Unfamiliar locations, when we are on vacation for instance, seem to be the most likely times when things will start to go wrong. The trouble is when this happens it leaves you with bad memories of what should have been a happy vacation. Or worse still, a situation that sees you locking yourself in your hotel room, afraid to go out, or even spending time at the local Police station. Common sense is still the single most important tool for traveling safely when you’re in a foreign land, meeting new people, walking down strange roads, eating and drinking new things.

No matter what the situation is, trust what your instincts tell you as they are very rarely wrong. It is a common mistake for many travelers to carry all of their valuables with them in the belief they are safer, this could not be further from the truth. Expensive and necessary items like identification tickets for example should be left at the hotel in their safe or the room safe if you have one; it is much easier to recover your vacation if you only lose a few important belongings instead of all of them.

A handy tip is to place a small amount of money in a number of locations like bags or pockets then if you happen to lose a bag, visa card or money, you will still have something there to keep you going until it can be resolved.

Unfortunately, the convenience of having two credit cards on the same account in your own country can be a problem in a foreign land so another travel safely tip is to use two completely separate accounts; this provides a back-up should one be lost or stolen. Some people just make it easy for snatch thieves who specialize in grabbing bags and cameras from unsuspecting tourists who have them hanging from their shoulder; to prevent this make sure the strap is over the head as well.

Don’t make it easy for them when you walk around by having bags and other valuable objects attached to straps next to the road where it is a simple matter for thieves on bikes to just grab at or cut the straps with a knife. The reason most people fall for these tricks is because we are more relaxed on vacation and the people that carry out these crimes are very good at it.

This complacency can cause problems because these people make their living doing this sort of thing but just a little extra vigilance can make it much harder for them to take what does not belong to them. For instance, when carrying small bags (rucksacks for example), it is not a difficult job to place a small combination lock on it to put thieves off; remember they are always looking for the easy victim! Some people are always losing their keys which isn’t a good idea when you are on vacation so a quick remedy is to buy a D-shackle or similar and attach it your belt or backpack with the keys attached.

Most guys (and some girls) will place their wallets in the back pocket of their jeans or shorts making them an easy target for pick pockets; so change your habit and place wallets in the front pockets or perhaps buy a bum bag or money belt. Many of the problems outlined above happen only when people let their guard down; traveling safely does not mean you have to be paranoid, just prepared and use common sense and you will have an enjoyable vacation.