If you love to travel solo, you will be well aware of just how amazing an experience it can be. Not only do you get to see the world, but you can literally do whatever you want in the process along the way. That means you can see what you want, do whatever excursions take your fancy, eat at the kind of restaurants you like to eat at, and whatever else you feel like doing. The power of this kind of living is hard to overstate. But there is one concern which you are always going to be much more aware of when you travel alone, compared to travelling with others, and it’s the issue of safety. You are obviously much more vulnerable when you are travelling solo, and as such you need to be all the more aware of what you can do to keep yourself safe. In this article, we will look at just some of the important things you should be doing to make sure that you are staying on top of this – so you can enjoy your travels in peace.

Have Some Kind Of Plan – & Tell People About It

Even if you are someone who likes to travel off the beaten track and just see where the wind takes you, you will still want to have some kind of a plan. This is actually one of the most important safety concerns of all. Having a rough plan of where you are going, when, and who with will ensure that you have a record which you can share with other people back home. If your parents know that you are going to be in a certain place with wi-fi by a certain date, and they still haven’t got your message three days late, they know they can start searching out for you. This is hugely important, and you should make sure that you don’t let the fun of travelling alone overtake such basics. It’s okay to not want to be in contact much, and to not want to plan – but if you do just a little of both, you can still have a great independent time, but also feel much safer in doing so. Make sure you don’t overlook this – it’s hugely important as a means of keeping safe.

Don’t Advertise Your Valuables

The most common kind of crime that tourists are prone to being victims of is not violent crime or rape, but rather simple theft. Although this is not as severe as those other crimes, it’s still not something you want to happen, and you probably want to avoid it at any rate as it will likely make you feel vulnerable if it does happen, which could easily ruin your experience in general. So it is hugely important to make sure that you are keeping the chances of this happening to a minimum, which means primarily that you do whatever you can to not advertise your valuable belongings. Most people do this without realizing it, and only discover once they are being mugged or robbed. Think about how you appear to others, and whether you are making it clear that you have money or valuables on you. This might be especially pertinent somewhere like India, where you might not even be aware of how rich you look. If you have any high quality rook piercings or expensive jewellery, you will want to keep them out of sight, for instance.

Beyond that, make sure that your bag and belongings look as boring as possible. Ideally, old and tattered bags are best, especially if you are in places like Southeast Asia. if you have something very valuable, keep it attached to your person somewhere discrete or at the very bottom of your bag where nobody can see it if they just briefly open up your bag. All of this will help you to avoid being stolen from, which will mean you can have a much nicer time – and feel a lot safer in the process, too, which is the most important thing here.

Plan For Emergencies

There are a whole host of things that can happen when you are abroad and travelling on your own. You will want to make sure that you rehearse for some of the worst, so that if they do happen you are much more likely to know what to do. Just having a good plan of action rehearsed in your head will mean that you are considerably more likely to be able to relax the rest of the time, as you will have this confidence that you would know what to do whatever might happen. To plan for any emergencies, simply think through in a situation what you would do – where you would go, what action you would take or not take. Be clear on it, and then forget about it. You don’t want to spend your whole time worrying about that stuff, but taking a few moment when you are in a setting to do so can really help you relax overall. This might be especially important in certain places where there is political or civil unrest.

Research Your Destinations

The issue of civil unrest brings us neatly on to the next point. Wherever you are going, you should make sure that you research it as thoroughly as possible. The clearer you are on your destination and what you might expect in the way of difficulties, the more prepared you can be – and that ultimately means that you are more likely to get a lot out of the experience, and to survive, most importantly of all. Your government at home will have a list of places you shouldn’t travel, and it’s a good idea to pay attention to that if you want to be safe. You should keep one eye on the news too, just in case something breaks out, as can be frequent in certain parts of the world. The more aware you are of such events, the more easily you can stay safe.