How to Protect Yourself While on Vacation

Traveling provides opportunities to relax, sightsee, and soak up other cultures. In all of the excitement, it’s not uncommon for people to let their guard down. Luckily, being alert and taking a few necessary precautions can help you stay safe and protect your belongs while you’re away. Be careful about how much money you carry with you and try to avoid looking like an obvious tourist, since this can make you a target for thieves. It’s also important to have health insurance coverage during your travels, just in case you need medical assistance.

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Securing Your Money and Valuables

1. Keep your cash hidden and limit the amount you carry on you. Flashing money around when you’re traveling can make you an easy target for a thief. Try to avoid pulling out wads of cash from your wallet. Instead, keep a small amount of cash in your pocket and only pull out how much you need when purchasing something.^[1]
   
   • Be extremely careful when taking money from ATMs. Be aware of who's standing behind you, and don’t just stuff the money in your back pocket and walk away.
   • If you’re in another country, use their currency. It makes transactions easier, and using currency from a foreign country might get the attention of thieves.^[2]
2. Stash passports, cash, and credit cards in separate places. Keep a little cash and your credit cards in a wallet or purse. Then, keep additional money and cards in a pocket or money pouch. You can also stash a little more cash in your checked luggage or your carry-on. That way, your money and important documents aren’t all together in one place.^[3]
   
   • Carry your passport separately from your money and credit cards when you’re flying. When you get to the hotel, lock your passport in the hotel safe.
   • Unfortunately, hotel safes aren't 100% foolproof, so you may want to carry the items on your person if you're concerned about theft.
   • Make copies of important documents, IDs, and credit cards in case you lose them.^[4]
3. Keep valuables in your carry-on bag when traveling. It’s best to leave jewelry and other expensive items at home, but if you insist on bringing them, keep them with you in a purse or carry-on bag. Avoid packing them into a regular bag and checking the luggage, which can easily be stolen or searched.
   
   • When you get to your hotel, secure your valuables in the room safe.
4. Carry only the essentials in your wallet. Leave unnecessary forms of identification, like your social security card, at home. You can make copies of other important cards, like your health insurance card, rather than taking the actual cards with you. Store your photo IDs, credit cards, and passport in a secure wallet and take them out as infrequently as possible.^[5]
   
   • Do not travel with your debit card. Use cash, traveler’s checks, or credit cards.^[6]
   • Never leave your wallet unattended.
5. Lock up valuables in your hotel’s safe when you’re out of the room. Laptops, jewelry, passports, extra cash, and documents that have personal information on them should be placed in your room or hotel safe. Avoid leaving these important items in your regular suitcase when you’re out of the room—they are only secure if they’re locked up.^[7]
   
   • If the hotel safe looks sketchy or you don't feel comfortable leaving the items behind, keep them on your person.
6. Protect your devices with strong passwords and encryptions. Be sure to set strong passwords on your mobile phone, laptop, and other electronic devices when you’re traveling. That way, even if your devices are stolen, thieves will have difficulty accessing your private materials and accounts. Be sure to log out of your accounts before putting your devices away.^[8]
   
   • Look into apps that provide additional security for your devices. Cerberus, Prey, and AppLock are just a few examples of anti-theft apps you can check out.
   • Be careful when using public wi-fi spots, since hackers might be able to access your information that way.^[9]

[Edit]Taking Personal Safety Precautions

1. Read the news before departing. Check the news and look for travel advisories from the government before you depart to avoid journeying into a potentially dangerous area. Civil strife, an upswing in crime, or even natural disasters can happen at any time. Be aware of the conditions of the area into which you're traveling.
   
   • The US Department of State provides this nifty site for accessing advisories: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/
2. Don’t advertise your absence on social media. Announcing your travel plans on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram may alert thieves that your home is unattended. If you want to document your travels on social media, set your accounts to private and make sure you know who can see your profiles.^[10]
   
   • If you don't feel secure after taking these measures, post your vacation pictures when you get back from your trip.
3. Dress like a native and try to blend in. Big, bulky cameras, beach bags, floppy hats, and brightly colored clothing may advertise that you're a tourist, which makes you an easy target for theft and pickpocketing. Avoid drawing attention to yourself, carry your camera in a camera bag, and try to blend in with the locals.
   
   • For example, opt for jeans and a T-shirt instead of wearing a loud Hawaiian print shirt and swim shorts.
4. Stay in groups and avoid wandering off alone. Exploring a new place by yourself can be fun, but it can also make you an easy target. Stay in groups when wandering around, and don't venture too far from your hotel at night. Avoid unlit areas at night and stay off beaches after dark. If you plan on sightseeing alone, let friends or family know your planned itinerary.^[11]
   
   • Always know how to contact the local police whenever you enter a foreign area.
   • Listen to your intuition. If a situation or area doesn't feel comfortable, go elsewhere.
5. Wear crossbody bags and purses to deter pickpockets. Fanny packs and loose purses are a pickpocketer's primary targets. Their straps can easily be cut, and the culprit can be off into the crowd without a trace. Instead, wear purses with straps that go across the chest, and keep your wallet in a bag or your breast pocket instead of your back pocket.^[12]
   
   • You can also check out travel backpacks, which have anti-theft features.
6. Remain alert and avoid distractions. It’s easy to get distracted when you’re in a new place, since there’s so much to see and do! Unfortunately, this makes you an easy target. Try to keep your wits about you when you’re walking around and avoid distractions like constantly taking video, looking down for long periods to text or surf the web, and so on. Stay on guard to keep yourself safe.^[13]
   
   • Try to avoid getting intoxicated unless you have family or friends with you who can watch your back.

[Edit]Staying Healthy

1. Research potential health concerns related to your destination. Look into details about your destination so that you’ll know what to expect once you get there. For example, being aware of potential issues like poisonous snakes and spiders, local crime, and the safety of drinking water can help keep you safe and healthy when you’re on the road.^[14]
   
2. Get a checkup and any required vaccinations before you depart. It’s a good idea to get a physical before you travel, especially if you plan to be away for a while, so that you have peace of mind about your own health. If you’re traveling to a place that requires vaccinations, make sure you get them before you depart.
   
   • Bring your vaccination paperwork with you, just in case.
   • It’s not a bad idea to carry hand sanitizer with you, especially in airports and other high-traffic areas.
3. Talk to your health insurance company about travel coverage. Medical assistance while abroad can be very expensive, difficult to find, of dubious quality — or all of the above. Purchasing travel insurance before you leave your home country can protect you if you should fall ill or have an accident while abroad.^[15]
   
   • Coverage amounts and deductibles will vary, but travel insurance can prevent financial catastrophe if something goes wrong.
   • If you're traveling internationally and have Medicare, get supplemental insurance. Medicare doesn’t provide coverage outside the Unites States.
4. Bring your prescription medications in clearly marked bottles. Prescription medications can be a red flag when you’re flying, and can also make you a target to thieves. Keep your medications in bottles with your name, the doctor’s name, and dosage information clearly marked to avoid any issues with flight security. Stash the bottles in a safe place.
   
   • If you plan to be away for a while, make sure you have enough medication to last, since getting refills in other countries can be difficult.
   • If you are prone to motion sickness, be prepared with an over-the-counter medication.

[Edit]Video

[Edit]References

1. ↑ https://www.wisebread.com/7-ways-to-protect-yourself-from-theft-while-traveling
2. ↑ https://www.cboprf.com/protect-yourself-while-on-vacation
3. ↑ https://www.aarp.org/travel/travel-tips/safety/info-09-2012/single-trip-safety-tips-theft.html
4. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/06/13/how-to-protect-your-privacy-when-you-travel/#34db7c231d61
5. ↑ https://www.cboprf.com/protect-yourself-while-on-vacation
6. ↑ https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/how-to-protect-identity-vacation/
7. ↑ https://www.cboprf.com/protect-yourself-while-on-vacation
8. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/06/13/how-to-protect-your-privacy-when-you-travel/#34db7c231d61
9. ↑ https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/how-to-protect-identity-vacation/
10. ↑ https://communities.usaa.com/t5/Travel-Tips/10-Ways-to-Protect-Yourself-and-Your-Stuff-While-on-Vacation/ba-p/202108
11. ↑ https://www.aarp.org/travel/travel-tips/safety/info-09-2012/single-trip-safety-tips-theft.html
12. ↑ https://www.cboprf.com/protect-yourself-while-on-vacation
13. ↑ https://www.aarp.org/travel/travel-tips/safety/info-09-2012/single-trip-safety-tips-theft.html
14. ↑ https://www.aarp.org/travel/travel-tips/safety/info-09-2012/single-trip-safety-tips-theft.html
15. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2018/07/10/seven-ways-to-protect-your-money-while-on-vacation/#695da64f4dd1

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