Traveling is exciting. It’s affirming to venture out into the unknown and check something off your bucket list. However, sometimes your excitement comes at a heavy cost if you’re too lost in it. What do I mean by that? Sometimes you make many mistakes while traveling, whether it’s getting robbed, lost in a foreign country, or even just walking away with an extra suitcase filled with stuff you don’t need. Don’t worry, that won’t happen with you if you’ve spent the next few minutes reading this guide.
Packing too much
If there’s one thing you should do, it’s pack light. Avoid checking any luggage and bring only a backpack or a small suitcase. Leave all the clothes and electronic items you can at home. The more you bring, the more of a hassle it’ll be to carry everything around with you. Traveling is about taking in new sights and feeling free! You won’t feel that way if you’re worried about your heavy bag or your many pairs of shoes being stolen from under your table because you can’t keep an eye on them while sightseeing.
Being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or looking like it
- Use your common sense: It sounds basic, but we all make mistakes when we’re on vacation. Make sure you know where you are and what the dangers of that area may be; know the best way to handle different situations; and make sure your friends know where you are going, too. Sometimes people just don’t think about the fact that there are lots of bad people out there in the world waiting to take advantage of good people like you who were only coming to Paris for a bit of sightseeing or a romantic getaway.
- Don’t look like a tourist: Avoid advertising yourself as such by not wearing flashy clothes with designer logos or expensive jewellery and watches, so as not to attract unwanted attention to yourself. It’s also wise not to carry big cameras around your neck or wear fanny packs (they scream “tourist!”). If possible, try dressing more like the natives do (if it’s cold, bring along a scarf). Leave valuables at home or in the hotel safe if possible (i.e., when going out), and never leave your bags unattended while sightseeing at popular attractions.
- Don’t walk alone at night: Safe neighbourhoods become less safe after dark because crime increases then; avoid walking alone late at night in cities by taking taxis instead wherever possible (and for long distances after sunset). Contact hotels for recommendations on safe taxi companies—some companies employ drivers who are known thieves who will either drive tourists off their normal route before robbing them or drop them off in dangerous areas so they can be robbed later by someone else.
Not making copies of your passport or other important documents and/or not keeping them in multiple places on your body and luggage
Your travel documents are some of the most important things you’ll have on your trip. If something happens to them, it could put a major damper on your vacation! The best way to ensure that this doesn’t happen is to make copies of all the essential documents and keep them in multiple places. You should make at least one photocopy of your passport and keep it in your luggage—you can also get a nice passport case. It’s also a good idea to leave an additional copy with someone back home who can fax or email if necessary.
You should also carry a copy of everything on you at all times, but not in the same place as the originals. There are several different ways you can do this:
- Keep a credit card-sized copy of everything in your wallet.
- Make digital copies and store them somewhere safe on your phone or computer (just make sure you don’t need wifi access to retrieve them).
- Make digital copies and store them online (in fact, some travel insurance companies may require this) or on a USB key that you keep with you at all times.
Not being aware of local laws, especially when traveling abroad. Especially illegal items like drugs
This is an important one that many travellers don’t think about. Laws and regulations vary from country to country, so you’ll need to do a little research before you go anywhere new. There are some things that might be legal in your home country, but illegal in others. For example, marijuana is legal in Canada, but it’s still illegal in the U.S., so you could get arrested if you take any over the border with you. It’s even more serious if you’re carrying illegal drugs like cocaine or meth across international borders. You can end up spending decades behind bars for doing something that’s legal where you live!
Not getting travel insurance
If these trips seem too overwhelming to remember and you still don’t know how to protect your stuff while traveling, go the simplest route and buy yourself travel insurance. Purchasing travel insurance is one of the best ways to protect yourself while traveling, especially if you are going to a country with healthcare that isn’t as great as it is in the United States. If something goes wrong and you get hospitalised during your trip, travel insurance will come in handy for paying for treatment where you can’t get help from Medicare. Travel insurance is also good if something goes wrong with one of your flights (such as delays) so that you can still make it onto another one without having to pay extra fees because airlines do not reimburse travellers for missed connections due to mechanical problems or bad weather conditions.
In Conclusion
Saying you’re ready for a trip can be misleading. You’re never fully ready for a trip because you won’t know everything that awaits you until it’s too late. And given the luck factor, there’s no way to be fully prepared. So a chance of failure is always present. But there are chances to avoid that, and you can always avoid some of them if not all if you’ve read this guide.
