While traveling can be a great way to get outside of your normal routine and learn something new about the world around you, it’s also a very easy environment in which you could get hurt or taken advantage of. Knowing this, it’s crucial that you know how to best protect and take care of yourself when you’re travel, especially when you’re traveling abroad. So to help you better do this, here are three tips for staying safe while traveling abroad.
Be Careful Using Public Wi-Fi
Just because you’re in a different country or a whole other part of the world doesn’t necessarily mean that your life at home stops. You’ll likely still want to communicate with the people at home that you love and care for, as well as still having to take care of some of your own administrative tasks that won’t necessarily wait for you. To do these things, you’ll likely need to use the Internet. However, using public Internet can be very risky. Abigail Summerville, a contributor to CNBC.com, shares that people’s information and identity can be vulnerable to threats or attacks when using public Wi-Fi. So to keep yourself safe, try to only use your mobile data or Wi-Fi hotspots that you yourself create for your own use.
Find The Right Ways To Donate
When you visit certain developing countries, you may find that there are a lot of people out on the streets looking for assistance from you, be it financially or with foods or something else. And while these sights may tug on your heartstrings, giving into them often puts a target on your back as a weak tourist. So rather than taking out your wallet on the street and giving money away, Norm Schriever, a contributor to the Huffington Post, suggests finding a local charity to donate to while you’re there. By doing this, you can still help the people in that particular community without having to participate in dangerous behavior yourself.
Always Know Where You Are
One thing that can help you stay safe in a variety of situations is to always know where you are and where you’re going. Especially if you’re planning to go out for a night of drinking or partying, it’s vital that you know what hotel you’re staying at and generally how to get back to that place. To help with this, Scott Mayerowitz, a contributor to AP News, suggests that you take the business card from your hotel that has its phone number and address on it. By having this, you’ll be able to tell a cab driver or whoever where you need to be. And if something happens and you’re not able to communicate this information, at least whoever’s with you will be able to see the card and know the correct information.
To help you have an enjoyable trip abroad and make it back home safely, consider implementing the tips mentioned above on your next journey.