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Travel Safety Tips

When you're traveling, use the same safety precautions you'd follow if you were in your home city in an unfamiliar area.

  • Lock all hotel room windows and doors at night. Consider packing a rubber or wooden doorstop that you can wedge under your door to prevent intruders from entering (or stack your luggage or a chair in front of the door so that you'll be alerted if someone tries to enter).

  • When you venture outside your hotel or off your ship, stay in the tourist areas, and don't travel to places where you may not see a police presence.

  • If you do go outside the tourist areas, travel only with a reputable guide who's been hired through your travel advisor. After dark, always walk with a partner or a group - never alone.

  • When you go out beyond your hotel, resort, or ship, have a plan. Know where you will go or meet up later if you're separated from your group. If you go out alone, alert someone in your group or the hotel front desk about where you're going and when you plan to return. If you're approached by someone offering things you don't want (e.g., souvenirs, drugs), decline respectfully but firmly and keep walking.

  • Avoid driving locally if you can help it. Instead, hire a professional driver through your travel advisor.

  • If you plan to take excursions (e.g., sightseeing tours, adventure trips) when you travel, book those excursions through your travel advisor so that they'll be operated by reputable companies in your destination.

  • If you're walking alone to your room and you think someone may be following you, enter your room quickly, push the door shut, and begin talking as if you're not alone.

  • If you get into an elevator, allow others to push buttons first so you can see if they're exiting onto your floor; if they are, allow them to get off the elevator first, and go back to the lobby if you feel unsafe.

  • Store valuables in your in-room safe if one is available. But, ask the hotel or ship staffers what happens if you forget the password to your in-room safe - if the answer is "Just press 0000 and it will open," don't use the safe! Also, consider bringing your own portable safe such as this device on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005K6JQXQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_0ft8CbZBAJRCJ?fbclid=IwAR2I4otqpmMOWQPjaJepO7MGS1pasdn8LRH476szLgspVQUqS2F-qosC-L4) with a steel strap that attaches the safe to a heavy piece of furniture in your room.

  • If a maintenance worker comes to your room or cabin, prop open the door so that you won't be alone in the room with the worker. (You might even stand in the open doorway while they are working.)

  • Be careful using public WiFi connections to avoid the risk of hackers capturing sensitive information such as bank accounts or passwords stored on your mobile device or laptop. Make sure you have a password set up for your mobile devices (create strong passwords and change them regularly).

  • If possible, enable location tracking on your mobile devices and install "wiping" software so that you can track them and even delete all data if they are lost or stolen.

  • Consider waiting to post photos, status updates, and location details on your social media until you get home, so that you don't alert thieves where you are (e.g., they may burlarize your home if they know you are out of the country).

  • Avoid carrying all of your credit and debit cards on a trip. Instead, carry a select few and lock up the rest at home.

  • Keep a list of the phone numbers (both toll-free and direct) for your credit and debit cards, your insurance company, and other important sources so that you can alert them if something happens on your trip. Also, consider keeping front-and-back copies of your credit and debit cards saved to a cloud storage service such as Dropbox or Google Drive, as well as a copy of the main page in your passport.

  • Leave a copy of your travel itinerary with a friend or family member at home that includes your flight numbers, your hotel information, and other details, Then, check in regularly with that person.

  • Before you leave on your trip, stop your mail and parcel deliveries so that no one can steal documents or boxes from your mailbox or porch.

  • Don't bring anything with you that you would be heartbroken to lose, such as family heirlooms or expensive jewelry. And, never leave any valuables unattended or out of sight at the beach or the pool.

  • It's OK to drink while you're traveling of course, but eat beforehand and during and have a glass or water between alcoholic drinks.

  • Bring your own cup with a lid (e.g., a travel mug), and never leave your glass unattended.

  • Ask the resort to call a trusted taxi service for you, and request that the same driver provide your return to the resort as well. Set up a specific public location and time with the driver to meet for the return trip.

 

Travel Weekly offers this helpful article on security issues for women traveling alone: https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Focus-on-Security-Traveling-while-female

 

And, here's another travel safety tips article with good advice: https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-travel-spot-safety-tips-solo-woman-traveler-20190421-story.html Here's a handy web site with lots of travel safety tips aimed at business travelers (but applicable to everyone): https://www.corporatetravelsafety.com/safety-tips/

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