Travel safety

Thousands of career breakers and gap year travellers go around the world every year and very few of these get into kind of serious trouble. Here are some basic precautions to keep you safe on your career break.

General travel safety
Travel safety - theft
Travel safety - sex
Travel safety - drugs
Travel safety - scams and corruption

General travel safety

External link
Foreign Office travel pages

The general travel safety advice is - if you wouldn't do it at home, don't do it while you're travelling. There's safety in numbers too, so if you're travelling alone, find some other lone travellers to accompany you if you're going somewhere remote. Get safety advice from your travel guide book, the Foreign Office, locals and fellow travellers. There's no need to be over-cautious - keep an open mind and trust your intuition. It's usually right!

Travel safety - theft

Most thefts from travellers are non-violent, such as pickpocketing and thefts from hotel or hostel rooms. Some places, such as parts of South America, have a high rate of muggings though. Keep your money in separate places (some hidden in your backpack, some in a wallet, some in a moneybelt). Lock your backpack wherever possible, and use a bicycle chain to secure it (eg on a train luggage rack). If threatened with violence, give it up. Your life is not worth more than your money.

Travel safety - sex

Women travellers may feel uncomfortable or scared by unwanted attention. A headscarf, modest attire (long sleeves and trousers) and a wedding ring are all very effective deterrents, as is the company of a fellow traveller or a husband who is 'meeting me around the corner in a few minutes'.

Many male travellers are tempted by the sex industry abroad when they would not touch it at home. If you pay for sex, the best that happens is knowing you're contributing to a huge social problem. The worst that could happen is getting robbed, beaten up, put in prison and/or contracting a life-threatening disease (AIDS or hepatitis).

Travel safety - drugs

The risks of taking drugs abroad, even cannabis, can be much greater than here. If you get caught, you risk life imprisonment or even execution. Some travellers bribe their way out of arrest, but this is not guaranteed and can be immensely costly.

Keep a close eye on your bag when crossing borders (by land, sea or air) to avoid becoming an unwitting mule. Use a padlock to secure it.

Travel safety - scams and corruption

Face the fact that you may well get scammed out of a small amount of money by people who are poorer than you. It happens to most travellers and often simply takes the form of charging you a higher price than locals get. Another common scam is to find yourself taken to a shop where the pressure to buy is very high and the goods are often not what they are claimed to be. If you can't avoid it, smile politely, say no thank you and clear off as quick as you can.

Opinions vary about how to react to corrupt officials. Bear in mind that some rely on bribes to send their kids to school because they don't earn much and it doesn't feel wrong to them. Do what you feel is right and avoid antagonising people - be polite and agreeable. Sometimes wide-eyed innocence and/or genuine confusion can get you out of paying a bribe - there will be easier targets than you around the next corner.