We can all agree that there’s nothing more exciting than traveling and discovering new places out there in the world. Although all these experiences can easily make us forget our worries, it’s important to stay aware of potential dangers on the road. After all, being a tourist is fun until you run into pickpockets or find yourself in an even worse situation. However, that’s not a reason not to enjoy your travels – all you have to do is follow a few simple safety tips, and you should be good to go!

#1 Copy Essential Documents

For starters, make it a habit to copy any essential documents whenever you’re carrying them. Whether it’s your ID, your passport, or any other document you may have, make sure to make extra copies and keep them separate from the originals during your travel. That way, in case you happen to lose your original documentation, you will have copies that will save you additional trouble. Without a passport copy, it will be difficult to prove that you entered the country legally, leading to many problems. Just copy your documents for peace of mind. 

#2 Keep People Up to Date

You should always let people know where you’re going and what your plans are. You don’t have to give someone detailed reports on your whereabouts but just make sure that your friends or family members know what you’re planning to do next. In case something bad happens, they will have a reliable trail to follow. If you want to go a step further, register with your embassy at the location you choose to go to. Doing so will make the embassy aware of your presence in the country, and they would be able to help you in the event of an emergency.

#3 Don’t Look Too Touristy

Looking too touristy is a mistake that many people make while traveling. Although it’s exciting to put yourself in the role of a tourist, doing so way too obviously can put you at risk. After all, if you make it obvious that you’re a tourist in a busy area, pickpockets and scammers will likely take advantage of you. With that said, stay away from those touristy T-shirts with the name of the city you’re in or other touristy items that could give you away in a busy area. This goes for using public transportation as well. Taxi drivers in most tourist locations look for people like you who don’t know the city very well to overcharge for their service. Try to sound like you know where you’re going to avoid the chances of this happening!

#4 Carry a Dummy Wallet

Another good idea to stay safe when traveling is to carry a dummy wallet with you. A dummy wallet is essentially a wallet with a smaller amount of cash that can help you in a difficult situation. How? It’s simple. If you get attacked by robbers and ask for your wallet, just hand them your dummy wallet immediately, and they will, in most cases, take it and run. You will still have your real wallet with you because they won’t assume you gave them the “dummy” one. It’s a clever way to outsmart the criminals and save your cash. It doesn’t cost you anything to set up this line of defense, so it’s worth giving it a shot!

#5 Use a VPN

Last but not least, make sure to use a VPN while connecting your devices to public Wifi. We often forget the importance of cybersecurity, especially when traveling. However, tourists are a common target for hackers because they ignore what internet connection they are using. We’ve all connected our devices to open and public Wifi networks at airports, malls, and other public areas. Doing so can put your data at risk and lead to issues such as data and identity theft. To avoid this, it’s best to use a USA VPN or any other server near you to ensure anonymity when surfing the web. Once you connect to any Wifi network via a VPN, you will appear anonymous, and your data will be hidden from hackers and other third parties.

Safe Travels

These days you can never be entirely safe from potential dangers that are lurking out there. However, if you follow these five steps and put some more thought into your safety while traveling, you should be able to relax and enjoy new experiences without stress. Don’t forget to copy your essential documents, prepare your dummy wallet, and most importantly, set up a USA VPN account before leaving for your next trip. That way, you will stay safe both online and in the real world.