Top 9 Survival Tips When You Are Traveling

Last Updated on December 10, 2021 by Bruce

In spite of the precarious nature of the world these days, many Americans still travel to other states as well as to other nations.

Nine Traveling Survival Tips

The following represents a list of survival tips that can help a person stay safe and secure while he or she ventures to other states and other countries.

1. Stay Away From Dangerous Areas

This is one of the most important survival tips you can follow when traveling away from your comfort zone. When you arrive at a new city or country, get a map at the nearest tourist office and ask the person working there to circle the areas you should stay away from. To verify this information, ask the hotel clerk where you are staying to do the same. This will help you identify the “unsafe zones” that you need to avoid.

2. Show Would-Be-Thieves That You Have Less to Steal

Some survival tips when traveling are basic common sense. This is certainly one of these instances. Instead of carrying a ton of luggage when you are sightseeing and checking out the scenes and activities, pack simple and light.
A non-assuming backpack (worn on the front of your body in highly crowded locations) lets you move about with your hands-free and essentially says to would-be-thieves that you have little to steal. Keep in mind that rather than looking like you are “thief-proof,” all that is required is for you to look like less of a target than the people around you.

3. Don’t Totally Rely on Your Cell Phone in Foreign or Remote Areas

This is one of the survival tips when travelling that may surprise most people. Certainly, take your cell phone with you but act as if it won’t work. Phone coverage may be restricted, there may be fewer transmission towers, you can drop your phone, causing it to malfunction, and your battery may drain faster than you anticipated.

4. Don’t Flaunt Your Valuables

This is another one of the common-sense survival tips that many travellers simply ignore. In a word, don’t make yourself a spectacle. Try not to be a walking advertisement of your wealth by showing off your jewelry, fancy clothes, or high priced cameras or camcorders. Also, refrain from carrying any “designer” camera bags that say “Canon” or “Nikon” on them. Moreover, always keep some emergency cash at the hotel safe where you are staying in case you do get robbed.

5. Stay with Your Vehicle

Here are another one of the survival tips that may run counter to what most travellers may think. If you are driving your vehicle in a foreign or remote area and your vehicle breaks down, you are almost always better off staying near your vehicle as opposed to walking somewhere trying to find help. If you are stranded, of course, try to call a trusted friend or relative on your cell phone for help. If you need to signal a rescue aircraft, use a signal mirror or send an obvious signal by setting fire a good distance away from your vehicle.

6. Tell a Trusted Person Where You Are Going

This is one of the survival tips that ALL travellers need to observe mainly because it just might be the one suggestion that when followed, has the highest probability for a positive outcome.
Before you depart on your trip, make sure to tell someone you trust where you are going when you are leaving, where you will be staying, how you can be contacted, how long you will be gone, and the date you expect to return.
While you are still on your trip, it would be a good idea to get periodically in touch with your “contact” person to let him or her know how you are and if any of your travel plans have changed.
If you are going camping or hiking, on the other hand, let the park ranger at the station know who you are, where you are going, how you can be contacted, and when you expect to return to the station. Inform your “contact” person and the park ranger when they should contact the authorities for a “search and rescue” mission if they don’t hear from you.

7. Pack for Terrible Weather and Assume That You Will Be Delayed

This is one of the survival tips that is basically a variation on the following theme: hope for the best and assume the worst.
Pack for the worst imaginable weather during that time of the year and assume that something will happen that will delay your return. When you anticipate these “worst case” scenarios, you are forced to think about taking extra food and water and what you would do if an emergency causes you to stay several days beyond your planned return.

8. Mentally Brace Yourself for a Plane Emergency

This is one of the more unpleasant survival tips that needs to be stated. If you are travelling by air, anticipate an emergency and what you would do to survive. Many people get injured or perish in totally survivable plane crashes by panicking and doing something in haste without thinking things through in a logical manner. In many instances, you can avoid a panic response if you prepare yourself mentally before an emergency happens.

9. Stay Away From Civil Unrest

In a world that is greatly defined by political upheaval, this is one of the survival tips that are both relevant and helpful.
If you are travelling in a city during a major riot or during civil unrest, stay away from the “action” and instead monitor the events from the TV in your hotel room or from the radio in your vehicle.
If you are outside the U.S., in extreme cases of civil disobedience or rioting, call your embassy, explain the situation, and ask for a specific game plan detailing what you should do. If you are asked to evacuate the country, follow the directions and the guidelines of your embassy.

Conclusion

By observing some basic survival tips when you’re traveling to another state or country, you can increase your chances of a safe trip.
Some of these survival tips include the following: avoiding risky areas, staying low key without flaunting your wealth, telling a trusted friend about your travel itinerary, avoiding areas of civil unrest, mentally preparing for an aircraft emergency, packing simple and light, assuming and preparing for the worst case scenario, taking your cell phone without totally relying on it, and staying near your vehicle in case it breaks down.