Traveling to a new country can be both exciting and intimidating. Learning new cultures, traveling for business purpose or just exploring a new country; these are some reasons for traveling. These could also very well take you to countries labeled as unsafe.

Tips when Travelling to Unsafe Countries

Here are some tips on how to ensure your safety when traveling to an unsafe country:

Research the place

Before traveling anywhere, it’s a good idea to do a little research on the place. The first place is the internet. You can find a lot through a simple Google research. You can also talk to people in the Facebook group and ask about their experiences.

We also recommend talking to friends who have recently traveled to the same place. Ask for their experiences. Any pointers to stay safe? For instance, some areas aren’t safe during the night. You might want to avoid any night walks there.

Remember the media doesn’t always paint an honest picture. Much of the things that you see on media are hyped. You’ll realize this when you talk to friends who have visited the same place or when you finally visit.

Get in contact with your embassy

As soon as you land, you should head towards your embassy. Notify them that you are going to stay in the place and for how long. Your embassy will help speed up the process if something were to happen to you.

Talk to Locals

Find trustworthy locals in your area. If you have a friend in your place, you might want to meet with them. Otherwise, you can arrange for a local to guide on what areas to avoid. Locals have knowledge of there area and are better able to guide you. Keep talking to your trusted locals whenever you get a chance. This will give you a better idea of what to expect.

Take only essentials

Take only what you will require during the trip. You don’t need to take a laptop. Your cellphone can do the same work. Even when taking cellphones, you might want to replace your iPhone X with a less expensive one.

You should also avoid packing everything in one big backpack. Spread out your money and your credit cards. This way if your cash is stolen, you can depend on your credit cards for a while.

Keep a low profile

If you plan on taking anything expensive, don’t flaunt it. You might not consider your watch expensive, but for others, it could earn them a few extra dollars.

A few tips to keep in mind:

Hire a local guide;
Wear conservative clothes; nothing that flaunts your identity. You might want to wear local clothes to blend in.
Don’t bring too much attention to yourself. Adopt the mannerism of the locals as much as you can. Use their language if you can.
Don’t trust everyone. Keep yourself to a select group of few.

Keep Copies of Your Documents

When packing keep a copy of all your documents. This will come handy if you were to lose your originals. Email one copy to yourself in case you lose the second copy too. Always be prepared for emergencies.

Stay in Contact with friends

If you are traveling alone, it’s a good idea to keep your friends informed about your whereabouts. Choose a friend and always text or call before you leave for somewhere. Give them an indication of when to expect them back. Message them as soon as you come back. This way your friends will notice immediately when you go missing.

This might seem a little overboard for some places, so you can skip this if there is no danger of kidnapping.

Financial Security

When it comes to financial security, you don’t want to take too much cash with you.

Try to keep a very low amount of cash at hand. Use credit cards and traveler cheques. Another good idea is to create a checking account. Checking account allows you to access online payments without having to carry too much cash around. As opposed to a saving account, there is no limit to the amount of money you can withdraw from your checking account.

Want to open a checking account? Read more here: https://www.crediful.com/best-checking-accounts/

Get Vaccinated

Before leaving, check which vaccines you need. Get an appointment with your doctor for a general checkup. You can even ask your doctor which vaccines you might need in the area. Some areas require certain vaccinations before arrival. Avoid any issues later on and get yourself vaccinated.

Remember, most countries aren’t as dangerous as they are often made out to be. Don’t let worry destroy your trip.

These tips aren’t meant to scare you, but rather to prepare you against all emergencies. Happy traveling! Have fun. Take pictures.

This is a contribution from one of our contributing writers.

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