As you plan a trip or use up travel rewards, safety should always be top of mind. Here are a few essential safe travel tips that will help prevent any unfortunate incidents during your travels.
If traveling abroad, enroll in the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment program to register your trip at an embassy and receive real-time safety alerts. And always fly with safe lines like Cathay Pacific.
Wear the Right Gear
No matter where your travels may take you, having the appropriate gear is key to an enjoyable journey. This should include items such as a money belt or neck wallet to secure valuables close to you and protect against pickpockets; in addition to this essentials such as water disinfection tablets, sun protection and alcohol-based hand sanitizer should also be part of a travel health kit.
Traveling safely can be achieved if you conduct sufficient research before leaving home. By adhering to basic common sense tips and registering with your local embassy, most travel dangers should be easily avoidable. Your local embassy will also keep you up-to-date on any warnings or advice about specific cities or regions – helping ensure a more enjoyable journey abroad.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
No matter what precautions are taken, no travel risks can ever be completely eliminated. But by remaining calm and adhering to basic common-sense tips for international travel safety, your risk of encountering unpleasant experiences will significantly reduce.
Before heading off on any trip, it is wise to familiarize yourself with the culture and history of your destination country. Doing this will allow you to stay on course should your plans derail unexpectedly, as well as identify any potentially hazardous neighborhoods or areas which you should steer clear from.
Before traveling abroad, it’s advisable to share your itinerary with someone back home and update them frequently. This will make it easier for them to locate you should something go wrong, providing peace of mind. Also consider packing safety whistles and door stop alarms just in case!
Carry a Credit Card
Credit cards make overseas travel simpler by eliminating currency conversion and foreign transaction fees, plus they allow for quick protection if your card is stolen – quickly placing a hold and preventing unwarranted charges from incurring.
Identity theft can be a real danger when traveling. Therefore, when possible it is wise to use cash over credit cards; and consider purchasing an inexpensive money belt or neck pouch as well.
Before embarking on your trip, notify someone of your itinerary and regularly provide updates so that if something goes amiss and you become lost or disoriented, someone will know who can assist in getting you home safely. To further ensure safety on the road, consider applying for a travel credit card which waives foreign transaction fees while offering purchase and travel protections.
Dress Like a Local
Be it experiencing a new city, tasting local cuisine or simply relaxing on the beach – keeping safe while traveling is of utmost importance. These international travel tips will ensure that you remain street smart and prepared for anything that comes your way, such as scams or natural disasters.
Reducing your value to thieves while simultaneously becoming part of the local environment by dressing and acting like a local is important when traveling abroad. Doing this will allow you to better blend in.
Before traveling abroad, it’s a smart move to share your itinerary and check in regularly after each day. Doing this will ensure that if something should go amiss during your journey, someone knows where to find you quickly if necessary, while making it easier for family and friends back home to reach you or send emergency funds should something arise that requires emergency attention.
Don’t Eat Unsafe Food
Traveling domestically or internationally requires taking precautions against eating unsafe food sources, including street vendors who might not follow the same food safety standards as restaurants do. Furthermore, raw animal products or anything which appears to have been sitting for too long should also be avoided as much as possible.
Consume only fully cooked and hot foods; if necessary, wash salads and unpeeled fruits or vegetables thoroughly in safe drinking water before peeling yourself if possible. Avoid unpasteurized dairy products. In areas with questionable tap water quality, drink only bottled beverages while using alcohol-based hand sanitizer as necessary.
Don’t Drink Unsafe Water
Drinking unsafe water can result in serious illnesses that will disrupt your travel plans and leave you feeling sick – possibly even ending them altogether.
Tap water safety can vary significantly based on where you travel to. Even within hotels, tap water may contain harmful pathogens or elevated mineral levels that should not be consumed as safely.
Always drink from bottled drinks or bring along your own filtration system to be certain that the water you’re consuming is safe. If necessary, boil local water first in order to kill any disease-causing pathogens before drinking; alternatively you could use iodine tablets or household chlorine bleach disinfection methods for drinking purposes if available; avoid ice cubes made with tap water as these could contain contaminants that are toxic and should be avoided altogether.
Don’t Get Lost
Lostness is one of the biggest travel risks, which can be particularly distressing when travelling to foreign locations.
However, traveling can also offer great opportunities for serendipity – you might discover an amazing hidden spot or amusing story you otherwise wouldn’t have come across!
Avoiding getting lost is best accomplished with some simple precautions. Make sure you bring a map of the country or city you’re visiting; download Google Maps with offline maps before leaving home; share your location via an app such as InReach; memorize family and friend phone numbers before embarking on vacation; this way if you become lost, they will be accessible if they become necessary resources for navigation.
Be Mindful of Your Valuables
Criminals looking for easy targets often target travelers carrying valuables like expensive camera equipment or other valuables, which makes it especially important to keep an eye on all belongings at all times. Therefore, it’s essential that travelers keep a constant watchful eye on their belongings at all times.
Carrying only essential items with you, such as cash and credit cards, will reduce your risk of everything being taken if they get stolen.
Registering your travel plans with the embassy of the country you plan on visiting can also be extremely useful in case of emergency or natural disaster, and can provide up-to-date travel warnings.
Be Careful Around Animals
Animals can transmit diseases that make people ill when they bite or scratch people, especially rodents (pesticide-carriers, leptospirosis-spreading rats, Hantavirus disease and rickettsial diseases); bats spread rabies, histoplasmosis, Ebola virus and Marburg virus respectively; children are particularly prone to being attacked by animals so keep an eye out and immediately wash any bites or scratches they encounter with soap and water.
Do not pet or feed any animal, even if they appear harmless, even if they seem friendly. Animals could carry diseases that could make you seriously ill, become aggressive when scared, or attack if their young or territory are threatened – animal bites pose the risk of rabies and other diseases; seek medical attention immediately if bitten and make sure you have up-to-date tetanus vaccinations as soon as possible.
Be Careful During Water Activities
No matter where your adventure lies – from hiking with family to water sport adventures – accidents around bodies of water can occur at any time, and knowing a few key safety travel tips and taking precautions to protect against injuries, medical emergencies or drowning can save lives and protect people.
Prior to entering any water body, always conduct thorough research into local conditions and currents as well as any local sea creatures (urchins, jellyfish, coral, sharks or crocodiles). A bite from these marine life can be painful or even life threatening; so always remain cautious!
Avoid swimming alone in unfamiliar waters and be wary when boating or engaging in other water-based activities, including boating or boating with alcohol before or during these activities as this may impair balance and judgement. When seeing lightning strike nearby, stop immediately as lightning poses serious hazards to safety.