In a previous blog article, we offered some general Travel Safety & Security Recommendations with the hope that even one of our suggestions will help travelers enjoy their vacation or business trips without incident.
To further expound on this topic, we offer an additional list of helpful travel safety & security recommendations, with special focus on international travel. There are several more considerations at play when traveling abroad, and we hope these tips will be of value in the prevention of any potential troubles during your next overseas trip.
International TRAVEL SAFETY AND SECURITY TIPS
- Make yourself aware of any special travel alerts or security warnings for any region to which you’ll be traveling. You can obtain the latest information at the State Department website, on the Alerts and Warnings page: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings.html
- Obtain complete contact information for the U.S. Embassy or Consulate that is nearest to your travel destination. You will get a complete list of embassies with contact info, (as well as other valuable regional information,) at the State Department website, on the Destination Information page: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html
- To avoid potential surprises or delays, find out early on what documents or other required actions will be needed in order to travel to your desired destination. Give yourself as much advance notice as possible to learn about passport/tourist visa regulations, mandatory vaccinations, required documents, etc, to allow for plenty of processing time prior to your trip. (Handy tip: you can even apply for your passport online here.)
- In the U.S. we take for granted that every state will have an emergency 911 system in place. This isn’t something you can count on when traveling outside the country, so you’ll need to make it your business to find out what the foreign emergency hotlines are for your travel region, and save them to your phone, (it’s a good idea to set them to speed dial,) as well as keeping a paper copy with your belongings.
- Make photocopies of your itinerary and travel documents, in the event that these are lost or stolen. Leave one copy with a friend or relative at home, and carry the other copy with your travel belongings, in a separate place from the original documents you carry. Here are some of the important documents you’ll want to copy:– Airline tickets
– Driver’s license / Identification
– Passport ID
– Foreign visa
– Travel itinerary
– Hotel confirmation
– Credit cards and customer service numbers
– Traveler’s check serial numbers
– Record of immunization (where applicable) - Familiarize yourself with the money/monetary system for your travel region. Understand currency denominations so you won’t fall prey to locals who may attempt to take advantage of tourists who don’t know the difference between a low and high currency amounts.
- If you’re traveling to a destination where you don’t know the native language, there are smart phone apps that will help to convert one language to another. But you’ll want to learn at least a few very important words in the new language, for your basic safety and comfort. These might include, “danger”, “US embassy”, “help”, “hospital”, or even simple things such as “where is the restroom?”. Knowing these few certain words will ensure that you can utilize them on-the-spot, when there isn’t time to open a phone app to look them up.
- S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure. Remain especially cautious in public areas where large groups of people will be gathered
- Finally, learn all you can about the area to which you are traveling; local laws, customs, safe vs. unsafe sections, etc. A good practice is to hire a reputable, knowledgeable tour guide when possible.
We hope you find these tips useful; stay safe, and enjoy your travels!
(P.S.: If you know anyone who may be taking a trip in the future, feel free to share this article with them as well!)
SAFE AND SECURE AIRPORT CAR SERVICE
At Philadelphia Limo Services, our passengers’ safety and security are of utmost importance. We make it our business to get you where you need to go in luxury, comfort and worry-free. Every one of our chauffeurs is guaranteed to possess a clean driving record, and have been fully background checked prior to driving for our company. Our vehicles are fully equipped with the latest in state-of-the-art security features, and up to date on all inspections. We are honored to provide safe, reliable airport car service for our Philadelphia area travelers.
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