A solo travel content creator has shared her honest views on where she feels unsafe as a woman – and one of her picks is a hugely popular European destination.
Savanna Crowell, who runs the @solowithsav Tiktok account, describes herself as ‘your go-to solo travel girlie’.
In a recent video that has been viewed almost 500,000 times, the New York-based traveller revealed three places where she didn’t feel safe.
Her first red-flagged destination is France – the world’s most visited country, with 102 million international tourists arriving in 2024.
She told her 54,000 followers she’d ‘had a few uncomfortable situations in the country’, facing problems in a number of locations.
‘On my first solo trip to Paris, I almost got scammed by the ‘petition scammers’ at the Louvre,’ she said.
Petition scammers often pose as charity workers or petitioners who might speak to tourists about worthy causes – before putting pressure on them to hand over money.
‘When I tried to get out of it they became very aggressive… thankfully I was able to get out of it because there were a lot of other people around me.
A scammer near the Louvre made life uncomfortable for Savanna on her first solo trip to Paris
Savanna felt unsafe in France, the country that saw the most visitors in 2024
Fortunately the crowds of people meant the content creator was able to get away from scammers
Savanna also had issues in Nice, a beautiful city on the French Riviera.
While she was walking along a street by herself, a man ‘popped out of the bush with a pointy stick in his hand’.
Savanna goes on to say he ‘started chasing me down the road, ended up throwing the stick at me and laughing’.
Despite the popularity of France, a number of other holidaymakers in the comments section voiced their unhappy experiences in the country.
‘Facts! A man followed me into the girls’ restroom in Paris and there is a section of Nice super unsafe for women,’ wrote Alexandra Priscilla.
Another user shared a story of a trip to Nice with her husband that saw a simple stop in a pharmacy turn scary.
‘He bought sunscreen and sunglasses and we walked out and on the way out were stopped by a guard and we were taken to a back room where they had accused us of stealing,’ said @katieter01.
‘They went through our bags and pockets and were threatening us with the police but wouldn’t even tell us what they thought we stole.
Nice is a beautiful city on the French Riviera – but the site of an unpleasant experience for this woman
Savanna experienced sun, sand and intrusive questioning on a beach in Mexico
‘We did not steal anything and eventually another manager came by and said we can leave but it was super scary we were held in this room with guards for a while.’
One person said she ‘had a dude harass me in France’, though another wrote they ‘felt super safe in France traveling solo’.
The second country that left Savanna feeling unsafe was Mexico, a place she admits she loves travelling around.
‘I did have an uncomfortable situation with a man once at a beach,’ she said.
I was sitting, minding my own business, when he came up, approached me, but his towel directly next to mine and started asking me very uncomfortable questions – like where I’m staying, how long I’m going to be staying.
‘Just very intrusive questions where my gut was telling me “I need to get out of this situation”.’
Savanna waited until the man went into the ocean before grabbing all of her belongings and ran from the shore.
Her third and final country to warn about is Nicaragua, the Central American nation between the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
Despite feeling unsafe at times, the travel enthusiast would return to France, Mexico and Nicaragua
Nicaragua gets the unfortunate title of country where Savanna received the most catcalls
It was unfortunately the place where the content creator experienced the most catcalling.
‘It seemed everywhere I went on the street, if a man went by he had to say something or make a noise – something that made me feel uncomfortable.’
It was so bad, Savanna said she only wanted to walk on very busy streets.
Despite her experiences, the travel enthusiasts admitted she would return to all of those countries.
