How to Stay Safe When You’re Traveling Abroad

Traveling to foreign countries is exciting but also unpredictable. It’s important to take the necessary precautions and security measures to stay safe, especially if you are traveling alone.

Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or you’re heading on your first trip abroad, your safety should always be your number one priority. Thankfully, with some preparation and planning, you can keep yourself out of harm’s way and make the most of your trip.

Below, we have covered some top tips for staying safe when you’re traveling abroad.

Organize Travel Medical Insurance

You will need either separate travel and medical insurance plans or a combined policy. With insurance coverage, you can keep yourself safe no matter where you’re going.

Travel insurance protects you in the event of disruptions to your travel plans, such as severely delayed or canceled flights, lost or stolen luggage, or natural disasters that prevent you from traveling to your chosen destination. Your insurance provider will cover some of the costs of rearranging your travel plans or retrieving lost luggage.

Health insurance enables you to access healthcare services in your travel destination, including hospitals and community clinics. You can receive medical treatments, therapies, and surgeries through your health insurance provider to ensure you stay as healthy as possible during your travels.

You can add specific health coverage to your policy, too, such as eye health travel checks, dental care, and maternity care.

Travel health insurance combines the above policies into a single plan that offers extensive coverage. With a combined plan, you can save money while still gaining the benefits of travel and medical insurance, allowing you to enjoy your trip free of stress and worry.

Buy a First Aid Travel Kit

Get yourself a small, travel-sized first aid kit that you can keep in your backpack during your trip. Having a first aid kit on hand when you’re out and about enables you to treat minor injuries until you can get to a nearby hospital or medical facility.

You can purchase basic first aid travel kits online that contains all of the essential supplies you need for traveling abroad. Make sure it includes bandages, alcoholic wipes, sterile gloves, medical tape, and scissors.

Keep Your Loved Ones Informed of Your Movements

It’s imperative that you keep your loved ones informed about where you’re going when you’re traveling abroad, particularly if you’re on your own. When your loved ones know where you plan on going and for how long, they can raise the alarm if they don’t hear back from you within a reasonable amount of time and inform the necessary people.

Each morning, text your closest friends and relatives to tell them what your plans are for the day. Tell them that you will check in with them throughout the day to keep them informed about your movements.

Keep Copies of Your Important Documents

Traveling requires a number of legal documents, including those for your passport, visa, identification, and insurance plans. Keeping multiple copies of these documents means you won’t get stuck if you lose the original copies.

Ideally, you should have at least one physical and digital copy of your original legal documents. Keep them in a safe storage space, such as a plastic wallet or folder.

Preventing the loss or theft of your legal documents protects your identity and ensures that you can travel to your desired destinations with ease. It also enables you to safely get back home at the end of your trip.

Be Vigilant

Walking around an unfamiliar place on your own presents a number of potential safety issues. You could easily get lost, run into the wrong group of people, or have some of your belongings stolen while traveling alone.

Being aware of your surroundings will reduce the chance of running into trouble and ending up in dangerous situations. Staying vigilant enables you to spot danger and take action to seek safety.

Always avoid dimly lit areas that seem suspicious or intimidating. If you need to walk anywhere at night, make sure you bring somebody else along with you for extra safety.

Keep a List of Emergency Contacts on Hand

It’s a good idea to keep a list of emergency contacts on your phone and also on a piece of paper that you can keep safe inside your wallet or pocket. Having emergency contacts available means you can call for help if you’re in a difficult situation.

Consider getting the local emergency numbers in your travel destination, such as those for the police and emergency medical services.

You may also want to search for the numbers of the country’s embassy where you’re traveling. Researching these numbers before you set off enables you to sort out legal issues, such as a lost passport, as quickly as possible.

Of course, you should also keep the contact numbers of your accommodation reception or security staff and your closest family and friends so you’ve got people you can rely on for help and advice in times of need.