Stressfree Safety
Traveling for the first time can be stressful, especially if you are traveling solo. You’ll constantly hear people stress the importance of safety & caution your decision to travel solo. I’m a firm believer that everyone should travel solo at least once. There is no other experience that will reinforce or establish your sense of competency like landing in a foreign country, navigating a new city, exploring public transit, ordering food, or asking someone for directions in another language!
There are a couple of details I like to look up before traveling to a new country, for peace of mind. First, I find the embassy in the areas I’ll be traveling through, this is helpful in case you lose your travel documents or there is a natural disaster, terror attack, or any other extreme event. Second, I find out what their emergency phone number is, many first-time travelers assume the phone number is the same as their home country. For example in the USA it’s 911, in the UK it’s 999 but in Australia, it’s 000. Every country is different so look it up! Third, check out travel insurance. Some countries require you to have travel insurance to enter but many don’t. If you are accident-prone it might be in your best interest, if nothing else checkout the pharmacies and/or clinics in the area. Getting sick while traveling is the worst and having to hunt for medicine or a clinic is beyond frustrating when you already feel horrible.
It’s only natural that your family and friends will be concerned with your safety when you decide to travel solo. A few easy things you can do to alleviate their anxiety and take it off your plate. Before you leave take pictures of your passport, international driver’s license, or any important documentation for identification and travel. Keep a copy on your phone and email a copy to your email address, in case you lose your phone.
Next, share your location with a few trusted friends or relatives, who will periodically look to see where you are. If you do this you don’t have to check in constantly or answer ‘where are you?’ text messages. You can also share a loose itinerary with someone you trust or do a daily check-in message if that’s more comfortable. Lastly, throw an AirTag in your wallet or crossbody bag to keep track of your documentation, money, and keys while on the go.
These small details will give your loved ones some peace of mind and make you feel more prepared for your adventure!
