How to stay safe when travelling

Travelling and going on holiday is a very exciting time but its also important to stay safe when travelling too. We have compiled a list of things to do or have that will keep you safe when globetrotting around the world!

Bum bag – we love our bum/bun bags or fanny packs as the Americans call them. We are unsure of the proper name to be honest but you know what we mean. These are great to wear to the airport so that your passport is easily accessible. We often find at airports your constantly having to get our your passport, get our your boarding pass and fumbling in our rucksack of handbag is a pain. A bum bag means your essentials are close by at all times. A fanny pack is also great when travelling around and means your valuables are close to you as possible. We have both a fashion fanny pack and then one that you can wear under clothes. Both are useful but we use our fashion one more.

Fake wallet – this is such a good thing to have especially when going to a poorer country where getting mugged could be more likely. We carry a fake wallet with us with old/expired debit cards visible. This means if someone demands we hand over our wallet we have a fake one to hand over.

Pay for the safe / locker – we recommend using the safe in your hotel or using the lockers in a hostel. This means all your valuables are safe and secure and will also be covered by insurance.
Hide your money in a sanitary towel– you may laugh but it is something we always do! Sometimes we don’t trust the safe in the hotel so we will hide/distribute our money around our stuff and hiding money in sanitary towels is our little secret!

Portable phone charger – this is one of the best purchases ever and means our phone will never run out of battery. Your phone is one of the most important means of contacting people if you ever get into trouble, therefore make sure its always got enough power

Last seen on Whatsapp – if you turn your last seen off (we sure do!), then maybe consider turning it on when away so your friends and family know you are okay. If you haven’t replied and haven’t been online then people will know that its most likely because you haven’t got any wifi/signal or are in the middle of no where.

Take photos of all your documents – take photos but also print our photocopies/scans. This is important in case you lose your passport or anything. You may also need these documents for obtaining visas.

Travel insurance – we feel a bit silly putting this on here because its a given, however holiday makers aged 18-24 are most likely to travel with no insurance and 1/4 of Brits go abroad without travel insurance. This is super important and means you are covered should anything go wrong.

Bring your E1 11 – when we go away our parents always make sure we have our E1 11 with us. Now we are not entirely sure what it is for but know its something medical related. If our parents want us to bring it then it must be important – make sure you pack this card!

Plan your route – always plan ahead, be it the journey from airport to hotel, or having a rough idea of how you want to travel around South East Asia. Making sure you have a mini plan will ensure you stay safe.

Pick up a taxi firm card only get in a registered taxi – pick one a taxi card up from the hotel/airport or tourist information point. This will ensure you only get in a safe and registered taxi.

Pick up hotel/hostel address card – when travelling on a group tour around Asia every time we got to a hotel our guide gave us the hotel card with address etc on it. This was very handy as when trying to get home we just showed our taxi (tuk tuk) driver the hotel card. When in a foreign country and you cannot pronounce the name of the hotel or the street name this is a life saver!

and finally, be street wise – always have your wits about you.

But most importantly HAVE FUN!

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