Traveling alone requires some special attention to safety. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced, everyone can benefit from some solid solo travel safety tips.
After all, you alone must:
prevent problems from arising
be aware when they could or do arise
decide how to manage them if they do arise.
When it comes to travel safety, prevention comes first.
True, no amount of prevention is a guarantee of safety. Things happen! Still, prevention is an important start and a significant aspect of these 4 solo travel safety tips.
Safety begins before you leave. Research is important. Knowledge protects you from the danger of misinformation, unsavory individuals, and/or naively wandering into an unsafe area.
Schedule your arrival during daylight. The first stop for most travelers in a new destination is their hotel or hostel. I suggest that you arrive in the mid-afternoon so that you can really see what kind of area you’re staying in.
Know your strengths and weaknesses. If you are new to travel, you likely have a lot to learn. If you’ve traveled a lot but have never traveled solo, you have different issues to resolve.
The right wallet. Identity theft is a real thing. RFID skimming is where, with the right technology, a person near you can gather data from your credit cards without your knowledge. There’s little evidence that it constitutes a huge threat but there’s no harm erring on the side of safety.
Whistle. A whistle attached to your day bag can be handy if you feel the need to draw attention to yourself and scare away any unwanted attention.
A VPN on all your devices.