the local residents might not considerer it safe.
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However, there are lots of solo female travelers out there, and we personally believe it depends a lot on your own behaviour how you're going to swim in the sea of travelling solo. Using your natural common knowledge is the best way to prepare to face the upcoming challenges while on the road. Avoiding showing up completely wasted or moving alone on dark side streets should be clear for all the clever fearless females out there.
For sure, some destinations are generally safer for women than others. Depending on your previous travel experience, you may want to take it easy in the beginning and start your solo travel career from relatively relaxed locations, such as Germany, Scotland or Iceland, just to mention a few great examples. Within time you learn to listen to your little inner voice and recognise the famous 'gut feeling' when to leave the premises for good.
One more thing - if you're traveling alone as a girl, don't disregard staying in a hostel! From our personal experience we warmly recommend you to try the laidback hostel culture where everyone feels such a whole big family. And if you don't wish to sleep in a mixed dorm (even if there's nothing bad about that either, vice versa!) there are plenty of hostels with female-only dorms and other features considering the needs of female travelers.
Try for example these hostels in Europe designed especially for female travelers:
BERLIN: Three Little Pigs boasts up with its central location surrounded by the most famous sights. Prices starting from 18.22 €.
AMSTERDAM: Hostelle is Amsterdam's very own female-only boutique hostel with a homelike atmosphere. Prices starting from 25.32 €.
MADRID: Cat's Hostel is the only hostel in Madrid with a full-service bar...called Cat Cave! Prices starting from 12.52 €.