Travel Safely

Personal safety (also during travel) is always individually and related to two overlapping circles:
One is the emotional part (feel safe), the other is the factual part (e. g. crime numbers).

The emotional part has a special mechanism: from a certain point of fear travelers might "present" themselves as a good victim for crime, e. g. pickpockets.

Always a good advice first: never trust social media or AI.

As an entry it is a good idea to inform yourself by reading "Foreign travel advice" by UK Gov for your destination.

Regarding first hand information: it is always good to look into destination webcams and / or news. If you read numbers, make yourself clear that these are related to a certain amount of traffic of people at a place and often to a certain amount of time, e. g. a year. So if you read that at a place 730 somethings were reported in year x - these are "just" 2 per day; and this on a base of y thousand travelers.

A good advice is often to check national or regional police or security authorities for traveler tips, e. g. in brochures, flyers (example from Berlin Police Department: "Beware of pickpockets!"). Also local tourist offices can help with that.

Good points by both Mark & you.

As an older solo woman traveler who likes my independence when I’m exploring a new city, I have begun to ask the person at the front desk if there are any areas in the center of the city that I should avoid. I was surprised but very appreciative that when I asked at my hotel in Bologna this year, the men paused and pointed to a few streets on the map where they said I should not go.

And when traveling with someone else, have a quick discussion of what your plan will be if something goes wrong. I told my daughter at our Christmas Markets trip to have a general feel for the layout of the markets. (Not in a scary way; just factual). And if anything went wrong, to go, exit as quickly as possible- not worrying about me/giving rational permission to leave me behind. We always wear our money belt with our passport & credit cards, so worse case, she could head for the airport.

Hi MR Ê,

thank you for compiling such a detailed list of safety resources.

That TSA Cares information is a great 'deep cut'—it’s an excellent official tool for travelers with medical or mobility needs that often gets overlooked. Lots of us are getting up there in years.

I did find the overall selection of links, including the one from RAINN, quite unique for typical discussions found here.

While RAINN offers very grounded, practical tips on things like hotel security and trusting your instincts, seeing such a serious advocacy group linked alongside travel tips can feel a bit intense for a general European travel forum. I support their mission. Their work is important. But that mission in the context of a European travel forum, well, made me think either I am blind to what happens with a lot rick steves style European tourism or maybe that source is not one I'd choose in a general safety skills post.

I sometimes worry that focusing on such specialized resources-- such as other sources you cited too-- might make travel feel more high-risk than it usually is for the average visitor. Do you find these specific sources provide clearer guidance for your own trips than standard authoritative sources like the U.S. State Department advisories or UK Foreign travel advice? Again, I might be missing the boat. In either case, thanks for sharing your research with the group!

Happy travels!

I believe most safety/security problems do not come from without but are brought on by travelers themselves. Injuries and illnesses often go hand in hand with travel. Many do not anticipate the conditions on the ground or the stress factors that come with independent travel and aggressive sightseeing plans. Cobblestones, overstuffed luggage, weird staircases, heat/humidity, time-zone changes, etc. are often not given due attention. Muscle strains, mental fatigue, etc. might seem minor, but the itinerary "treadmill" has no "off" switch, and the absence of therapy/rehab/recovery time can lead to falls and other more serious conditions. And... alcohol and other substance use/abuse can be trickier abroad and cause more/bigger issues/accidents while traveling than it would back home,where the user/abuser has a system in place for managing it. I wonder how many times the loss of valuables has been due to mental stress and inebriation vs. actual theft.

Safety is a major part of decisions that I make while traveling. I error on the side of caution, particularly as a solo female. It doesn’t mean that I don’t go out and explore, I just choose how I do it. If I want to go for a short hike, I take a photo of the trail head , text it to my son along with the time I expect to be back. If there is service, I’ll send a few more pictures along the way. When I return, I text I’m back and he goes off hiking buddy duty.

I will tend to join day tours in locations where logistics are complicated or there is some concerns about safety in general. I’ve had to skip swimming a few times at beautiful beaches since I don’t swim alone without a lifeguard on duty.

There is a flip side to the safety story in that people are sometimes scared away from perfectly fine locations due to rumors or stereotypes. If you use situational awareness and common sense it goes a long way.

I do the same thing as Carol now retired when i walk alone at a state park near my home. This is just commonsense anytime you hike alone.

Carol now retired, thats some of what someone who travels often would consider the basics but might not cross the mind of the individual taking her first trip. It’s the sort of advice in that first link I posted. Self-empowerment for safe tourism ... (maybe). A world of difference from the state department country safety reports ... but when the two are combined you should have a more relaxed feeling about a trip. But you know. The links were there to start a conversation. Conversations are how smart people learn more ... and even help dummies like me. Its probably the most important thing I learned from reading Aristotle.

But you hit on something else that I have become more aware of myself. Sort of embarrassed it took so long. You travel alone as a woman. I travel with my wife and 7 kids. The question "Is ___________ safe?" May very well have a totally different answer for each of us. I only listed two categories of unique situations above. Single female is yet another and I presume with some thought there could be many more. I always harp on people filling out the profile page on the RS forum. This is the reason why. So you know the context of their answers (the WASP said it was safe, but he didn’t know that i am Latino ... is it still as safe for me?) and maybe the context of the information you should provide when they ask a question (I have no problem in _________ , but I am a straight middle aged white guy, you might want to consider ... if you do go because .... ).

I haven’t got any answers to any of this. More listening and learning than anything else?

Jean, that first link that I posted addresses the preparation for things going wrong. I assumed everyone plans for the worse and is prepared, but maybe i am wrong, so the link I posted does a good job of reminding that its something to be considered. If nothing else, do it for the kids. They don’t need to mess with figuring out the nightmare you leave behind.

In my case all the bones are listed out in detailed description with wills, contracts, lists of assets contacts and accounts and payment dates and forms of payment and .... on and on. I can be dead for a solid 12 months before a bill payment is missed. My attorney has a link to one digital password protected copy and my S.O. has a hard copy and there is another carefully put away. There is a less risky list of all my doctors and prescriptions, insurance and ID cards and contacts for if I am hurt on a trip. Again, the attorney the S.O. and my kids have copies and there is a link to it in my wallet. Nothing there compromises bank accounts or credit cards or anything else that has value to thieves. But the attorney is linked and he has that if needed. But then, I travel to Ukraine, so not a bad idea. LOL. Of course I have never felt unsafe in Ukraine.

Russ, how right you are. So much of that comes to light when doing your homework. Which incidentally is also among the first suggestions in that first link I posted. Still, with all of my precautions, stone sober, I read a sign that said "caution slippery" in English no less ... what did I do, over the objection of the S.O.? I put my food down on it. The next thing I know my toes were at eye level and I knew my head was going be smashed on the concrete, so I held on to the handrail for dear life. I am on blood thinners and severe head trauma is a death sentence. Well, the arm holding the rail twisted about half way around but saved me .... while shredding my rotator cuff at the same time. Welcome to Croatia!!!!! Such is life. But on holiday you really need to slow down and remember you don’t have the same support network or knowledge of emergency services..... Slippery means a lot more than it does in Texas or Budapest.

David, if you were to read the information in the links and compare them to the US State Department Advisories, I think the difference in topic is self-evident. Reading the other discussions that followed your question I also think will help you understand what boat you were missing. Why RAINN presented the information is a question for them. But I think they did good service to travelers.

A few things I have thought of as I have traveled more are:
1) Knowing the telephone number for emergencies in each country. I travel solo mostly and sometimes have a car on my own. Accidents or health emergencies can happen without a warning.
2) Having the U.S. Embassy contact info on my trip planning document.
3) I don’t know that it’s useful, but my kids are able to track my location (It only helps if someone tells them to look - lolol).

They aren’t specifically related to physical safety and I hope I don’t ever need to rely on them.

TTM, thats exactly the sort of thing on the RAINN link list above. I think the State Department advisories also include the phone numbers for emergencie and they often include English speakiing doctors and attorneys so its helful for that as well, but they dont touch on procedres that make issues easier to cope with. Like carrying your meds on the plane and making digital and hard copy records of everything and ... well the RAINN list is pretty good. Nothing terrifying or over the top or that will make anyone uncomfortable about travel.

For me most of the best things that came out of this thread are as much general life things than travel things:

1/ The reminder of how much good sense it makes to document all of your circumstances and share that with someone you trust, so that if something does keep you out of action for an extended period of time all the right people get notified and the mortgage payments continue to be made, uninterrupted.

2/ The reminder to organize and document all your medical information, prescriptions, doctor names, insurance information and who to contact. Something that the ambulance driver will find or your travel buddy can keep.

3/ The helpfulness of a travel buddy, even if that travel buddy is a virtual travel buddy as Carol now retired describes. Someone you can stay in touch with, and someone who will miss you if you don’t check in. Brilliant idea for solo travelers.

4/ The reminder to check the State Department and the CDC travel advisories and enroll in STEP.

GerryM, I wish you had left your post. It was a good start to how complicated life is. Generalizations and Stereotypes usually contain truth but aren't truth. Always more to it and your comment was a lot more true than not.

Thank you Mr E. The info you provided served both as a reminder and connected me to some new resources.

There is one travel practice that I will share. Not new or revolutionary. I have done a ton of business travel since before cell phones became popular. I Always have a paper copy of the hotel address in my pocket. In a worse case situation (no cell phone, no wallet) I can always flag down a taxi and have them take me to the hotel.

George H, I do something similar. Sometimes you end up in a place like Hungary where they have 14 vowels. No way without Hungarian genetics are you going to pronounce them correctly and different words can be spelled exactly the same except for a couple of dots over a vowel and as a result the meaning changes completely. The written word sometimes can be a life saver.