A question I often find myself being asked by friends and family is, “have you ever travelled anywhere that felt unsafe?” It’s a question I never have an immediate answer to. Only twice in twelve years of travelling at every opportunity have I been the victim of any sort of misdemeanour. Once, right here in the UK, the other in New Orleans. Both occasions were purely opportunistic thefts, and each time, I stood my ground, and they got away with nothing.
I think, being realistic, the only time I have felt wary enough of my surroundings to justifiably question my safety was during a late-night walk through one of the sketchier parts of Downtown Los Angeles.
The fact is, wherever you travel – or, indeed, live – there is always a chance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I always like to take the view that those odds are pretty slim. That being said, there are a few countries where those odds felt almost zero. These are the countries I felt safest travelling to.
Georgia
I still remember my first view of Georgia. Descending over lush green pastures towards Tbilisi, I fell in love with the place long before my feet had touched Georgian soil. I was right to, Georgia transpired to be not only one of the countries I felt safest travelling to, but one of the most hospitable.
From Tbilisi’s historic center to Batumi’s slightly out of place glitz, Georgia is one of the few countries I can say I have enjoyed every single minute I’ve spent in. The history is fascinating, the landscape enchanting and the food might just be one of the most underrated cuisines in the world. If you do visit, leave plenty of space in your case to cram in some Georgian wine to take home. Georgia is one of the oldest wine producing regions in the world and if you ask me, the best.
Less than 20 years ago, Georgia was at war with Russia. The latter, assisted by the two Georgian breakaway states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, was victorious. Russia claimed swathes of Georgian territory, along with hundreds of lives in the process. Yet now, it’s one of the safest countries you can visit. Politically stable, unaffected by the recent tensions between its Caucasian neighbors, Armenia and Azerbaijan, crime rates in Georgia are remarkably low.
Mongolia
It comes as no surprise that one of the least densely populated countries in the world is also one of the countries I felt safest travelling to. Mongolia covers a staggering 601,000-square miles, making it the 18th largest nation. Combined with its population of less than 3.5 million people, it ranks 241st in terms of population density.
Vast swathes of Mongolia are given over to desert. The Mongolian steppe covers half of the country’s land area. Out there, the only danger is getting lost. And it’s that vast emptiness which attracts the majority of visitors to Mongolia, although not in particularly high numbers.
Always looking for something a little different, I travelled to Mongolia to explore its capital, Ulaanbaatar. It’s home to almost half the country’s population who bring with them insane congestion, smog like you’ve never seen before and an urban sprawl that stretches as far as the eye can see. Despite its size and population, Ulaanbaatar is a city you can walk around without a worry in the world. My only worry during my time there was getting run over at rush hour, which, by the way, lasts all day.
If you’re planning an expedition across the Mongolian steppe, don’t make the mistake so many travellers do and write off Ulaanbaatar as nothing more than an entry point. It’s well worth spending a few days to explore the Palace of the Bogd Khan, Gandantegchinlen Monastery and the fascinating National History Museum of Mongolia.
Norway
I may live in the UK, but my remote island home is closer to Oslo than London. Flying from my local airport to Bergen takes one hour; to reach London, it takes four. Suffice to say, I’ve spent more than my fair share of time in Norway, and that’s no bad thing.
There are countless reasons to visit Norway: the Fjords, the coastline, thousands of years of Viking heritage and the chance to see the Northern Lights are but a few of the highlights. As great as Oslo is for lapping up centuries of history, Bergen is my all-time favorite city break destination. On a longer visit to Norway, taking the Hurtigruten coastal ferry from top to bottom is a novel way of seeing the sights. If you want to go even further north, the remote archipelago of Svalbard is one of my top European travel destinations.
Everywhere I’ve been in Norway, from the center of Oslo to ice-covered Alta and the wilderness that lays beyond Longyearbyen, I have never felt unsafe. The same can be said of Norway’s Scandinavian neighbors. Combined, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden all make the cut as some of the countries I felt safest travelling to.
