Travelling has its inherent safety risks, and each country has its own set of dangers that visitors need to know and watch out for. In general, there are safety practices that you can adopt as a traveler to minimize the risk each time you visit a foreign land.Here are five safety tips to keep your travels safe, sound and positively memorable.
1. Be careful when swimming out in the open sea. First, be careful about rip tides. Rip tides are “strong sea currents which push away from the shore as a strong storm is near.” Even if you are a strong swimmer, rip tides are extremely powerful and should be avoided at all costs. Second, swimming in the beach means you have to leave your stuff lying around so if you’re alone, this makes you vulnerable to robbers.2. Try bringing around a throw-down wallet. Some travelers put their day cash and some old, unusable cards in the wallet which they put in their pockets or bags. If, in a worst case scenario, they are held up or pick pocketed, the loss is not that devastating.
3. Be taxi-smart. Research on what licensed taxi cabs are supposed to look like. Find out if there is a fare table to avoid engaging in fixed price negotiations with drivers. If possible, avoid hailing a cab off the street. Go to designated taxi lines. And avoid taking a cab alone especially at night.
4. Separate coins and bills. Even before stepping out of your hotel, place your coins in an accessible spot (like your pockets) and your bills in a more secure spot (like deep within your bag or in a money belt). This is to avoid unnecessarily showing off how much cash you have every time you take out your wallet for train tickets or small purchases.
5. Stay alert. If someone tries to offer you something in the middle of a busy street, be on guard. Refuse politely (do not stay behind for counterarguments) and walk away fast. In a social setting (for example, in a bar), it is okay to loosen up a bit but always stay alert.
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References:
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/hurr/damg/rip.rxml
http://wikitravel.org/en/Spain#Stay_safe
http://wikitravel.org/en/Chile
http://gocentralamerica.about.com/od/healthsafety/a/Central-America-Travel-Safety.htm