How to Stay Safe When Traveling Abroad

The world has become a scary place, with incidents of violence occurring both at home and abroad. But some of us still want to travel. I've always believed that travel helps me understand the world around me and become a better citizen and I have no plans to stop so long as I can travel safely.

How do you stay safe when traveling to a foreign country? In spite of the big headlines, the risks of being injured or killed in a terrorist attack are small, but it makes sense to be careful in this new era of travel alerts and warnings. Smart travelers can minimize their risks in several key ways:

1) Work with trusted travel advisors who have up to date information from local contacts as to the safety of the destination.

The best travel advisors use local destination experts that are the best source of information on how things are in a given country or city.  They know what guides and drivers to trust, what hotels have the best security, and what neighborhoods you should avoid. By working with them, you get access to their networks, which ensures you  have the best experiences.

2) Travel with the proper travel insurance.

Many people think travel insurance is just there to protect your nonrefundable trip payments if you have to cancel, but being able to get evacuated from a foreign country in the event of a medical emergency or other crises can be even more important. We like the coverage provided by MedJet's Horizon Plan.

MedjetAssist is an air medical transport membership program that will evacuate you from a foreign hospital to your preferred hospital back home. In the event of a a crisis such as a terrorist attack, political threat, violent crime, or a strike, MedJet Horizon also gives you access to a 24/7 Crisis Response Center, a veteran security expert to advise you, and response services to get you out of harm's way.  

You can combine the evacuation and crisis response benefits of Horizon coverage with the trip cancellation and medical expense coverage benefits offered by a general travel insurance policy to fully protect your investment in your next vacation. The Horizon coverage is affordable, and they offer an annual plan for frequent travelers, which I personally use.

3) Follow these additional safety tips when you travel:

• Enroll in the U.S. State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). You can easily set up an account and enter your itinerary and where you are staying. Should something happen, the US Embassy will send you security updates and help you in an emergency. 
• Leave copies of your passport and itinerary with a trusted family member or friend at home.
• Keep an electronic copy of your travel documents in a secure internet folder, such as dropbox, where you can access it if you lose your paper documents.
• Choose a hotel that has reliable Internet access, so you can check local English-language news Web sites.
• Although they can interesting, avoid public gatherings and political demonstrations. 
• Be vigilant when visiting crowded areas where there are lots of tourists. This includes popular tourist sites and airports.
• Avoid public transportation in cities known to be risky. I generally feel pretty safe using public transportation in Europe, but in Asia or the Middle East I would prefer to hire a private driver. Use your knowledge of the city to decide if public transportation is a good option for you.
• Avoid bad neighborhoods. Use the same common sense you would use in a big city back home.
• Carry your hotel’s business card with you to help you get back to your hotel in an emergency.
•  Carry a cell phone programmed with emergency numbers (for the police,  your hotel, and  your travel insurance company) and make sure your phone is activated for use in the countries you are visiting.
• Carry a power bank to keep your phone charged.
• Consider purchasing a mobile hot spot device, such as this one from Skyroam, to make sure you have internet access when you need it.
• Carry a mini-flashlight.
• Keep things in perspective. The actual risk of being affected in terrorist attack is small, the bigger risks to an enjoyable vacation are traffic accidents, pickpockets, food poisoning,  and sunburn. 

Have a travel question? Would you like to learn more about MedJet Assist or travel insurance? Shedule a consultation with me using the link below.