‘Men! I felt like prey. Even husbands sitting with their wives would break their necks when they saw you walking down the street.’
Eve Kovac, a 19-year-old solo traveller from the US, tells MailOnline Travel about her first trip to Europe and her experience visiting Albania, where she “didn’t feel very safe”.
Connecticut native Eve embarked on her first solo adventure just a few months after turning 18.
She says: “I left the United States for three months alone with a 12-inch backpack. I had the feeling that there was something for me there.”
Eve amassed 154,000 followers on Instagram, under the username @outdoors.evedocumenting their adventures across seven countries during their journey.
Eve Kovac, a 19-year-old solo traveller from the US, tells MailOnline Travel about her first trip to Europe and her experience visiting Albania (above)
Pictured above, Eve in Albania felt like “prey.” She added: “Even husbands sitting with their wives were breaking their necks watching her walk down the street.”
She tells MailOnline she wanted to prove to herself that “the world is not only huge, but also kind”.
“He was right,” she added, although at times Albania made her feel like a “target.”
She adds: “When I was there, someone touched my hair in the supermarket and several people took a photo of me. I figure that, since I’m blonde, short and have blue eyes, I could be a target.”
Norway was a contrast, as she felt safer there.
She says: “Norway surprised me by how safe I felt. I took the locks off my bag on the second day.
“There was no overwhelming welcome like I found in Italy, but just a general feeling of safety and security.”
Italy took the prize for the European country she likes to visit the most. Eve says: “My favourite place in Europe is the Amalfi Coast in Italy. I have found great hospitality, surfing and agricultural work there.”
Eve appears here in Norway, a country so safe that it “surprised” her.
Eve wanted to prove to herself that “the world is not only huge, but also kind.” Here she is seen traveling through Spain (left) and her favorite European country, Italy (right).
However, on the other side of the Ionian Sea, in Greece, the story was different.
Eve says: “In Greece, my hostel was infested with bedbugs. A nightmare. I solved the problem, slept in my hammock and left the next morning. That was before I knew I had money for a hotel.”
After completing his travels around Europe, he says that each country has taught him something.
Now he offers safety tips for those who want to travel.
Eve explains: ‘My safety precautions are to carry locks on my bags, always keep track of my belongings and stay alert.
‘Never give money to anyone who asks you for it, never accept anything from a stranger.
‘I follow my instinct and believe in it wholeheartedly. If the feeling is right, then it is right. When you start to feel that something is wrong, you know it is wrong.
“Last year, I had to travel more than six hours every day for a week. I felt terrible. Take care of yourself. Slow down. Enjoy.”
Eve, who has visited 11 countries and is currently in Tromso in the Arctic Circle, also points out that travel is “cheaper” than people think.
Eve is pictured here in the Albanian Alps during her three-month solo trip through Europe.
Eve says she felt a “general sense of safety and security” in Norway (pictured left), but did not receive “an overwhelming welcome” like she found in Italy (right).
She says: ‘I work a job for a few months and save up. Living rent-free in my van helps. I still have bills, phone, insurance, gas… but I’m pretty good at budgeting so I can afford to be abroad for a few months.
‘I definitely travel cheap. I cook a lot, buy what’s on sale, never buy clothes or makeup. I think I’ve had my nails done twice in my life. I’ve never had my eyelashes done and I’ve been cutting my own hair for the past three years.
“Cut costs where you can: it’s a question of priorities, and mine is traveling.”
Among the many jobs this self-proclaimed nomad has taken on to fund her travels are RBT (Registered Behaviour Technique) for disabled children, waitressing, skatepark builder, bartending, dog walking, babysitting and even trying her hand at olive picking in Italy.
After completing her trip to Norway, Eve will return to Italy before backpacking through Europe for a month. She will then travel solo through Asia.
