Is Spain Safe for Solo Female Travelers?

Spain is generally a safe country for solo female travelers. Both urban areas and rural regions have low levels of crime. It is always prudent to take basic precautions, such as avoiding poorly lit and deserted areas late at night, keeping a close eye on personal belongings in crowded places, and not sharing your personal details or itineraries with strangers. Public transportation and taxis are usually safe and reliable. However, like anywhere else, incidents can occur, so staying alert and using common sense is important.

Safety rating

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How safe is Spain?

Safety at night:

Safety at night:Safe

Spain, in general, is known to have a good safety record and this includes safety after dark too. However, like any other place, safety can vary depending on the area and time. Bigger cities like Madrid and Barcelona are largely safe but do be cautious in quieter or less lit streets. Also be aware of pickpocketing, especially in crowded areas or tourist hotspots. Overall, basic precautions such as sticking to well-lit areas, not displaying valuables openly, and maintaining a sense of awareness are still advised.
Public transportation:

Public transportation:Safe

Public transportation in Spain is generally safe and reliable. It consists of buses, trains, trams, and metros which effectively connect cities and towns. The services are frequented by local and foreign travelers alike. However, it's important to be conscious of your surroundings, especially in crowded spaces, as pickpocketing incidents have been reported in some areas. Overall, the system is widely used and safety concerns are minimal.
Street harassment:

Street harassment:Low

While cases of street harassment do occur and vary by region, Spain generally has a safe atmosphere. Instances of wolf-whistling, cat-calling, and lewd remarks are not commonplace. Being a solo female traveler, you may occasionally experience unsolicited attention, but typically, locals are respectful and unobtrusive. Nonetheless, maintaining caution in crowded areas or during late hours is advisable. Remember, your experience may vary depending on various factors such as the neighborhood you're in, the time of day, and your general demeanor.
Petty crimes:

Petty crimes:Low

Spain, as a whole, experiences relatively low levels of petty crimes such as pickpocketing, particularly outside of major cities. However, you may encounter higher risk in tourist-heavy areas including major cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where pickpockets might be more common. Always remain alert and keep an eye on personal belongings even in crowded public transports and places. Stay aware of your surroundings, but overall, Spain is considered quite safe for travelers.

Is Spain worth visiting?

Overall rating

4.7 /5

based on 351 experiences from female travelers

Things to do

4.6/5

Safety

4.5/5

Food

4.5/5

Budget-friendly

3.6/5
Sara

Sara

Hungary

Madrid, Solo travel

I loved madrid and spain jn general. The atmosphere is so cool and so cozy and welcoming, the people are so cheerful and vibrant , even though most of them did not speak english the service everywhere i went was amazing

Posted: February 6, 2025
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Barcelona, Solo travel

I was in Barcelona for 4 days in a solo trip. The city is not too expensive, and I felt much safer than I though I would. There are so many activities to do (during the day and the night as well). It’s also perfect for trekking!!

Posted: February 6, 2025
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Eva

Eva

Norway

Barcelona, Family travel

I was in Barcelona with my sister. I felt safe during night and I liked food there. Prices are cheap (10€ for 1 kg of shrimps) it’s cheap for me 😅 because I’m living in Norway 🇳🇴. But I didn’t like that people don’t know English,the biggest income in Barcelona is tourists and people (old generation,millennials) could learn some basic words and sentences. A lot of tourists traps where they can charge more then in normal shop so be aware. I understand that Barcelona had enough tourists all this years but still,5 words in English not so hard to learn. 7/10

Posted: February 4, 2025
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Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Solo travel

This city is really nice and living. I worked there for 6 weeks and as Young lady I never felt unsafe. What I particulary like is that there’s a plenty of activities to chose of ;) I Would recommand you going there and pick up a nice hostel nearby the beach la cicer.

Posted: February 3, 2025
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Reserva Natural Especial del Chinyero, Solo travel

Did a hike in this place, amazing landscape, felt very safe, not a lot of hikers in May, met some bikes on there and maybe one other person around. Felt super safe and the scenery is from another world.

Posted: January 31, 2025
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Seville, Solo travel

I don’t think I ever have felt this safe in a big city. Not one single comment or look from other people, although I have not been out anything in the night. There is much to do and organizations who helps you with meeting new people and seeing the whole city!

Posted: January 30, 2025
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Tracey

Tracey

South Africa

Barcelona, Solo travel

The anti-tourism sentiment was really strong. It made for a really tense atmosphere in general. It's a beautiful city but I didn't really feel welcome, though I wouldn't say that I felt unsafe either. Not a place I'd necessarily go back to though.

Posted: January 30, 2025
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Tenerife, Family travel

Tenerife feels safe We stayed at a small town called Abades it’s really quiet and nice theres not a lot of people there so if you’re looking for relaxing vacation abades is a perfect spot its close to capital of Tenerife and we were renting a car so with car it took roughly 15min to get from abades to santa cruz

Posted: January 28, 2025
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Barcelona, Solo travel

A lot of people were concerned about me because I was going to solo trip to Barcelona. I felt safe. The city was safe. Still everyone should be careful ofc. Because I am not a fan of the things that I can see online (attractions 😅), I was mainly walking around the streets and visited only a few attractions. So I definitely would recommend the park near Sagrada Familia and also Barceloneta Beach. I spent around 150€ for 3 days (for food and drinks), keep in mind I was not budgeting. You could definitely spend less.

Posted: January 26, 2025Experienced: January, 2025
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Madrid, Couple travel

Madrid is one of the most beautiful and alive cities i’ve visited. The people are really nice and easygoing even if the generally can’t speak english. I felt very safe in Madrid, but since it’s a big city there are always neighbourhoods that are less safe than others. I was near Atocha station and that was not too safe but not too bad either. And it was a very strategic position, for the public transports as well. We went to Prado and to Reyna Sofia, we saw Palacio de Cristal, the Ayuntamiento, the Royal Palace and the park El Retiro. We’ve also seen the Real Academia se Bellas Artes, which is an hidden gem: there are like 200 works by Goya and we were also lucky cause that they an art historian gave us a free tour of the museum. A very nice place to get tinto de verano (it’s so good!! and it’s only 5€) is La Kama Cafe and we also liked the cocktails at Yambala (a really cute bar). To move from a place to another we took the underground but also the push scooter, which is actually kinda cheap. Also, you need to try churros with chocolate, we had them at Chocolateria San Gines. If you’re into hispanic literature, an hidden gem that you can’t miss is Calle de las Huertas, a street where on the pavement are written the most famous quotes of spanish literature.

Posted: January 22, 2025
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Is Spain safe for women?

Safety index

4.3 /5

Based on 305 local experiences

Crime index

2 /5

Based on 305 local experiences

Ciudad Real

I think in the 18 years I've lived in Ciudad Real, I've heard about less than 10 crimes being committed. Pickpocketting doesn't happen because we don't really have tourists and most of the crimes are squatting or maybe stealing valuables left in sight in the car. I'd say it's a pretty save city

Posted: February 6, 2025
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Vasya

Vasya

Valencia

Valencia is very well structured , you can see that that’s a Spanish democrat caring about ppl city but still the ocupas and the crime rate make you feel worried about things… I know that it has some dangerous neighborhoods but I don’t see crime very often

Posted: February 4, 2025
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Meet locals in Spain

Celine

Celine

About Me

I m Céline. I moved to Palma de Mallorca in April 2022. I work remotely for Amazon. I live in Santa Catalina which is the trendy neighborhood of Palma city with healthy cafés and night bars. But i don t do hosting anymore i m sorry

Speaking

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Natalia

Natalia

About Me

Hi, my name is Natalia and I'm originally from Poland. I've been living in 7 countries, working and volunteering :) At the moment Imnlooking for a place to rent in Malaga and would like to explore the city - especially art, music and food :) I liked nature, cycling and drawing

Speaking

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Stay with locals in Spain

Lucia

Lucia

Seville

Can host for:

3 days

About me

Hola! Me llamó Lucía, tengo 34 años, soy italiana y llevo 8 años viviemdo en Sevilla! Soy actriz y artista en constante aprendizaje! Me gusta viajar, la buena comida y pasar tiempo de calidad en buena compañía!

Speaking

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Rose

Rose

Salamanca

Can host for:

3 days

About me

hi guys! my name is rose, I love traveling and im a photographer as well! i'm currently living in spain with the nalcap program and can't wait to explore more of europe!

Speaking

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Upcoming visitors to Spain

Gulnur

Gulnur

About Me

From Usbekistan, doing my Exchange Programm in Heidelberg, Germany. Study Bachelor

Speaking

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Safety in Spain