Top 5 Safe Travel Tips

By Ashlie Lopez

Traveling either nationally or internationally is always exciting. Exploring the new regions enables you to see new cultures and gives you a new perspective of looking at the world that surrounds you. It induces acceptance for diversity in your persona. You get to try different foods and beverages like best instant coffee or tea made with the indigenous recipes. Travelling sounds like a thrilling experience but to make it a flawless and enjoyable one, you must take some safety measures particularly, if you are traveling abroad. To tackle unfortunate incidents in your country is much easier than in a foreign land. Although it is safe to travel almost everywhere around the world, you should always be prepared to confront any mishaps. Here are the top five tips to help you stay safe while traveling:

1. Do Your Research:

After finalizing your destination, the first thing you should do is to do keen research of the region you plan to travel to. Download the map which gives you directions to the tourist attractions of the place so that you don’t have to worry about the availability of the internet. Read other traveler’s reviews about that area and check out the crime ratio. For emergencies, note down the contact numbers of the embassy, consultant, police station or any other local emergency departments. Find out the safe neighborhood for your stay. Besides, take the proverb ‘when in Rome do as Romans do’ seriously. Tourists or foreigners are more likely to be victimized by thieves and pickpockets. Try to blend into local people as much as you can and don’t wear outfits that will draw people’s attention towards you. If you have to get guidance about directions, approach people carefully. Learn some key phrases of the native language like sorry, thank you, etc. as it will be appreciated by natives and will create harmony between you and natives.

2. Save the Important Documents:

The most important thing when traveling to a foreign land is to keep your ID documents like passports or NIC save. Email a scanned copy of your ID card, passport, driving license and hotel reservation to your email address. Even if your phone and bag get stolen, you can always access your documents by asking others for help. Even if you lose your luggage at the airport or anywhere, to claim it you will always need your documents for your identification. Besides, keep your emergency info; like if something happens to you who can be contacted, in your pocket.

3. Protect Your Personal Data:

Your phones carry your very personal and sensitive data. It provides you access to your social media accounts, emails, bank accounts, therefore, securing your data should be your priority. Don’t use public Wi-Fi because it facilitates thieves in hacking your accounts. Carry your own internet devices. Put a password on your phone and change it regularly. Most importantly, install a tracking device on your phone so you can track it down in case you forget it somewhere or if it gets stolen. Don’t post every single detail of your traveling on social media accounts. If you are an avid user and cannot restrain from doing it, then don’t enable geo-tagging, because then it becomes easier for potential thieves to find you. Always keep track of where you are using your credit card and how much amount you are spending. While traveling, we all love shopping. So, keenly observe activities on your credit card to timely detect any suspicious activity.

4. Organize Your Luggage:

We all love putting are important things like cash, credit cards, passports, ID cards, etc. in one bag. We never think this through that what if that bag gets stolen or lost? We will lose everything. Therefore, put your stuff in different things. You can wear a jacket with zipped pockets and keep everything in a different pocket. Likewise, if you are carrying a backpack, never put important stuff in your back pocket because it’s easier to open without you knowing it. moreover, tourists are more likely to be targeted by pickpockets. Always get a secret pocket sewn in your shirts to put emergency cash in it or else you can hide your pockets by putting on silk scarves or any other accessory.

5. Safeguarding Your Health:

As we all agree to the proverb ‘health is wealth’, taking care of your health while traveling is the priority. We all love trying new foods and native dishes of our travel destination, but some specifications should be taken care of. For instance, always eat from a famous restaurant where you see long lines of customers. Try to see when your food is being prepared. Install applications like google translators to explain to the cook what you are allergic to. Likewise, don’t drink tap water, use mineral water.

Abiding by these guidelines will surely keep you safe, even if something fortunate happens. Travel where your heart leads you to. Have a happy and safe traveling!