Tips on Staying Safe When Traveling Alone
Traveling alone means that safety should be one of your primary concerns, especially in certain areas around the world such as big cities or places with high crime rates. Being alone just makes you that little bit more exposed than when you are traveling with people, as well as the fact that travel by nature means you’ll be out and about more than the average person. You can never of course completely guarantee your own safety but there are steps which you can make which can drastically reduce your chances of getting into trouble.
Hide The Jewels
Most of us carry some pretty expensive kit with us when we travel such as smartphones, laptops, cameras and of course your own clothing and accessories. All of these items should stay at your hotel when you go out and about in a region which doesn’t feel entirely safe. Carrying a camera around your neck with all of your jewelry on and waiving your smartphone about is an invitation to somebody with nefarious intentions, don’t make it so easy for them.
Dress To Fit
There is a notion which many have that tourists and travelers, especially from developed nations, have an abundance of money, anyone who has solo traveled will attest to the fact that this couldn’t be further from the truth! Nonetheless this is the opinion which many have, which is why it is important to try your best to fit in. No matter where you are in the world, try to dress like the locals do in order to blend into the crowd a little easier.
Smart Stops
When consulting a map, either on a device or a paper map, try to make sure that you do this in smart places, and not just stopping on the street to check where you are. Once again this is just an advertisement to all watching that you aren’t from around these parts, and that you could potentially be lost. Scammers and criminals look for any opportunity which they can to prey on their victims, so make sure that you use places like restaurants, cafes and bathrooms to check out your map, in order to avoid standing out. Also make sure to check reviews of accommodation to see what people say about safety. You can see lots of information about quality places to stay that are safe on Hotels.com.
Stay Sober
It’s nice to have a couple of drinks in a new place but if you know that it may not be the safest of areas it makes much more sense to leave the alcohol and stay sober in order to keep your wits about you. When intoxicated we can easily make poor decisions or put ourselves at risk, but this could have disastrous consequences.
Trust Your Gut
Ultimately you need to trust your instincts when you are out and about, if somewhere doesn’t look or feel right then don’t go there. There are many signs which our senses can pick up and if you walk down a certain street or you wander into an area which sets off alarm bells in your head, turn around and head back to somewhere you do feel safe.
Keep your wits about you and try as best as you can not to make yourself stand out, do that and you can give yourself the best chances of staying safe.
