When traveling abroad following some basic travel safety tips will keep you and your belongings safe. Many safe traveling tips are common sense guidelines that you may already follow when you are at home. 1. Travel in groups and in well lit areas. People traveling alone can make easy targets for thieves and other ne’er do wells. Traveling in back alleys and on unlit streets can mean many places to hide for criminals. 2. Do not keep all your money in one place. This is one travel safety tip you probably do not follow when you are close to home. When you are home, it can be easy to go to the bank for new checks or cards if you lose your wallet. If you are stranded overseas without any money or access to cash, things can get very difficult. Keep cards, travelers checks or cash in more than one location, store one not on yourself in a hotel safe if possible, that way if your wallet is lost or stolen you still have some access to money. 3. Keep your wallet somewhere other than your back pocket. This travel safety tip can deter pickpockets whether you are home or abroad. A back pocket bulging with a wallet is easy to spot, and easy for nimble fingers thieves to lift without you ever noticing. If you can opt for zipper or button closed pockets inside a jacket, if that is not an option your front pocket may be your best bet. 4. Scan and save all your documents and cards. A digital copy of your passport, visas and credit cards can be of great assistance if your documents are lost or stolen. Some people even take this travel safety tip one step further and keep a photocopy of their documents in the bottom of their suitcase. By doing this you can help get replacement documents at an American consulate even while you are traveling abroad.

International travel is an incredibly exciting experience! However, just like planning a trip, it requires careful planning and forethought in order to ensure safe traveling while you’re away. Following a few safe traveling tips will ensure your trip goes smoothly. Safe traveling begins at home with what you pack. While it is likely that you will have a safe trip, following travel safety tips can provide you with piece of mind while you travel. The first of several safe traveling tips, do not pack anything that would make you appear as a target, or an affluent tourist. For instance, expensive jewelry can draw attention to you in a negative way. Leave behind anything that you would miss if it were lost, including credit cards, social security card, jewelry, etc. In the event that you lose something, you will save yourself the trouble of needing to replace it while you are abroad. Other valuable safe traveling tips involve education before you leave. Before you go, learn as much as you can about the local laws and customs of the places you plan to visit. Good resources are your library, your travel agent, and the embassies, consulates or tourist bureaus of the countries you will visit. Travel safety tips also require you to do some research and preparation of documents before you go. Make sure your passport is updated, and have your legal documents in order at home. If you leave a current will, insurance documents, and power of attorney with your family or a friend, you can feel secure about traveling and will be prepared for any emergency that may arise while you are away. While it may seem overwhelming to have to think about possibilities like this, in the event of an emergency, you will have your affairs in order. Finally, and the most important of the safe traveling tips, when you reach your destination, be sure to observe several travel safety tips. First, use your common sense. Do not travel alone at night, avoid large groups of tourists, Wear the shoulder strap of your bag across your chest and walk with the bag away from the curb to avoid drive by purse grabs, learn a few phrases in the local language or have them handy in written form so that you can signal your need for police or medical help, and be alert!! If you follow proper precautions and travel safety tips, it is likely your trip will go off without a hitch. Use common sense and street smarts, and you will be a much less likely target. For more safe traveling tips, consult the web for further research.