35 Critical Safety Tips for Travelers: Traveling Safely Made Simple

Learn some of the tips for safe travel that I’ve used in my extensive travels abroad and locally!

I like spontaneity as much as the next person, but being prepared for anything will leave your travels far less stressful and more enjoyable. Having traveled to 90+ countries, 50+ of which were as a solo female traveler, on 6 different continents, safety when traveling really resonates with me.

If you’re considering venturing out on your first solo trip, or simply looking for more ways to stay safe while traveling, you’ve come to the right place! Here are 35 travel safety tips to help keep you protected wherever you are traveling.

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Follow Basic Traveling Safely Tips

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No matter where you are in the world, at home or abroad, you know those safety tips that you always follow? Don’t walk down dark alleys alone. Don’t leave your drink unattended. They all apply internationally too. Use your many years on this earth to travel smarter and wiser!

1. Be Aware of Your Surroundings

When traveling alone, especially as a woman, you need to be aware of your surroundings. In addition to avoiding those dark alleys, you’ll want to make sure not to be enthralled with your phone or camera while walking. Stay alert.

If you notice you’re wandering into a less nice part of town with bars on the windows, sketchy people about, or even worse, no people around, it’s time to turn around.

2. Take Care of Yourself

It’s easy to get carried away in the moment and have a lot of fun! But you’ll want to still be careful about who you trust. Don’t take drinks from strangers. Don’t accept rides from people you don’t know. Don’t drink too much or alter your state of being to where you can’t make good decisions.

Unfortunately, your safety when traveling is up to you! You have a lot of responsibility for yourself, so take that responsibility seriously.

3. Walk Confidently

When in doubt, fake it ’til you make it! Even if you’re feeling uneasy or have no clue where you’re going, walk confidently. It’s a surefire way to help keep those looking for an easy target at bay.

4. Always Trust Your Gut

Traveling features constant decision making. While some are small decisions, like do I set an alarm for tomorrow or what am I going to eat for lunch, there are a lot of important decisions that come up too.

When in doubt, always trust your gut. You’ve had years of experience assessing people and places and traveling is no different! If something seems too good to be true, there may be a reason.

5. Know When to Be Rude or Loud

While being polite and not making a scene comes naturally – particularly to women, there is a time and place that you need to be the opposite. If you want someone to stop following you or harassing you, be firm. Even be rude if needed.

Just be aware that you are not alone with the person in question when you do this as it could escalate the situation. But if you are in a public space, draw attention to the situation. Your safety comes first.

6. Be Abstract When Necessary

Generally telling the truth is best, but sometimes you just need to stretch that truth to keep yourself safe. Have you ever had someone ask where you’re staying? Give them a general part of town – near Plaza Mayor. They don’t need more specifics than that.

Besides, we’ve all seen Taken, right? Similarly, if someone is really interested in where you’re going, don’t provide specific destinations unless it’s someone you trust.

Is someone really interested that you’re traveling alone? It may be in your best interest to say you’re late meeting your friend for dinner, or whatever excuse can get you out of an uneasy situation.

Similarly, if you need to be fake married to deter some strange man from pursuing you, make sure your “husband” is big and aggressive. Remember your safety comes first. Think fast and commit to your story.

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Safety Tips to Travel Like a Pro

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Here are some safety tips for traveling to help you build your confidence and make your travels so much less stressful – even in an emergency. After all, the goal of traveling is to have fun and experience new things, right?

7. Always Carry Identification

While you shouldn’t carry your passport with you at all times, it is wise to keep some identification with you – just in case. This could be a simple copy of your passport photo page.

I actually laminated a couple of “ID cards” before taking off on my year+ abroad and to this day I carry them on every international trip! They have my passport on the front as well as my emergency contact information on the back. Heaven forbid something happens to me, whoever is involved would know to contact my embassy and family.

8. Have an Emergency Stash of Money

When packing, you’ll want to keep your money, debit, and credit cards split up in at least two different places. Typically you should carry some with you and leave the remainder in your luggage while out exploring. The main reason is “just in case”.

Maybe your ATM or debit card is not being accepted at the local ATMs or perhaps the machine has eaten it (yikes!). You don’t want to be stuck on your own, in a foreign country, with no money. Having a stash of even just $100 – 200 gives you time to assess how to get your hands on your bank account.

This could mean getting someone back home to Western Union you money. Or maybe it’s having your bank expedite a new card your way. Whatever the best option may be, you need to have enough money to do things like feed yourself and stay somewhere safe while you wait it out.

9. Try to Arrive During the Day

There’s nothing quite like arriving to a new city or location in the middle of the night. You might have to walk through and navigate abandoned streets by yourself. (Hello Fez, Morocco!) You may have to try and find transportation when options are limited. (Kalaw, Myanmar at 3am for the win!) Or even worse, you could be stuck out on the street with a bunch of drunk men. (Looking at you Istanbul, Turkey!)

While it is not always possible, it is preferable to try and arrive during the day – particularly if you are a woman traveling alone! There will be more people around, and you can get the feel for the city, culture, and customs during the daylight.

10. Keep Your Belongings Close

When possible, keep your bags with you. This goes for on trains, planes, buses, taxis, etc. The less you can let it out of your sight, the better.

This is for a number of reasons. Baggage handlers could go through your things causing valuables to go missing. Someone else could take your bag, on purpose or on accident. Your bag could be held captive by your taxi driver for excessive fees.

If you have your bag with you, you are more flexible and able to move as needed. This includes if you want to catch an earlier flight – your bag will make the flight with you!

Additionally, when walking around town, souks, or other crowded areas, adjust your belongings to be more secure. If you have a day pack or cross-body purse, swing it around in front of you. Remove things like your phone from your pockets and put them into a safer zipper compartment. You may even want to lock your bag.

This is part of why I always try to pack in a carry-on! It’s small enough to keep close, even in tight quarters.

11. Be Cautious about Going Out at Night Alone

Crime is more likely to happen at night when there are less people out and about, and it’s easier for criminals to hide. If you’re in a city like London or Tokyo, going out in the evening by yourself is much less of a concern, but in general, if you want to go explore at night, try to find a group to go with.

Join a tour or a pub crawl. Make friends during the day to have dinner and drinks with that evening. Determine the safest way to get around at night and spend the money on a taxi or Uber if necessary.

Learn more: 12 Easy Ways to Make Friends While Traveling Alone

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Do Your Research to Stay Safe Traveling

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Whether you do your research before you go, or ask around once you land, it’s important to get to know the ins and outs of your destination. Most importantly, you need to know the key things needed to travel safely while enjoying your trip.

12. Select Accommodations Wisely

If you’re booking your accommodations ahead of time, verify that the location of your selected hotel, Airbnb, hostel, etc. is safe – particularly for solo female travelers. Most booking sites offer reviews so you can get a feel for it based on other travelers experiences.

Additionally, if you’re considering an Airbnb or Couchsurfing where you have a host that will be sharing the space, read the reviews on them. It’s important to know that you and your belongings will be safe while you’re at your accommodations and while you’re out and about exploring. Unfortunately, it’s something you need to think about.

Read more: Is Couchsurfing safe?

13. Know the Bad Parts of Town

One of the things you can ask when you check into your accommodations is if there are any parts of town you should avoid. This opens up the conversation with a local to tell you if there are bad parts of town, common scams, high crime rate, etc. And it can be very eye opening!

14. Be Aware of Popular Scams

Popular tourist areas tend to have equally common scams. These can often be read about beforehand or you can learn about them on the ground. It’s just important to learn about them before you are taken advantage of! In most cases, scams are purely for financial gain vs. physical harm, but both are important for optimizing safety when traveling!

Maybe locals take you to an overpriced café. Maybe they sell you art that they promise to ship, and it will never arrive. Or, perhaps your taxi driver will hold you hostage and demand outrageous sums of money. Sadly, these things all happen frequently. Read up on these before you go and second guess anything that seems out of the ordinary.

15. Know the Best Way to Get Around

Different cities and countries come with different challenges. Maybe the taxis are controlled by the government or maybe they are controlled by gangsters. Is it safe to walk during the day? At night? Or is it better to take a taxi or Uber? Unfortunately, some of these traveling safety tips aren’t standardized across locations, and you need to do your research to know the area you’re traveling to.

When in doubt, try to take Uber or a similar service if you have cell reception or a SIM card. It enables you to track who is picking you up, where you are on the route, when you should be there, and how much it will cost. There’s the added bonus of cash doesn’t exchange hands. It’s all done in the app.

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Try to Be Inconspicuous When Traveling

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Being a foreigner can be quite conspicuous making staying safe while traveling more difficult. Trust me. I am 6 feet tall (~183 cm), pale, with giant curly strawberry-blonde hair, and blue eyes. I don’t blend in in most of Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, or Central and South America.

This automatically means you will be treated differently and potentially receive unwanted attention, stares, etc. so do your best to blend in.

16. Dress Appropriately

For the love of everything good in the world, consider your destination and what you pack and wear for your trip. If you are in Antarctica, you won’t be wearing your best poolside attire. Similarly, if you are going to a small town in a conservative country, you shouldn’t be wearing a mini skirt and tube top.

This is always a sensitive topic as many people feel that they can dress how they want as it is their body, and it’s part of who they are and how they express themselves. This is totally understood. However, please consider that it will not only gain you unwanted attention which could impact your safety when traveling, but it can also be offensive to some cultures to show too much skin. It’s a sign of respect to dress appropriately.

If you don’t know what is appropriate to wear, just Google it. There are tons of travel bloggers out there to help you out!

17. Follow Local Customs

Have you had that moment when you step out onto the street to go to dinner to find that you are the only female about? It’s unsettling at best. While I might not understand all customs, as a guest in their country, I recommend trying to follow local customs as best you can. It can both show respect and help keep you safe.

18. Conceal Your Valuables

If you are traveling to a foreign country, you are already considered to be wealthy, never mind if you are or not. Due to this, if someone is looking for an easy way to fill their pockets, you could be their ticket.

Don’t carry unnecessary valuables, and consider leaving things, like your engagement ring, flashy jewelry, or watches, at home. Also be cautious of walking with things like an expensive camera or your phone out. It’s easy for someone to run past and grab your purse, camera, phone, etc. right out of your hand.

Take cues from the locals. If they are all using their smart phones and wearing jewels, don’t worry as much. But if poverty is rampant, know that your smart phone could cost more than they make in a couple of months and don’t wave it around carelessly.

19. Avoid Uncomfortable Situations

If you’re in a slightly uncomfortable situation on the street, like you’re lost and really need to figure out where you are or someone is following you, get out of there. This doesn’t mean take off running, but rather step into a store, restaurant, or hotel.

In most cases the shop/hotel will be able and willing to help. Or they can simply be a deterrent to anyone who was paying too much attention to you. If you’re a solo female traveler, it’s likely that you will need to do this at some point.

If you need to find your way, while you’re inside a shop or hotel is a great time to pull out your map or your phone to find directions. If you need wifi, ask. If you’re in a country where your language is less spoken, consider using a translator app or trying an international hotel chain where they are more likely to speak additional languages.

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Stay Connected with Friends & Family

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The biggest concern of many parents is what if their precious child decides to do something crazy like take up traveling alone to those scary foreign countries?! Now, their fears are founded. It is a big world. You are out on your own. You have no one to depend on but yourself. But there are also so many rewards for traveling!

Here are some safety tips for travelers that give your loved ones the little bit of peace they need while aiding in your own safety traveling around the world.

20. Share Your Itinerary

If you’ve planned your whole trip ahead of time, leave a copy of your itinerary with your friends or family. Include where you’ll be, how you’re getting there, where you’re staying, etc.

If you haven’t planned your trip out ahead of time, consider hosting a shared document on Google Drive where you can update it as you make plans. Or, if you have cell reception, consider sharing your location with friends or family so they have up to the moment location tracking!

21. Keep Your Phone Charged

In most cases nowadays, your phone is your lifeline. It may be your camera, your map, and your connection to the outside world. Not only do you want to keep it on you at all times, but you’ll also want to keep it charged. It’s a simple travel safety tip but an important one!

This could mean you need a to have an external battery pack for when it starts to run low. Of course a battery pack is also great when you have long transportation rides or are staying in a hostel and don’t have an outlet readily available.

22. Use Social Media Wisely

This may seem ridiculous, but if you’re traveling alone, particularly as a solo female traveler, you will want to be cautious of how and when you post your travels to social media. This is particularly true for any media that allows anyone to follow you (not just friends), like Instagram or TikTok. It’s best to not post you are in a specific spot until you have left, just to keep some additional sense of safety.

You don’t want anyone who is following your channel to know where you are and that you are by yourself, particularly overnight when you may be sleeping in a treehouse, a beach front bungalow, or camping.

23. Backup Your Documents

Leave a copy of your important documents at home with your loved ones and keep a copy within your reach secured online, like on Google Drive. This includes not just your itinerary but also your credit and debit cards, passport, travel visas, flight information, etc.

This way, if something were to happen, you can easily cancel those credit and debit cards or more easily replace your passport or visas as needed by having proof that they did indeed exist, including their specific numbers.

Find more details about the 9 essential things you should do before traveling abroad.

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Travel Insurance for Safer Traveling

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While we’ll cover the traditional type of travel insurance, there are other ways to help ensure you stay safe when traveling. We’ll dive into a few of the traditional insurance options as well as give you as many alternate options as possible to stay safe. After all, every safety tip for traveling adds just a bit more security to your trip!

24. Always have Travel Insurance

You’ll find all travel bloggers tell you that you need travel insurance. And it’s true. Not just because they may make a dollar or two if you sign up, but because it really does provide a backup in times that can be very distressing, like getting sick or injured away from home, having things stolen or go missing, etc. I always travel with World Nomads travel insurance.

These life altering moments become significantly less concerning when you simply need to reach out to your travel insurance provider. They will help you navigate the process for seeking medical help or emergency evacuation.

You’ll also find that if your purse is stolen abroad or your whole backpack or suitcase disappears, they will help you immediately replace the necessities and cut the financial burden.

Read more: Is Travel Insurance Worth It? An Inside Look from an Avid Traveler

25. Depend on Women

If you’re a female, when in doubt, ask other women. Whether you need directions or someone is making you uneasy and you need an easy out, other women are the go to. This goes for accommodations and on transportation.

Consider staying in a female only dorm room if it makes you more comfortable. Couchsurf or Airbnb with female hosts. Sit next to other females on public transit. Take the women only train cars if they are available.

There is an unspoken kind of camaraderie amongst women – particularly amongst solo female travelers. There are also plenty of groups online, like on Facebook, that can link you up with other female travelers.

26. Take a Tour

When in doubt, sign up for a tour. Your safety is number one. If you don’t think you are ready to try traveling on your own, there’s no shame in finding a tour to join. You’ll have the safety net of the tour company and the other travelers on your tour.

Or, if you’re going to a location where its hard to get around or it’s not the safest, it can be very wise to opt for a tour. There are endless tour companies out there. I recommend checking out Get Your Guide or Viator. Just do your research, find one that fits what you’re looking for. Make sure to read the reviews.

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Hedge Your Safety Bets with Additional Travel Safety Tips

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Still feeling uneasy about the safety while traveling? Take it one step further and hedge your bets in every way you can to give yourself peace of mind. Overtime you’ll learn what is overkill, what is needed, and how much stronger you are than you thought.

27. Take Self Defense Before You Go

If you’ve never taken self-defense, I highly recommend taking at least one class. This is something I’d even stick under “critical” for solo female travelers. Learn to throw a punch and hit the most sensitive spots on a body. Give yourself a fighting chance just in case things do go wrong.

While you will likely never need it, or even use it if you need it (Hello fight or flight response!), it will help put your mind at ease. You are not helpless. You are very capable. You just need to know it and feel it.

28. Carry a Defense Mechanism

An alternative is to carry something to defend yourself with. This is a bit trickier as different countries have various concealed carry laws where even mace may be illegal, but do your research. Also be careful of what you are carrying whenever you fly!

Whether it’s a rape whistle, a self defense personal alarm, knife, taser, pepper spray, bear spray, or even hair spray, the most important part is to know where it is, be able to access it quickly, and know how to use it.

29. Keep at Least One Hand Free

One of the benefits of packing light is it helps you remain agile and keeps your hands free. Most crimes are simply crimes of opportunity. Are you distracted? Have you set down a bag or phone to do something else? You don’t want to be so overwhelmed with things that you can’t hang on to your own belongings.

It’s not as much about personal safety as it is about not having your belongings swiped while you’re busy with something else.

Find out the 10 Top Essential Travel Items for Light Packers

30. Wear Practical Shoes

Do you have any idea how easy it is to knock down a woman in stilettos? Hell, half the time if you watch long enough they may trip or fall over themselves. If you want to feel your most empowered and confident, wear shoes that allow you to move.

31. Hide Valuables from Plain Sight

Rather than carrying a purse or backpack, consider trying a money belt. They lie flat under your clothes and can hold your valuables. Not only are they more concealed, but you are also unlikely to be the victim of petty crime in a crowd.

There are of course the traditional money belts, but there are other options, like running flip belts. Alternatively, some women store things in their bra while men store things in their shoes. The main idea is to remove the obvious purse or backpack full of valuables from sight. This will help avoid pickpockets and being mugged or losing your valuable items.

32. Try a Slash Proof Purse

Need more space to carry things? Try a theft prevention backpack or theft prevention purse. While they may not be as attractive as other options out there, they were specifically made to stay safe when traveling, and they do serve their purpose! No one will come by and slash the strap and make off with your wallet, phone, camera, etc.

33. Lock Your Luggage

Anytime your luggage is out of your sight, you should lock it. While it might just be your smelly dirty clothes, it could also have your emergency money stash, your computer, etc. This means just carrying a small lock or two as needed for the main zippered compartments of your luggage.

Whether you’re in transit or you’re out exploring and leaving your luggage at your accommodations, lock it up. It’s a stupidly simple travel safety tip that can save you massive headaches!

34. Carry a Door Stop

You know how some hotel rooms have that extra bolt that you swing a lever over a rounded bolt to keep your door from being opened from the outside while you’re inside? A simple rubber door stop is a lightweight and easy way to ensure the exact same result.

This tiny contraption can prevent your room door from being opened while you’re sleeping. This may be a bit paranoid, but every one has their own levels of fear and concern.

35. Enroll in STEP

The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service that allows US citizens and nationals to enroll their international trips with the nearest US Embassy or Consulate. You’ll receive important information about the safety of your destination as well as enable the US Embassy to contact you in case of an emergency, whether it be a natural disaster, family emergency, or civil unrest.

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The Reality of the Safety When Traveling

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Now, these safety traveling tips aren’t meant to scare you. There are a lot of positives to traveling, and most people in the world are good. It’s quite possible you can travel around the world for a year with zero problems – like I did. Or, you may be gone for 3 days and be mugged at knifepoint by a gang – also like I did (on a completely different trip). There are no absolutes.

The fact of the matter is, now that you’ve acquainted yourself with all of these safety tactics for traveling, you will likely start picking up on them without even having to think about them. It’s just important to keep your wits about you to have a safe and enjoyable trip.

So get out there and do that safe traveling with confidence!

Find more helpful tips with 44 Pro Tips for Saving Money While Traveling.

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