Whether you’re going on a staycation, destination travel or simply visiting family and friends this festive season, these essential holiday travel safety tips will come in handy to ensure you have a happy experience this festive season.
This article detailed essential holiday travel safety tips for both solo and couple travelers, including conducting research, avoiding flashy outfits, drinking responsibly, and having emergency contacts.
Also Read: Travel Hack: Things To Pack For A Trip
10 Holiday Travel Safety Tips For 2024
For many, this festive season means reuniting with family and loved ones, while for others, it’s a time to see places they’ve only been reading about. One thing is common in this season: the urgency to move around and the excitement of visiting new places and people.
So to have a splendid time reuniting with your loved ones, mastering basic safety tips while you move around is of great importance to avoid stories that touch the heart.
Here are ten great holiday safety tips in no particular order to note as you make plans to travel this festive season:
Plan Your Itinerary
Planning ahead of time is the first and maybe the most important aspect of your trip. What should be included in your planning involves carrying out thorough research on the city you’re about to visit.
This will allow you the opportunity to learn about the city- its language, people, food, culture, and any other things that may be strange to your current residential city. This is also applicable if you’re going on a staycation or visiting family and friends to avoid culture shock.
Avoid Flashy Outfits
If you’re one of the “I just got back” (IJGB), it’ll be in your best interest to tone down your outfits for security reasons. The locals can easily spot who a stranger is from the way the dress, and if you’re spotted with expensive pieces of jewelry or designer outfits, you may fall victim to harassment.
We’re not in any way saying you shouldn’t look nice and presentable, that’s not the point. Look nice but doesn’t look like money or a billboard for adverts. The bottom line is to try as much as possible to blend in with the locals to avoid being labeled as a Johnny just come.
Drink Responsibly
Drinking responsibly is one of the great holiday travel safety tips that is beneficial irrespective of your travel goals. Drinking modestly isn’t just demure but very mature and shows your ability to restrain and control yourself in an unknown environment.
The danger of getting buried in cans of drinks and bottles of wine is that you may get robbed if you become unconscious after heavy drinking.
Hence, no matter how much of an alcoholic you are, refrain from drinking more than you can control in a new city. Whether you’re with family and friends or not, it’s a gross responsibility to be drinking like you got a death sentence in public.
Be Smart With Money
When traveling, it is pertinent to be smart with money to avoid being stranded on your trip. You can split your money into different areas of your suitcase and label them according to purpose. Also, remember to have cash in the local currency to pay for miscellaneous that may occur during your trip.
Another safety tip to note about money while traveling is not to put everything in one place. For example, while on your trip, the cash to pay for petting things may be in your breast or trouser pocket, while your ATM with a lump sum of money should be in your suitcase.
You can also get a different ATM for this trip to move the budget for the trip in there and pay for things as they occur such as Visa on arrival, food, hotel accommodation, etc. This ATM can be in your purse or handbag for easy access.
Have An Emergency Contact
No one prays for an emergency, however, it is important to plan for one. Think of the worst thing that can happen on this trip and make provisions for an emergency contact who is available 24/7.
If you’re traveling to a new city or country, you can research the emergency contacts of that country and their response time rate.
Alternatively, you can add your family and trusted friends as your emergency contact in case there is a need to reach someone, this person can be responsive. Another option for an emergency contact could be your travel agent and tour guide. Discuss with them the need to save them as an emergency contact then include them as one.
Have Soft Copies Of Your Document
When traveling, ensure that you have your documents both in soft and hand copies most especially hand copies. This is to prevent the loss of documents and also make it easy to exchange documents with the officials at different checkpoints.
Having soft copies of your document will also save you time and, money if you want to do airport or hotel transfers at any point in your trip.
Behave Like The Locals
When you’re away in a new city, don’t try to form Porsche or be better than the people in the city. The essence of your trip is to learn as much as possible about another city and place and not act like a moral police on a mission.
Hence, it is important to understand that no one cares about your polished accent or fancy dresses let alone interested in your etiquette class. So it’d be in your best interest for the sake of having a good time to act like the people in the city while you’re there.
Avoid talking too much or having opinions in public. Avoid commenting on sensitive topics and try as much as possible to respect other people’s perspectives and ideologies.
Use Only Reputable Transportation Companies
One of the essential safety tips you shouldn’t ignore is using only reputable transportation companies to commute in the city. Not only does this guarantee safety but also secures your privacy if you’re planning to keep a low profile while in the city.
Another benefit of using reputable transportation companies like Uber and the like is that most of the drivers are Bi-lingual so you wouldn’t have any language barrier challenge when touring the city.
Keep Your Friends And Family Updated
If you are traveling to a new city for vacation or work, that is not the time to cut off communications with your friends and family at home. Ensure to update your family and friends at all times like arrival, settling into the hotel, the food served, your tour activities, and any other vital information they need to know.
If possible you can also share your live location at the time to provide handy security information to them. This will make it easier for your family and friends to be able to provide vital security information in case there’s an emergency.
Trust Your Instinct
You have to trust your instinct if you want to stay during during your trips. It’s a free signal that most of the time is always right and following it will save you a great deal.
If you feel a certain kind of way about a particular thing or place, it is advisable to listen to your instinct and move away immediately. Don’t second guess or try to water down what your inner mind is telling you. It’s a safety warning you’d be grateful you took seriously.
Get Travel Insurance
You never can tell where harm will come from either from the airline, hotel staff, tour guide, etc. Hence, it’s very risky to travel without travel insurance. You don’t want to lose your important documents and expensive items on the trip or be stranded because of an unfortunate situation, therefore, travel insurance isn’t a nice-to-have, but rather a must-to-have travel guard.
Stay Alert
To ensure all-round safety, it is advisable to stay alert on technology trends for vital safety information. Get familiar with the necessary technology such as Google Trends and Google Maps to ensure that your trip is harm-free.
Conclusion
Traveling during the festive season is often considered not safe and convenient for many, however, if you follow these essential holiday travel safety tips we have covered in this article, not only will you have a harm-free trip but one filled with pleasant memories.
