We’ve written previous articles about how to keep your home safe while you are away, but today we are going to talk about how to keep yourself safe while on vacation and give you the most important travel safety tips. Unfortunately, even while you are on a carefree vacation, you always need to take precautions to keep yourself and your possessions safe.
1. Let friends and family know your travel itinerary
The first and most important of our travel safety tips is to inform your friends and family of your travel itinerary. Where you are staying, when you should be returning and how to get in contact with you are all pertinent information to ensuring your safety. With that being said, DON’T inform them on your plans on social media! Posting all of your travel details and information can leave you susceptible to burglars at your home while you are away.
2. Always keep your bags and belongings close by
While you are in route, especially if you are flying, keep your belongings close by. Leaving them unattended, even for a quick minute, can leave you vulnerable to theft. If you are out exploring at your travel destination, always be aware of your surroundings and keep your bags closed up tight to avoid pick pockets.
3. Do a security check of your hotel room
Once you arrive at your hotel, do a quick security check. If you have a door that connects to another room, make sure it is closed and dead-bolted. Check windows and front doors for locks and report any broken locks to the front desk and asked to be moved to a different room if they can’t be immediately fixed. Also, if you are traveling with small children, make sure you do a quick room sweep for anything small that could cause choking that might have been left behind or missed by housekeeping.
4. Always keep the extra locks engaged on your hotel room door
Most often hotel room doors have a top lock, either a chain or a metal catch, as well as a deadbolt. Keep these locked whenever you are in your room. Unfortunately, it’s not unheard of that strangers somehow obtain keys to other guests’ rooms. Whether it’s a mistake by the front desk or intentional, you don’t want a stranger to be able to just walk into your room.
5. Use the safe in your room for important travel documents and extra cash
You don’t want to carry around all of your IDs, credit cards, and cash at the same time and in the same place. In the event that you lose your bag or purse, or it gets stolen, you don’t want to lose all of that with it. Keep an emergency stash in the safe in your room and use a code that you won’t forget (for example, your home alarm code). Store any extra jewelry that you aren’t wearing in the safe as well.
6. Identify emergency exits
Most hotels have the closest emergency exit on a sign right on your room door. It’s always a good idea to look at this when you arrive, and just make a quick mental note of the actual location in the hallway on your way out of the hotel. This way, in the event of an emergency, you know exactly where to go.
7. Always be aware of your surroundings
When you are on vacation, it is easy to let your guard down and get lost in the carefree environment (especially when those pool cocktails are flowing). However, the most important tip on this list is this one: always be aware of your surroundings. Know who you are with, where you are going, and how you are getting home. Pay attention to others around you and if you see something that doesn’t feel right, don’t ignore it.
For more travel safety tips, check out your destination and the Travelers Checklist from the State Department. Let us know what you think of this article in the comments!