A travel influencer who has visited nearly every country in Europe has shared his personal top 10 list of the safest nations, based on his own experiences of them
A solo traveller who claims he’s visited nearly every European nation has named the ten destinations where he felt most secure – and his choices might surprise some.
Luke Patrick Hoogmoed, a Dutch travel influencer boasting almost 500,000 Instagram followers, unveiled his rankings in a recent post. He explained the list stems from extensive personal experience rather than isolated visits.
“This is my top 10 safest countries in Europe based on my experience,” he wrote. “I have travelled to basically every country in Europe multiple times, so my opinion is not based on one good or bad trip I had in a country.”
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The majority of nations he selected are located in Eastern Europe, which Luke claimed frequently appears more secure than Western regions, reports the Express.
“As you can tell, it’s a lot of Eastern European countries that are on this list. That’s not a coincidence. I’ve found that Eastern Europe is much safer compared to the West,” he stated. “Especially big cities in Western and Northern Europe aren’t as safe as you might expect.
“On the contrary, the big cities in Eastern Europe are incredibly safe, clean, and kind to travelers.” Whilst his catalogue predominantly featured Eastern destinations, Luke did incorporate several from other areas.
“Finland, Denmark, and Portugal did make the list though,” he said. “Those are the safest countries in my opinion that aren’t Eastern European. Portugal in general is my favourite country in Western Europe.”
Here are Luke’s personal top 10:
- Poland
- Denmark
- Hungary
- Finland
- Czech Republic
- Bosnia
- Slovenia
- Serbia
- Portugal
- Romania
Numerous people supported his perspectives, particularly regarding Poland and Hungary. One holidaymaker penned: “Every tourist say that Poland is the safest place they have ever been to.” Another traveller chimed in: “I just landed back in the US from 15 days in Poland with my kids. Wow, it was indeed the safest.”
A solo female traveller shared her experience: “I’ve been to Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Czechia as a single female traveller. Walked back from stuff late at night. Felt incredibly safe. Did not feel the same in Barcelona and London.”
Another added: “We felt so comfortable and safe in Poland. Travelled there with our then 7-year-old and loved it. Also felt very safe in Romania and Hungary.”
However, not everyone agreed. One sceptic asked: “And this is based on what? On you being in those countries for 2-3 days? Seriously.” Another pointed out: “Poland seems so safe and girls are still afraid to go out in the evening.”
Someone else commented: “I am surprised that Austria isn’t on the list. By the way, I had been in Budapest and I found it dangerous to walk alone on the streets at night.”
Official rankings also paint a different picture. According to the Global Peace Index via World Population Review, these are the safest countries in Europe right now:
- Iceland
- Austria
- Ireland
- Switzerland
- Portugal
- Denmark
- Slovenia
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- Hungary