Alert readers already know my family is spending this year in Crete. In theory, it’s so our youngest can experience life in a larger world. We’re willing to make the sacrifice of spending a year in a Mediterranean paradise for the good of our kid.
Yeah, right.
It’s been fun, and in the process we’ve applied, discovered, or been reminded of many travel safety practices. Here are the 50 I think are most important. In no particular order…
Don’t skimp on the hotel. You want someplace safe and comfortable, where you can relax, in a neighborhood that’s not sketchy. That means spending a little extra.
Use smarttraveller.gov.au for initial research on destinations. It’s Australia’s travel safety database, and is the best one in my opinion.
Use the two-day travel day. Get up early (when it’s still cool). Do a thing. Return to the hotel to rest/swim in the pool/grab a snack/post on social/regroup. Do out in the early evening and do a second thing. Have dinner. Return to the hotel and sleep. You’ll be amazed how much more alert and safe this makes you.
Post online about where you’ve been…not where you are. And definitely never, ever where you’re going. That keeps any potential cyber stalkers at least one step behind you.
Count your money in the bathroom. In the stall — i.e., out of sight. Never flash your roll in public.
Take a morning photo of the whole family. That way if you lose track of somebody, you can text the image to security/police/staff instead of trying to remember what tshirt they were wearing.
Remember there’s always a door in the kitchen. If you ever need a rapid escape from any kind of danger, that one’s there even if you can’t see it from the table.
Make a No-Go line. This is a point where you will abort mission and return to the hotel…think water supplies on a hike, time of day trying to get to a museum, temperature if waiting in line. Set this limit while you’re comfortable and smart, then respect it when you’re uncomfortable and dumb.
Learn the local scam. Every place has them. Some are harmless. Some can be deadly. Learn it. Understand it. Find out how to avoid (or at least navigate) it.
Use Waze for in-country navigation. It’s the best app for accuracy and real-time updates, and the most likely to work when you’re outside North America.
Watch the locals. Check where crowds gather and when they disperse. Look for where families are playing, versus where there seem to be no kids. Watch how they dress and cross the street. You don’t know the rules here, but they do. Borrow and trust their instincts.
Know WHO is going. Before you head out, make a mini-dossier about the abilities, needs, and limitations of each person in your group. Use this information when planning events and safety measures.
Know WHERE you’re going. Learn about all the safety facts you can. Use this information when planning each day of your trip.
Know WHAT you’ll be doing. Acknowledge and make a plan for the safety factors inherent in each activity. Use this information to create safety and emergency plans for each outing.
Give the cab driver a quick sniff. A lot of countries are much more casual about drunk driving than at home, and bored cabbies often drink. While you’re at it, use WAZE to make sure he’s driving you to where you told him to drive you.
Learn what drowning looks like. A lot of vacations include time in and near water. Learn how drowning looks nothing like — and is much harder to spot than — drowning as depicted on TV and in the movies.
Use the security blanket method. One person, “security”, is responsible for safety things outside the family. The other, “blanket”, is responsible for safety things inside the family. This is a mini version of specific assignments as practiced by security teams, and works well for many family constellations.
Scout locations with Google Earth. Get down into street view. It can tell you a lot about how safe a neighborhood is, and help you spot locations as you approach them. Use this both to prepare for going somewhere, and to vet potential destinations.
Join expat forums. These are populated by foreigners (often westerners) who now live in your destination. They’ll know more than most folks about the real safety skinny of where you’re going.
Be alert on the roads. Traffic accidents are the number one cause of death and injury while you’re abroad, just like at home.
Have a table read. Sit together before you leave and talk through the plan for the day step by step. With each step, identify what you’ll do, what arrangements you’ll need, and what supplies you should have. Look for holes in your planning, resources, and equipment.
Limit drinking. No matter where you travel, things are always a level at least more risky. Limit yourself to one drink with dinner (or none at all) until you’re safe at the hotel. This is especially important in destinations where alcohol is frowned upon, or where criminals watch for and target drunk adults.
Learn the visa rules early. Sometimes this can take ages to manage, and can ruin a vacation or put you at serious risk.
Check about vaccinations. Your doctor will have a list of recommended vaccinations for any given destination. Check in at least three months ahead of time, since some require a multi-week course, and have an incubation period before full effectiveness.
Have a panic button: a way to get help, evac, money, calls to the embassy, or whatever emergency assistance you might need if things really go south. A trusted friend or knowledgeable acquaintance works best here. Family will often be too worried to render effective help.
Have a remote panic button: a person who expects to hear from you by X time on Y day, and who will start bothering your travel mates - and the authorities - if they haven’t. That way if you get lost or otherwise waylaid, help is coming.
Enroll in STEP. That’s the name of the US State Department’s program for knowing where US citizens are, so they can help in natural catastrophes, acts of war, and other large-scale emergencies. Of course this only applies to Americans. If you’re not a yank, your country will likely have a similar program of another name.
Pack a small first aid kit. Nothing bigger than a fanny pack, but with tweezers, band-aids, antiseptic, some basic drugs, gauze, and some tape.
If possible, do carry-on only. That means you’re far less encumbered when moving to and from your hotel. You’re less of a target, and more mobile if you get targeted anyway.
Set a rally point. For each destination, and for each route to and from the destination, have a specific plan for meeting if you get separated.
Research bribery. In some countries, offering a bribe puts you in jail. In others, failing to offer a bribe can get you beaten by the cops. Know the rules before you go.
Be careful on public wifi. It’s often hideously insecure. If at all possible, do all your online banking before you go, and after you get home.
Bring a rubber door stop. If you’re in a hotel room where you’re not sure about the locks or the staff, close the door. Stick the door stop under the door and give it a good kick. It will take a lot of effort and even more noise to get that door open while you sleep.
Peel it, open it, or forget it. Water-borne illness is a major issue in lots of destinations. Unless you are certain water is safe, drink only stuff that comes in sealed containers. Eat only fruit you’ve peeled yourself.
Learn “hello” and “thank you”. Those two simple words are magic friend-makers in many countries. It really will make locals more disposed to like you, and therefore more disposed to help you stay safe.
Ask people like you about specifics. If you’re a woman traveling alone, ask other women who travel alone about safety details. If you’re a member of the LGBTQ+ community, ask fellow LGBTQ+ people about what’s safe and what isn’t. Do this before you leave, and if you get the opportunity while you’re in-country.
Dress for the weather. Coats and warm hats in winter. Sunblock, shades, and a sunhat in summer. Layers everywhere else. Remember: there’s no bad weather. Just bad wardrobes.
Know the exits. When you enter any area, spot at least two ways to get out. When you go to a destination, know beforehand exactly how you will get home. Make sure (for example) the train that brought you there will still be operating when you plan to leave.
Pick up the tourist map. The one in the lobby with the cartoonish lines and caricatured landmarks. You’ll find the ones they caricatured are tall, and visible all over town. It can help you get oriented and re-oriented as you move around town.
Watch your drinks. Another piece of safety advice that’s important at home, but people forget while they’re travelling. Bad guys drug drinks out in the world, too. Practice the same safety you would at home.
Distribute your cash. Put a little money in each of several pockets. That makes your visible wad smaller, and lets you toss some of your money at a bad guy if they try to rob you.
Keep a spare credit card somewhere safe. Not the one you’ll use regularly on the trip. That one will be visible and might be targeted, pickpocketed, or otherwise taken. This one is for emergencies, and should have enough space to buy a last-minute ticket home.
Walk with purpose. Don’t look lost or unprepared. Even if you are lost, move with purpose toward a restaurant, then sit down and figure out where you are. Confidence is bad guy repellent.
Take the hop on/ hop off bus. This service is in a surprising number of towns tourists visit. You pay money. It drives you around the city, narrating the neighborhoods and landmarks. You can get on and off at your leisure. This makes getting to a lot of places convenient. Even better, if you give a morning to riding the full circuit it gets you oriented for the city. They usually come with a free map, too.
Plan in snack breaks. Every two hours, minimum. Just fifteen minutes to sit down, hydrate, munch something, and take stock of how everybody is doing. It’s a reset button that makes a big difference.
Take photos of your documents. Passports and visas, and maybe your emergency credit card. If things go really south, you’ll be surprised how much you can get done with this as a backup.
Consider a personal alarm. These make a lot of noise when you pull the ripcord, and noise deters bad guys the whole world over. They also make a good door or window alarm if you’re not happy with your lodgings’ security and didn’t bring your trusty door stop.
Remember you’re rich, by the standards of the people who live in about 80% of the places westerners visit. That means you’re a walking target. Don’t let this deter you, but be aware that you will get attention.
Remember they’re poor in about 80% of the places westerners visit, by western standards. That means a lot of shakedowns, robberies, and even dickering over prices amount to five or ten bucks for you, but a day’s or week’s wages for them. Consider it a “cool story tax” and hand it over.
Print/pack offline maps. Or download them from google. Always have a way to find the route home if the internet doesn’t work.
Always remember: we don’t learn about family safety with the risks in mind. If all we do is learn about danger, we shrink from it. Our world - and our kids’ world - gets smaller.
Instead, we look the risks in the eye. Some are a clear “no thank you” - for example visiting Jordan when there’s a war 100 kilometers away. But most are things you can build a plan for, then go have the adventure. Being safety conscious makes our lives larger.
And isn’t that the point?