Traveling alone could be the best experience of your life. But whether you’re visiting some of the world’s most popular destinations or going to remote places to recharge, it’s important to stay safe.
Solo travelers often experience the most unfortunate circumstances on their journeys. But with a few tips up their sleeve, they’ll be able to get the most from their travels. So, let’s check out some of the best practices to follow to ensure a safer and more enjoyable trip.
Research Beforehand
It doesn’t matter if the destination is just a neighboring city or a country on the other side of the world. Some research about the place beforehand can save you a lot of trouble.
Primarily, it could save time. Travelers can learn about the best restaurants in the city, interesting nightclubs, and historical locations worth seeing before leaving. On the other hand, learning about the places to avoid and sketchy parts of the town will make it easier to stay safe.
It’s a good idea to check online reviews for hotels or other accommodation options to make sure they’re not located in bad neighborhoods.
Staying safe also means taking care of your health while traveling. Some research will show whether any medicine of vaccinations will be needed when visiting certain locations.
Blending in
It’s rather easy to spot a tourist, and pickpockets often attack the easiest prey. To avoid looking too much like a tourist, it’s best to research the fashion and cultural trends when looking into a destination.
This is especially true for women traveling to more conservative countries. Respecting their dress code and behaving appropriately will provide more safety for them.
Even when it’s impossible to look like a local (because of race or language, for example), appearing as if you’re a long-time expat will keep you safer.
Getting Travel Insurance
The travel insurance market is growing, but there are still millions of travelers who prefer to save money by not buying it. It cannot be stressed enough how important travel insurance is.
Depending on the insurance, travelers can be covered in the case of lost luggage, natural disasters, medical emergencies, and more. Checking out a few insurance companies to find the best price and the best policy is advised.
Avoid Keeping All of Your Valuables in the Same Place
The best course of action is to keep all smartphones, laptops, expensive gadgets, money, passports, etc. on your person. Storing them in the carry-on luggage will keep them safe.
However, it’s best not to keep everything in the same place once the destination is reached. In case of a robbery, all items could be lost.
All travel documents should be well hidden and protected. And keeping a small amount of cash someplace safe in the luggage can be lifesaving in an emergency.
Getting Backup
This refers to all important documents used while traveling. If the passport goes missing, and your wallet with all the credit cards is stolen, it will result in trouble.
Saving the front-and-back copies of credit cards, passports, and visas on the cloud can make this situation a lot easier to handle.
Ensuring Online Safety
Cybersecurity is still a concern, even during a vacation. Since roaming data is often rather expensive, most travelers connect to the free public WiFi.
Public WiFi brings many risks. Since the connection is open to everyone, crooks with some basic hacking skills can gain access to any device on the network.
This is especially risky for those still doing business on their travels and accessing sensitive company data and files.
You want to stay safe and still use public WiFi? The only way to get the best of both worlds is to rely on a VPN. A Virtual Private Network (you can get one here) creates a hidden and encrypted connection to any network, making it invisible and inaccessible to outsiders.
While ensuring security is the main feature, a VPN can also allow users to access content that is censored in certain countries. This includes Facebook, Netflix, Google, etc.
The only way to truly enjoy traveling is to know how to stay safe. Nothing can really guarantee complete safety, but following these tips will ensure that the travelers are at least well-prepared.