9 Travel Safety Tips to help you stay safe on your next trip

Staying safe while traveling can be a serious concern for many travelers. To help fellow travelers stay safer we’ve assembled a detailed list of Travel Safety Tips designed to help you do just that.

Travel Safety Tips – 9 Ways to Stay Safe While Traveling

Nowadays, most of the traveling I do is for business. My business travel takes me all over the United States including big cities, small cities and everywhere in between. And generally speaking I don’t run into a lot of unsafe situations occasionally my spidey senses activate and I know I am in a potentially unsafe situation.

More likely, however, your vacation travel is where you will be where you run the greater risk of being unsafe. For example, I recall one trip (a vacation) to Israel and Jordan. For almost all of the trip we felt incredibly safe from any dangers, but on stop, we came out of an tourist exhibit in what I would describe as a bad neighborhood.

No different, really, than a bad part of Detroit or other big city, but we instantly didn’t feel safe.

We didn’t stay their long, but it was a good reminder why it’s important to have a plan to stay safe while traveling.

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No matter what kind of travel you do – be it business, pleasure or bleisure (mixing business travel with some vaca time), or whether you are male, female, or in between, it’s a good idea to have a plan to be safe.

Here are 9 Travel Safety Tips designed to help you stay safe on your next trip.

How can we stay safe while traveling?

Here’s a summary of the 9 Travel Safety Tips you need to stay safe while traveling.

Research the area before you get there
Let someone know where you are going
Travel in groups
Have a plan
Keep your head on a swivel
Consider getting a safety app for your phone
Keyring / pocket can of mace (buy local…can’t travel w/ it, unless you check a bag)
Be careful with free or public wi-fi
Protect valuables in your hotel room

Ok, let’s get to the meat. In the following sections we are going to deep dive into each of these travel safety tips.

Travel Safety Tips #1: Research the area before you get there

Whenever possible, research your destination ahead of time. Is your hotel in a crummy neighborhood? Check the reviews on hotel. Look at the area on Google Maps (satellite view!) and see what’s around it.

If your hotel is across the street from a strip club, gun shop and liquor store you might want to think twice about staying there (or maybe not…).

For international travel destinations do your homework on current safety concerns. The US State Department publishes travel advisories on their website which can be helpful in increasing your awareness.

You can (and should) check out any common travel scams for your destination.

Travel Safety Tips #2: Let someone know where you are going

It’s always smart to let someone else know where you going. Especially if you know are heading into a potentially dangerous area. Post something on social media or drop a loved on a text message.

Check in from time to time to so folks know your safe – especially if you or they might be concerned about the area you are visiting (you know, like Detroit…haha).

Travel Safety Tips #3: Travel in groups

Whenever possible, travel in a group. This is more important at night and if you are staying in areas that you are especially unfamiliar with and that might be a little dangerous.

If you do travel solo – be smart about it, and employ some of the other tips noted in this article.

Travel Safety Tips #4: Have a plan

This is probably the most important travel safety tip. A large part of staying safe while you travel is simply being prepared. Have a plan.

What happens if you do X? Or if A happens? For example, if your rental car breaks down on the lonely road you chose…will the rental car company come get you? Or if you get mugged…do you know krav maga? 🙂

You get the idea. Have a plan for different unsafe situations. Where necessary get training (e.g. a martial art).

Safe Travel Tip #5: Keep your head on a swivel

Maybe it’s because I am a Marine, but my spidey senses usually start tingling when I find myself in a potentially unsafe situation. It’s these sense that usually alert me to the fact the situation is now unsafe.

Really what I am doing is simply paying attention. Keep your head on a swivel. Be aware of your surroundings (e.g. the cute guy who is going to spike your drink at the hotel bar or the fact that this gas station you are filling your rental car up at has no lighting and is across the street from a flop house).

By simply staying alert and aware you can actually avoid many unsafe situations which is always better than trying to deal with them once you are IN an unsafe situation.

Travel Safety Tips #6: Consider getting a safety app for your phone

There are several great travel safety apps designed to help travelers stay a little safer during their travels. They often include travel safety tips as well as mechanism to contact local law enforcement regardless of your locale and methods to keep loved ones apprised of your travel status. Some of the apps even include a panic button feature like Smart Traveler from the US State Department. Check out this list of travel safety apps from GigSky.

Travel Safety Tips #7: Consider a safety device – e.g. Keyring / pocket can of mace (buy local…can’t travel w/ it, unless you check a bag)

A TSA approved size can of travel mace/pepper spray might be a good addition to your travel safety kit. Keep in mind you can’t carry it on the plane so you have to put it in a checked bag or buy it locally.

Travel mace/pepper spray (Check Price)

Alternatively, a SABRE Personal Self-Defense Safety Alarm for your key ring might be a good option to use in situations where danger is imminent.

SABRE Personal Self-Defense Safety Alarm on Key Ring (Check Price)

Travel Safety Tips #8: Be careful with free or public wi-fi

Wi-fi is fairly abundant these days – even in many smaller or less robust countries. However, always be very careful with free wif-fi. Keep your computer’s (or phone) firewall enabled and your antivirus up to date.

Never give personal information out when registering to use free wi-fi (like your address or social security number). And if it feels shady…it probably is.

Always employ good cyber security hygiene like using a firewall and VPN, having current antivirus software and up-to-date patching.

You might be interested in my article Don’t Get Hacked on your Business Trip: 7 Cyber Security Travel Tips for the Business Traveler

Travel Safety Tips #9: Protect valuables in your hotel room

Nothing more frustrating than having your bag rifled through or something valuable like an iPod or some headphones stolen. Avoid leaving pricey items in your hotel room and if you do make an effort to hide them.

For example, there are times when carrying my laptop with me doesn’t make sense and I have to leave it in the hotel room (like going to dinner). I always stuff it into my suitcase, throw some underwear over it and zip the bag shut).

A TSA approved lock might also be a good option to add to your luggage when not in your room. Check Price!

A great hotel hack I use is to put the do not disturb sign on the hotel room door and turn the TV on giving the illusion that someone is in the room. Most nefarious minded staff or people will move on.

You might be interested in 9 Hotel Safety Tips you Need to Know

Some Bonus Tips for Safe Travel

Avoid flashing cash around
Be aware of travel scams – especially ones unique or common to your chosen destination (Travel Scams in Europe)
If traveling international, definitely check with the state department to make sure you know what you are getting into

If you are looking for travel safety tips on avoiding getting robbed, check out this video:

For tips on solo female travel safety check out this video:

Final Thoughts on Traveling Safe

I hope you enjoyed this article on safe travel. If you liked it share it on social media, or pin it! Let us know what your favorite travel safety tips are. Did we miss any?

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And, of course, if you are interested in more travel tips and travel advice and product reviews, you might like these great articles:

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4 comments

Dorota September 19, 2019 - 12:58 am

Being aware of travel scams that happen in the area where we are going are super helpful. Just reading about some tricks, like “hey, this road is closed, let me take you to my taxi/tuk-tuk, I will help you get where you are going”… it made me more alert and helped me avoid getting scammed a couple of times!
Thanks for the article 🙂

Shaily Ahuja October 29, 2019 - 8:13 am

Best travel hacks and trips include booking a budget flight along with keeping an eye on last-minute getaways and all-inclusive trips. Keeping a mini duffle bag in the suitcase will save a lot of space as one can keep the items bought during travelling in it. Checking international calling plans is also recommended when planning for a trip. Use skip-the-line tickets to reach major destinations and for saving time. For packing, using packing cubes is suggested as it keeps the objects organized and saves a lot of space. ITH allows the Travel Smart feature which allows saving the expenses, flexibility in payment, managing itineraries, etc.

Training Express November 1, 2019 - 1:53 am

traveling is enjoyable, isn’t it? We always prefer to enjoy nature and go away from traffic place. But we must try to be safe and this safety guide is really helpful. Thanks

markcobin November 12, 2019 - 10:27 pm

Mostly I prefer to use Safety guide and route maps while in Traveling and up to date about situation I think this is the best safety tips for me overall these safety tips are amazing thanks for sharing.