Featured

50 Travel Safety Tips

Simple things that could save your life.

By 

We’ve all been there. You’re in your room, almost naked, and room service or the maid walks in. It feels scary for a second, before you see their embarrassment and you squawk “later please” in your broken version of the local language. It makes you wonder, however, if someone else could come in just as easily.

50 Travel Safety Tips

I’ve done my fair share of traveling. From going to Tokyo as a teenager, to traveling Europe by myself and making new friends as I went, I was blissfully unaware of the dangers that existed. Luckily, I had common sense (and a worried mother), which likely helped me escape an incident or two.

It’s not always easy traveling as a woman, but you can make your sojourns safer by following a few (okay, make that fifty) of our essential travel safety tips:

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Avatar of Hilary Rowland

A writer, artist, and designer since she was young enough to put pencil to paper, Hilary taught herself code and created Urbanette when she was a teenager. Currently, she lives in Monte Carlo, but spent the past decade living in NYC, still considers herself a New Yorker, and visits regularly. She's always traveling, looking for hot new topics, destinations, and life hacks to bring to Urbanette readers.

Reader Discussion: 70 Comments

  1. Avatar of Catherine White

    Catherine White

    Oh my gosh. So much drama in the comments section. This article is saying here’s how to be an adventurous woman and still be safe. An anti-feminist would write about to never travel alone or better yet, to never travel ever. Most of these tips work just as well for men; nobody, male or female should EXPECT to be robbed, killed, kidnapped or raped, but you know what IT HAPPENS EVERY DAY. So as unfortunate as it may be, in order to enjoy life one is better off knowing the safety tips.

  2. Avatar of Emma Blackwood

    Emma Blackwood

    Can everybody stop with all the drama please? This article isn’t about whether women are weak, strong, smart, or dumb. It’s about how, as a women, you can take care of yourself when PEOPLE AROUND YOU are dumb, stronger than you, and can’t keep from breaking the law.

  3. Avatar of Amanda Roberts

    Amanda Roberts

    I love the article, and I really appreciate that you care about our safety. But I can’t not say something about some comments… This isn’t saying that women are weak. It’s a reflection on the rest of society and the fact that women are targeted more frequently for violent crimes like assault and rape, especially when they’re alone. Women are not to blame if these things happen to them, but some women (like me!) may want to take precautions. You can be scared and still be a feminist.

    • Avatar of Kimberly Thompson

      Kimberly Thompson

      No offence but Yyu are ignorant. And worse, you are deliberately staying ignorant instead of choosing to educate yourself. Feminism does not deny that women are at greater risk for certain dangers. Feminism exposes, protests and seeks to change that fact.

  4. Avatar of Frances Seifert

    Frances Seifert

    Its a pity a woman has to do so many things to be safe. I saw comments about wearing a fake wedding ring? Seriously? This world is no place for women. :/

  5. Avatar of Roberta Bennett

    Roberta Bennett

    As much as I love being a woman sometimes I wish I was born male instead female… 🙁

  6. Avatar of Lynn Hayes

    Lynn Hayes

    It’s sad that there has to be articles like these but I really appreciate how this is written. It’s good to be informed as a woman traveling alone. Unfortunately some people see a lone woman traveler and will do bad things to her. It’s not an article stating women are weak! This is an informative article that is good for a future traveler.

  7. Avatar of Diana Hewitt

    Diana Hewitt

    I find it absolutely disgusting that being a woman in today’s society we have to learn how to travel safe so we avoid harm. Instead of society teaching boys not to rape, we are teaching girls how to avoid being raped. Also half of the tips in this “guide” could be helpful to men too, so to label it as tips for women is completely ridiculous. I agree that anyone should know how to feel safe traveling, but when a woman has to go so far out of her way, and constantly be an alert simply because she is a woman, all of the fun that comes with traveling is ruined.

  8. Avatar of Sabrina Grattidge

    Sabrina Grattidge

    Not sure why this has to be aimed strictly at women. We often forget that many countries across the globe are not as safe as the western world, but it doesn’t mean that caution shouldn’t be exercised by both men and women travelling abroad. Most of these are applicable to everyone.

  9. Avatar of Sasha Rosswell

    Sasha Rosswell

    Men need to read this so they can maybe start to understand the term ” male privlidge”. Not all of these things are really gender specific, but enough sadly are.

    • Avatar of Jennifer McSween

      Jennifer McSween

      I know right?!!! Not hating on the article but this shouldn’t even have to be a thing!

  10. Avatar of Amelia Beckons

    Amelia Beckons

    I always fasten everything I have to the chair I am sitting in with a wire and a snap. You don’t even need to lock it, if you just slow down a purse snatcher when they grab your stuff then they will let go and run away…or they take off with the chair too! You can also tie with rope, wind your purse straps around the back of the chair once. Of course I do this in the USA too. I travelled six months by bike and train through Europe alone, it was the best thing I ever did.

    • Avatar of Kim Hartford

      Kim Hartford

      Ha, I do it at the grocery—if I put my purse in the seat area, I put the little kid seatbelt through my purse strap and lock it. Anyone who tries to grab it will get the whole damn cart!

Load 10 more comments

Join in the Conversation! Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Urbanette moderates and edits comments for grammar and to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Please use your full name. Moderators can only approve comments written in English.

All content is strictly copyright. Contact us for permission.