Tips for Going Solo

Whether you’re a seasoned lone traveler or you’re planning your first solo trip, there are precautions that need to be taken to ensure your safety during any excursion. While you’re still in the planning stages, taking steps like picking a destination in which people speak the same language as you to guarantee mutual intelligibility, researching the safest areas in a city and learning the types of dangers most prevalent where you’re going are all smart ways to prepare for a safe journey.

Here are other things you can do while on the trip to protect yourself from unnecessary harm.

•  Stay in well-lit and populated areas

•  Carry a safety whistle with you

•  Refrain from drinking excessively and don’t leave your drink unattended at any time

•  Bring a doorstop to wedge the door from the inside of your hotel room

•  Don’t dress in a way that will attract attention (whether you stand out as a tourist, are

wearing a lot of expensive clothes and jewelry, or are scantily clad/ going against the

accepted dress of the culture, you are gaining unwanted attention from those who may

want to cause you harm)

•  Be vague when talking about yourself to strangers and do not disclose where you are

staying or when and what sites you plan to visit

•  Learn what certain hand gestures and facial expressions mean in the country you’re

visiting to avoid doing something rude or offensive unknowingly

•  Keep your credit cards and money in different places and don’t carry all of your cards

and cash on you at the same time

•  Make copies of all your travel documents and store them digitally in case you lose the

hard copies

•  Don’t give to beggars or the homeless to avoid taking out your wallet/purse

•  Don’t pet stray animals to avoid the risk of disease