Traveling by yourself is a liberating experience. You don’t have to answer to another person, and as such you are in charge of the daily itinerary. Autonomy can truly be a beautiful and fulfilling endeavor. At the same time, there is a personal responsibility to do so in a smart manner. We’ll break down five ways that can help ensure that your trip is on the safe side of things.
Alert Your Family and Friends
At the very least, you should let your family and friends know where you’re traveling. This includes the hotels you’re staying at or the addresses of the Airbnb locations you may be temporarily renting. Should there be any sort of emergency, your loved ones will at the very least know where to look. Traveling off the grid can make things dangerous and reckless — especially when getting help could be more difficult. From an electronics standpoint, grabbing a portable charger might also be a smart move. It would not be ideal to run out of battery in a country where you don’t speak the language — especially in a situation or environment that might be unsafe.
Research Your Surroundings
Before traveling to your destination, it would behoove you to familiarize yourself with your surroundings. Are you staying in a nice neighborhood with bustling nightlife? A quiet, suburban one where things close early? A rougher neighborhood with a higher crime rate? Along with this, do your due diligence on the public transportation systems. It could make sense to use them during the day, though you may pivot to a ride-share company in the evening. Make things easier on yourself when it comes to researching food options as well as attractions. By going in knowing rough estimates on distances and in regards to potential routes, you’ll be better served to avoid issues.
Be Aware of Your Surroundings
Keep your head on a proverbial swivel. The last thing you’d want to do is be careless with yourself or your possessions. Don’t leave your bag on the ground, and even be cautious in crowded areas carrying it on your back. When taking public transportation, keep your bag in your lap with your arms tightly around it. If walking in the streets and you feel uncomfortable for whatever reason, duck into an establishment and reset with the help of WiFi and the safety of being inside. Don’t put yourself in situations where you’re walking by yourself down dark, quiet streets late at night. All of this should be common sense — though it sometimes goes out the window when in a new, exciting setting.
Have Emergency Contacts Ready
Aside from your usual emergency contacts you’d have in your phone, a smart thing to do would involve researching emergency numbers in the country you’re visiting. Write down the phone numbers for local police. The same should occur for emergency services like an ambulance. If staying in a hotel, ask the front desk for help with these two categories. Should you be staying at a rental, ask the owners for the same sort of information. It’s always better to be prepared for the worst rather than be ill-prepared during a situation of crisis.
Keep Traveling Solo To Yourself
Being a tourist, you don’t really want to announce to the area that you are, indeed, a tourist. Keep a low profile, and dress minimally rather than showing off with garish jewelry and designer-brand items. You could make yourself a target by portraying yourself in such a manner. Also, when meeting people, concealing the fact you’re traveling alone is the best move. You never want to think the worst of people, but there are some crazy characters out there. If you do happen to mention you are by yourself, you could make yourself a target to be taken advantage of in dangerous ways.
