Timor Leste Solo Female Travel Safety Tips and Advice

On this page you will find first-hand, unbiased, and real safety tips, advice and reviews from women traveling solo, submitted directly from their personal experiences in the country.

Their opinions are unfiltered and submitted independently as part of the Solo Female Travel Safety Index, a ranking of 210 countries and regions based on how safe they are for women traveling solo.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers.

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Timor-Leste Country data

We have compiled a few data points below that can help you better understand Timor-Leste and have more context when thinking about travel safety.

Official country name: Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.

Etymology: Timor derives from the Indonesian and Malay word "timur" meaning "east"; "leste" is the Portuguese word for "east", so "Timor-Leste" literally means "Eastern-East"; the local [Tetum] name "Timor Lorosa'e" translates as "East Rising Sun".

Capital: Dili.

Independence / foundation: In an August 1999 UN-supervised popular referendum, an overwhelming majority of the people of Timor-Leste voted for independence from Indonesia.

However, in the next three weeks, anti-independence Timorese militias, organized and supported by the Indonesian military, commenced a large-scale, scorched-earth campaign of retribution.

On 20 September 1999, Australian-led peacekeeping troops deployed to the country and brought the violence to an end. On 20 May 2002, Timor-Leste was internationally recognized as an independent state.

Population: 1 million.

Currency: United States Dollar (USD)
1 EUR = 1.07 - 1.10 USD

Time zone: UTC+9

Languages spoken: Tetun Prasa 31%, Mambai 17%, Makasai 10%, Tetun Terik 6%, Baikenu 6%, Kemak 5.86, Bunak 5%, Tokodede 4%, Fataluku 3%, Waima'a 2%, Galoli 1%, Naueti 1%, Idate 1%, Midiki 1%, other 4% Note - data represent population by mother tongue; Tetun and Portuguese are official languages; Indonesian and English are working languages; there are about 32 indigenous languages.

Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant/Evangelical 2%, Muslim <1%, other <1%.

Climate: Tropical weather that is generally hot and humid. Two distinct rainy and dry seasons.

Real GDP (ppp – purchasing power parity): $5.28 billion.

Real GDP per capita (ppp): $3,900.

Main airports: Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport.

World heritage sites in Timor-Leste

There are over 1,100 world heritage sites spread across more than 165 countries. New ones are added every year, and some may be removed from the list for various reasons.

Number of UNESCO listed sites: 0.

Top world heritage sites:

N/A

Interesting facts about Timor-Leste

- East Timor became the first new nation of the 21st century after it obtained independence from Indonesia in 2002.

- Two East Timorese have won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1996, the prize was awarded jointly to East Timorese activitsts José Ramos-Horta and Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo “for their work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor.”

- East Timor is considered to have the most biodiverse waters on the planet. It is located within the Coral Triangle, a marine area in the western Pacific Ocean home to an impressively high number of corals.

- A popular tourist attraction in the country is the Cristo Rei statue of Jesus, which is 27 meters high.

Further reading: N/A.

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Timor-Leste Travel tips

More about Timor-Leste on Solo Female Travelers

Coming soon.

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About the Solo Female Travel Safety Index

Safety matters to solo female travelers, you told us so in our annual Solo Female Travel Survey, where year after year, women prove that this is their most important concern when traveling solo.

We wanted to do something about it, so we built these country-specific pages where you can find reviews and scores for 7 key variables affecting the safety of women traveling solo.

How to use the Safety Index

On this page, you will find the country score and the personal opinions on safety of other women traveling solo.

You can sort the comments by:

• The level of experience traveling solo of the reviewer (beginner = <5 trips solo, Intermediate = 5 to 10 trips solo, Experienced = >10 trips solo).
• The age of the traveler.
• Whether they are a visitor or local.
• The date they were posted.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers. 

Thus, the lower the score, the safer the country.

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Looking for more safety resources?

This entire website is devoted to helping women travel solo. Check out the links below to learn more:

Solo Female Travel Stats: Results from the the largest, most comprehensive and only global research study on solo female travel trends, preferences and behaviors published.

Thanks to Jacobo Vilella for creating the Solo Female Travelers Safety Index ❤️