Walking is one of the most rewarding ways for a woman to travel alone — and one of the easiest to feel safe doing, if you choose the right place. Green Spain, quiet and rural, with a hosted base, is about as reassuring as it gets.

Is it safe to walk here on my own?

Cantabria is a settled, low-key rural region — village valleys, forest tracks and quiet beaches, nothing that trades on nightlife. The coastal path near San Vicente is flat, well-marked and follows the sea so you can't get lost, and Bárcena Mayor, one of Spain's officially prettiest villages, is car-free and gentle. It is easy, unintimidating country.

Will I be walking entirely alone?

Only if you want to. On a hosted week you can head out solo with a route, or walk with others, and you are always back at the house for dinner with the group. Company on tap, solitude when you fancy it.

Who else comes on these weeks?

Women are the majority of solo travellers, and hosted walking weeks in particular draw people travelling independently — many of them women doing exactly what you are. You will be in good, understanding company.

What about the practical worries?

You are met, you are hosted by Rob and María in person, and the days are planned around your comfort. No arriving alone into an empty flat, no working out dinner by yourself. A soft landing into solo travel.

*See the walking weeks →, or tell us about you and we'll help you find the right one.