Lost in Venice at Midnight: A Cautionary Tale

In the summer of 2017, one of my courses in grad school had a class trip to the Venice Biennale. It was my first time visiting this glorious Italian city of boats, no streets, and endless bread. I packed clothes appropriate for scorching weather, my large sunhat, and two tubes of sunscreen. I boarded the flight from Gatwick and within two hours, I was in Italy, took a bus to Venice with fellow classmates, and stepped foot on the plaza leading into the watery city.

On the second night, a group of classmates and I went out to dinner. We dined on delicious Italian carbohydrates, sipped on cool, white wine, and went on the hunt for some authentic gelato. By the end of the night, we were exhausted and knew we had to be up early for the final day of art seeing, so we parted ways to each other's respective hotels and AirBnBs. I got a hotel alone, so I input the address in my phone and began walking through the narrow walkways that lined shops, tiny restaurants, and endless canals. The only problem was that my phone's battery was at 10%.

It was upon seeing that percentage that I began kicking myself for not having bought a portable charger before the trip. I knew this would happen. I walked to the nearest boat taxi and tried to find the time that my boat would be arriving: not for another half hour. It was already late, and upon asking the driver of the boat if he was going to my stop, he said there were no more boats left. I began to feel the very familiar anxiety attack approaching, but I took a deep breath and began to plan.

I called the hotel in hopes that the one English-speaking employee was on duty; but alas, it was the Italian and Spanish-speaking owner. Luckily my Spanish was advanced at the time, so I began rattling off to him how I couldn't get a boat taxi, my phone was dying, and if he knew the quickest way to the hotel. He gave me vague instructions, but said they would still be open through the night if I needed anything. Great. My phone's battery was slowly decreasing and my heart rate was doing the opposite. How was I, a young woman, supposed to walk through this city alone at night to my hotel?

After a minute or two of controlling my anxiety, I input my hotel's address and just began pounding the pavement. Luckily the local restaurants were still in full-swing, so if I really needed to, I could stop and ask for help. But as I continued walking, the restaurants slowly decreased in number, and it was only fellow travelers and a couple locals left walking the streets. I remember feeling so afraid that at any moment, some guy could come out of nowhere and attack me in any way—so I was constantly looking over my shoulder, checking my surroundings, and darting through empty, dark alleyways as fast as I humanly could.

Soon enough, Google maps directed me to a familiar area, and I let out a tremendous sigh of relief. I saw the familiar bridge and restaurants, and could see the dock that stood just ten feet away from my hotel. Giddy with gratitude and thankful I didn't succumb to the wills of some deranged man of the night, I walked quickly to the hotel, walked to my room, and locked the door behind me. I immediately plugged my phone in and lied down on the bed for a moment to congratulate myself; I had navigated a foreign city at night alone—as a woman, that's a big deal. But also very frightening. I told myself I would never do that again, because maybe next time I wouldn't be so lucky.

I tell this story to remind all my fellow female travelers to stay safe. I was fortunate not to have run into anyone with bad intentions, but that sadly isn't always the case for women who just want to see the world safely. Always have a portable charger on hand (and of course, make sure that's charged as well); bring the charger cord; share your location with a friend if you can't manage to walk to your hotel with a buddy; have a few phrases handy in the local language in case you get lost or you think someone's following you; check your surroundings; and stay in well-lit areas. Unfortunately for us women, it's not always easy to make it back to our hotels alone safely—and I know the anxieties that come with it. If you are alone, try and be on the phone with somebody, like one of your parents or a friend, so you have someone to talk to and make sure you've made it home safely.

Please stay safe while traveling, and do your best to always have a friend/travel buddy to make walking around at night less scary.