As a Family Travel Expert for International Travel, I've learned that, Believe it or not, travel danger is mostly subjective. If you do the right things before and during your trip, it's unlikely you will ever experience any problems. In this article I go over exactly what that looks like. 

Table of Contents

1.  Know Your Environment

2. Know The People

3. Know The Social/Political Climate

4. Know Your Options

5. Know Yourself 

6. Let Someone Know

7. Stay Connected

8. Save Important Contacts

9. Have A Plan B

Over the past 20 years I’ve had the amazing opportunity to experience some wonderful countries around the world. As a family travel expert for international travel I have seen my fair share of good and bad that the world has to offer. Whether trekking through the jungles in Costa Rica, basking in the sunlight of New Zealand or walking through the bustling hot streets of Porta Prince Haiti – I’ve learned that safety is relative and has more to do with how you manage yourself than anything else.   

We all travel for different reasons, whether for family, business, education, or like most, leisure. If there was a way to get paid by simply standing outside of an establishment and encouraging random people to travel, that would probably be me! While I spend a lot of time writing about the potential dangers related to travel, I want to be clear that it’s something more people should do, and more regularly. I say that as a disclaimer because my goal is to get more people to take a leap and see other places far and wide. However, in doing so I want to be transparent about the good and the bad. So let’s get into it!   

From theft to kidnapping or civil unrest in an unstable country, a lot of things could go wrong abroad. Being largely unfamiliar with a place, you may find it a bit difficult to get help or get yourself out of danger before it’s too late. This article seeks to help you with that problem. I have personally experienced civil unrest, several times, while traveling abroad. Once in France, Germany and most recently, Haiti. When I tell you it can be downright frightening, I mean it. However, if you know what to do and what options are available to you, the chances of harm coming your way are drastically reduced. 

Below are five major factors/options that I personal take into consideration whenever or wherever I travel to. While it’s rare, if ever, I worry about my safely ahead of traveling abroad, I take it very seriously.   

Know Your Environment

When it comes to your environment, there is simply no way to fully understand it over a few short days or weeks. However, there are cues to look for no matter where you may find yourself. Always pay close attention to how the locals go about their business.  Of course behaviors may differ from neighborhood to neighborhood, so be mindful that your twenty minute observation is only a speck of sand against the vast amount of time the locals have existed there. Be sure to speak to people when it’s appropriate. This will give you an idea of how friendly the locals are and how they communicate in general. While this may seem trivial to some, befriending a temporary neighbor could save your life if you find yourself in a sketchy situation. 

Know The People

To piggy back off of knowing your environment, I wanted to go a bit deeper into knowing the people. Of course these things are one in the same, as the people make the environment, however, like any other place, the people will vary greatly in personality and temperament. If you are staying at a resort and planning to venture out, speak with a member of the staff you feel comfortable with for tips and advice. If you are staying amongst the locals I can assure you that there are numerous people within arms reach who will gladly provide their vast insight into your new world.  Just like your own neighborhood or community, locals abroad will instinctively share helpful advice, especially if you ask.

Know The Social/Political Climate

The State Department’s Travel Advisory

With the internet at your finger types there is no reason you should ever be without information. It will only take a few minutes to gather a relatively broad spectrum related to the social and political climate of a particular country or region. With this information you will know how best to tailor your behavior and expectations to ensure your own safety. Having traveled to some scary places, I must say that I was never truly in danger because I knew where to exist within the political and social landscape. When you understand what triggers the locals as a result of their social infrastructure, you know how not to standout. 

Know Your Options

When it comes to reacting to a dangerous situation, knowing who you can reach out to matters. Many Americans have no idea that they have access to an American Consulate when traveling abroad. See full list here. U.S. Consulates even keep a skeleton crew over the weekend for emergency situations experienced by Americans while traveling abroad.  I personally make a note of available consulates wherever I go, along with their address and phone number. Keep in mind that your safe is your responsibility first and foremost, and they have a lot going on at any given time. However, they’re there to serve you so don’t hesitate to contact them in the event you are in need of assistance. 

Of course you can and should contact the local police. From my experience I find the police, no matter the country, to be helpful and accommodating. I think the odds of running into a “bad” cop are little to none if you go to them seeking help. Situations where cops are found doing things wrong, rarely involve foreigners and even more so situation where someone is coming to them for assistance. You should know the best way of contacting local authorities. For instance, in the states you can call “911” no matter where you are and expect the same outcome.  List of Emergency Phone Numbers from around the world.

Know Yourself

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, you must know what you yourself are capable of. And while many of us never really know what that is, there are measures you can take to aid in moving closer to knowing what that might look like.

What I like to do is roleplay in my head by imagining potential scenarios and feeling my way through them. With that I am able to think on how I might react in a given situation. Don’t worry about not knowing exactly how things could playout, you just want to arm yourself with as many helpful ideas as possible and trust they will work out okay. You could even take it a step further (which I recommend) and physically run through drills with just yourself or with others.

When it comes to something going horribly wrong I can assure you that it won’t be the most desired conversation to have with loved ones. However, you must insist for your and their wellbeing and eventually the thought will settle in everyone’s minds.

Let Someone Know

Before you leave be sure to tell at least one reliable person (preferably over the age of 25) where you are going and for how long. To take it a step further, establish a check-in time with them at least a few times throughout your trip. This way if a connection cannot be established they can take action. Furthermore, leave them with an action plan to follow in the event they are unable to reach you. This can be anything from a person or business to reach out to, to alerting the authorities.

Stay Connected

Not all cell phone data plans are created equal. Whenever I travel internationally I reach out to my cell phone service provider to let them know. This way they can add any additional features onto my account that I may not have had before. By doing this it will make it much easier to connect with someone in the event of an emergency, not to mention save you money.

A quick story from 2022. I was traveling in Spain and found myself with some friends in Barcelona.  Four of us got stuck in a small lift in the basement of the apartments we were staying in. It so happened that only my phone had service because I made sure beforehand. I was able to reach out to the unmarked number at the top of the shaft and make a connection that led to someone rescuing us nearly two hours later.

Save Important Contacts

Contact information for certain authorities, hotels, friends and so forth should be added to your phone before you leave. The last thing you want is to find yourself in a tight situation and having to research for contact information in the process. You want to put yourself in a situation where you can access information quickly and efficiently if needed.

Have a Plan B

My philosophy is hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Travel can be fickle, and you can’t always rely on things to go as planned. Especially with the impact from Covid19, among other things. If you find yourself having to stay an extra night or more, having the right amount of money, resources and information could save you from sleeping on the street or worse. A Plan B could save you a lot of trouble, believe me, not to mention help you to better enjoy your vacation due to a reduction of stress. 

Wherever you plan on traveling, do so with a smile and open mind, but also with a realistic outlook on things that could “potentially” go wrong. Safe travels!

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