How to Travel the World Safely

In this report, I share how to travel the world safely. 

After traveling the world for 14 years, living and visiting 65 different countries, here are some of the most important this I have learned about how to travel the world Safely. These same ideas apply no matter where you are in the world, even your home country.

I am going to tell you how I remain safe. But I don’t want you to think that I believe you need to fear the world. I do not believe that. I have never been pickpocketed, robbed, or assaulted as I travel the world in 14 years outside my home country. These are just common sense things I do to keep it that way.

Many of us are taught that our home country is safe but the rest of the world is dangerous. I have not found that to be the case. So you need to follow these same ideas whenever you are discovering a new part of your home country where you have not been before.

How to Travel the World Safely

Okay, here we go. Experience tells me that How to Travel the World Safely, is a function of two main things:

First, safety is more a function of your personal knowledge and experience on the ground in a new place. Once you have been somewhere long enough, you will have the knowledge and experience to make better decisions about safe versus risky behavior in each place. Since you will have neither knowledge or experience when you arrive in a new town or country, this video will give you tips to increase safety until you have the knowledge and experience you need.

Second, safety is more of a function of each individual neighborhood within a city or country than it is about the safety rating of the country as a whole. So when you are doing your research looking at where to travel, focus more on safe areas of the country or safe neighborhoods within the city. There are neighborhoods in almost any large city in the USA that are ten times more dangerous than typical neighborhoods anywhere in the world. You have to focus more locally to remain safe.

But odd things happen even in generally safe neighborhoods all over the world, including your home country, so consider using my ideas about how to travel the world safely, whether in a new city in your home country, or a new city across the world.

Quit Selling Yourself

The first thing you have to change is your mindset. Loose lips sink ships. If you are slow traveling the world, you will be in one place for a few months from time to time. That is long enough to develop relationships with locals, which I do recommend.

But there is also a downside to that. If there are people around you with bad intentions, they will have weeks, possibly months to determine if you are a good target, more time to gain knowledge about your patterns of coming and going from home, and more time to learn about how much money they may be able to take from you based upon the how much information you share with them. These are factors that short-term travelers can worry less about.

In the USA, we talk freely often to strangers about our accomplishments, our jobs, our hobbies, our possessions, our titles, our homes, and anything else we are proud of. We listen to each other’s history and life story and we decide who we have enough in common with, or who sounds interesting enough, to further investigate as friends or lovers.

In the west, someone’s story, if interesting, elevates them in our mind. So we learn to tell our story in the USA when we are asked questions. We sell ourselves to others. We share the best things about ourselves because we believe it will attract the right people into our lives. By talking about the most positive or shiny sides of ourselves we believe we will attract more interesting people into our lives. You need to stop that before you leave your home country.

Most people that move to retire cheap in paradise locations around the world continue this behavior. Especially single men looking for love. You see, your social status will help you find love in parts of the world like America, the UK, Australia, Canada, and others. But don’t do that when you go to lower-income per capita countries around the world. There are two reasons you need to stop. Listen carefully.

First, you don’t need that high level of status when you are in a low-income country. Even if you are considered lower income in your home country, you are still making more than the average local. So you don’t need to talk yourself up to gain attention from potential partners in developing countries. They already know you can give them a better economic life as soon as they hear you are from a higher-income country. They know that before you say a word.

So, if you sell yourself as a big deal, and play big man or big woman on campus, you are setting yourself up for failure. You will attract a partner that is focused on status and money. So if your resources dry up, they will be gone in a heartbeat. Plus, you will have to keep playing big shot once you start down that road with a new partner. They will expect you to support not only them in a way you have represented yourself, but they will brag about you to their family and friends and you will become the neighborhood bank. But it could get even worse than that.

In some countries, what you consider to be harmless information, may confirm that you are a worthy target. When you casually meet people in a foreign country and you don’t know who you are talking to, don’t tell them your uncle owns 5% of some powerful corporation, or that you had a job that paid well for 35 years, or that you just inherited a fortune and are traveling the world.

99% of the people in the world will not use that against you. But you are new in town. You don’t know who you are talking to or whether or not that information will confirm you as a target to rob, kidnap, or milk for money.

I don’t believe the world is a dangerous place, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be smart about what information you share.  

Don’t be the big man on campus thinking you will get the hottest woman or man in town if they know your story back home. Don’t embellish yourself to find love or make connections. Be quiet and humble. Ask questions and learn about people. Don’t talk about yourself unless they ask. You may not think you are a big deal back home, but you may say something that makes you a target. Instead, give short polite answers that play down your place in the world.

If you were a business owner that sold his office supply store and retired early to travel the world, and they ask what kind of work you do, say, “I worked in an office supply store. I am living on a meager pension.” Then ask them a question and focus the attention back on them.

Good, honest people don’t care if you are rich or famous, or whether you know rich or famous people. Don’t let your insecurity about finding love turn you into a target for a bad relationship or a criminal. Just by being a foreigner from another country you are interesting. You don’t need to talk yourself up to make friends in foreign countries. You are just making yourself a target. So the most important thing to learn about how to travel the world safely is to simply close your lips.

99% of the time that won’t be a problem because the world is generally a safe place. Over a few months or years, when you begin to trust a person and see how they behave towards others, you will know who to trust, and who you can’t trust. But you may even want to stay quiet forever. What if you finally share information about your good fortune with someone you trust, and they share it with another person you don’t know? Loose lips sink ships. No matter where you are in the world, even your home country, you are the ship. So don’t sink yourself. Fly low and humbly. Let your character alone attract the right people.

Acceptance of Risk Increases By Area and Times

Do all the research about which countries and places you want to visit. But upon arrival, be conservative with the amount of risk you are willing to accept. Stay in areas that feel safe to you when you first arrive and don’t get isolated in remote areas. Don’t wander too far off the beaten path at first. Stay closer to your accommodations and return earlier in the evening for the first few days or until a sense of safety arises in you. So how does this sense of safety arise in you?

Watch what the locals are doing. Do they all head home and lock themselves in by dark? Do they walk freely without a care in the world, or are they walking quickly keeping a watchful eye around them? Are their cell phones in their hands or in their back pockets, or are they hidden away more securely?

Think of it as an expanding exploration of safe areas and times of day to be out and about. Risk acceptance is small at first but grows as your sense of safety arises. Watch safety signals locals give about times of day and walkability areas. Watch what parents are doing with their kids.

If you see parents walking around with their kids with little concern and no fear on their faces, you are likely in a safe place at a safe time. Are people walking casually with little concern or are they watching their surroundings with suspicion or fear? Learn from watching the body language of the locals and you are likely to be in safer areas at safer times of day or night.

If you slowly expand the times and areas to roam freely, over time, while you watch what the locals are doing, there is a pretty good chance you will be okay too. When you sense danger whether the time of day (night) or area being explored, move quickly back to where safety feels strong again. So the second most important thing to learn about how to travel the world safely is to manage risk until you have more knowledge and experience about a new place.

Don’t Get Isolated

Violence and force are more likely to occur when you are isolated. Isolation is even more dangerous if you are alone. Don’t walk down that street if you don’t see anyone else there. Later, after you have been in the area for longer, that may turn out to be an area where you are willing to assume the risk.

Notice when the locals are clearing out of an area. Don’t be the last to leave. Don’t go home with someone you just met. Get to know them in public before you get isolated with new people. Add them on Facebook and see if they have a family and friends. Older people and families with children are generally much safer than young people. Don’t get talked into doing something that will isolate you with someone you just met. A motorcycle ride in the country may sound great but wait until you know the person better.

If you suddenly are isolated and have fear, move into a restaurant or store and buy or order something and calm down. Ask the waiter to call you a taxi or better yet, use a ride-sharing service like Uber that will take you home without negotiating price or location in a foreign language.

Avoid hiking in isolated areas, mountains, or nature, until you verify that it is a safe area. Avoid walking across town until you learn whether you will be passing through a dangerous area. Don’t get isolated on a boat or a vehicle traveling through an isolated area until you have verified that the operator or service is safe.

Very few criminals will feel comfortable robbing you until you are isolated. So stay where there are other people around at all times. So to remain safe in world travels, never get isolated.

Remain Highly Aware and Conscious

Remain aware of everyone around you at all times and whether or not they seem interested in you. If anyone seems to be following turn from time to time to see if they follow, and move quickly to more populated areas if they do.

When people are in public places, they are often taking actions that are consistent with a predictable purpose. They are walking from place to place, they are talking on their cell phone, they are waiting in lines, they are parking their cars, they are carrying their groceries. What seems to be their purpose?  Can you tell?  Or are they watching you or anyone else?

Watch for a bit with your peripheral vision. Are they taking any actions that are consistent with any predictable purpose you can ascertain without much imagination? Do you get an odd feeling about them? If they move closer to you and continue to have no predictable purpose, walk or run away from them as quickly as possible towards a crowded area, and see if they follow? If they follow you, after you make a few maneuvers in a populated area, move into a store, bar, coffee shop, or restaurant and order something. Then take an Uber home.

Don’t get so drunk in public that you become an easy target. Don’t walk home drunk at night. Keep your drink in your hand where it is less likely that someone can spike your drink with a drug. If you end up drinking too much in public, or you are walking home too late, get an Uber Taxi to take you home. That Uber Taxi creates and an international record of the last person that saw you. Thus, that Uber driver has a self-interest in getting you home safely so the local police are less likely to accuse them of a crime if they can get you home safely. Trust me, they know the police may be at their door if their taxi is the last dollar you ever charged on your credit card before you go missing. They are more likely to get you home safely than some random taxi you flag on the street.

Drugs Make You Vulnerable

I am not judging you. I grew up in the 70s. I have done my share of drugs. But you don’t want to spend 10 years in a foreign jail as someone’s bitch do you? Learn the drug penalties before you fly if you insist on doing drugs. Some countries still have life in prison or the death penalty. Bribing a policeman may save your life in some countries but could make things worse in other countries. Do you even have an extra $1k to $10k USD laying around to pay some corrupt police officer to let you go free?

I bought weed in Jamaica in 1992. One hour later, the drug dealer showed up in the lobby of my hotel with the police. The dealer was there to identify me so he could get some of the money the corrupt police intended to extract from me.

Luckily, I was standing on my balcony when the dealer arrived at my hotel with the police. So I flushed the weed down the toilet and nothing bad happened to me. I didn’t even have to pay a bribe. You may not be so lucky. You just don’t know all the games people are playing in a new country. You are not in your home country. Your street smarts don’t apply to the streets of a country you have never been before.

Don’t Break Any Laws

Some people that are new at travel have this romantic idea that if the police arrest them in a foreign country, their embassy will spend time trying to save them from doing time in a foreign jail. Don’t hold your breath. The Marines are not going to helicopter in and rescue you from your stupid mistakes.  Your ‘rights’ in your home country do not apply in a foreign country unless you are an official embassy employee.

Don’t get in fights in foreign countries. Fighting will get you a warning in some parts of the world, but you are going to jail if you fight in many parts of the world. Violence is not considered courageous in most of the world. It is just stupid. So screw your head on straight and be a polite representative of your home country.

Stay Away From Prostitution

I am not judging you or the prostitutes. But this is the greatest isolation technique I know of. Victims end up alone in a hotel room with a prostitute. When he goes to the bathroom the prostitute lets the criminal into the room. The criminal robs you at gun or knifepoint. This doesn’t happen every time. But it happens enough in some parts of the world to not take the risk.

In your best-case scenario, they take all of your cash and valuable possessions. Worst case scenario, they take you out on a 2 to 3-day driving spree where they hold a gun to your head as they pull all of your money out at every ATM machine in town.

If you are stupid enough to have bragged about your rich uncle or your 401(k) retirement account to a ‘nice person you just met’ before you learned they were a prostitute, their criminal accomplice may try to hold you ransom for thousands more.

You just were robbed by a prostitute and her pimp. Since you solicited prostitution, which is a crime, you can’t even call the police. In some countries, the police may even ask for a bribe so they don’t arrest you for soliciting prostitution.

As a foreigner from overseas, you already are more interesting to many of the locals. Just meet people more naturally and develop normal relationships. Don’t get involved in criminal sex. Here are a few links to help you find love in a foreign country without paying for sex.

1. How to find love in SE Asia (and anywhere in the world)
2. Best Countries to Find Love in Retirement
3. How Qiang and I Met

So after viewing these videos about how to find love as you slow travel the world, you may wonder what you should or shouldn’t talk about with locals you meet as prospective partners. You need to quit selling yourself. Quit talking about great you are or how much money you have. The fact that you are from another country makes you interesting enough.  Talking about all of your accomplishments could make you a target.

Risk is Higher at Night

After a few days or a few weeks, you will end up wanting to explore the nightlife as you slow travel the world. Risk of trouble is often slightly higher at night when you are discovering a new part of the world. Only bring the amount of money you expect to spend that evening with you. Don’t bring your credit cards or ATM cards with you at night. Just bring the money you need for that evening with you. I have never been robbed in 14 years traveling around the world. But if it happens one day, I will just hand the money over to the criminal holding the knife or gun. I won’t think twice because I only have enough money for the evening. Not enough money to risk my life by arguing with a criminal. Make sure to watch my video about how to maintain access to your money as you travel the world (link provided). That link also talks about how to use a decoy wallet with very little money in it. You will be safer at night if you reduce the number of valuables in your possession.

Remove the “Please Rob Me” Signs From Your Body

Do you know how a criminal finds their victim for the day? They look for people with expensive cars, expensive jewelry, expensive clothes, expensive shoes, expensive handbags, etc.

If you wear that stuff in your home country, you are only getting away with it because you know where it is safe to hang out with all those wealthy signals hanging from your body. But you are not in Kansas anymore Dorothy. When you first arrive in a new country, you don’t know if you are in a low-risk zone. It takes time to figure that out.

So when you travel the world, why take that risk? Just remove all those “I am rich, please rob me today signals from your luggage.” Just like loose lips sink ships, shiny things get taken from you.

When you travel the world, do not bring any clothing or accessories that will make a criminal think you are worth robbing. Just wear comfortable clothes with no expensive labels, not $200 sneakers or $1500 iPhones, or $2000 watches. No $100 belts or $100 golf shirts, or expensive shoes.

Just lay low until you know where you are. You shouldn’t even wear fake designer labels or fake designer watches since the criminal might think they are real and stick a gun in your face. The gun won’t be fake so lose the labels and signals of wealth from your person.

So, to travel the world safely, remove the “Rob Me Please” signals hanging from your body.

Thanks for listening to my ideas about how to travel the world safely.  

Make sure to grab a free copy of my eBook: How I Fired My Boss and Traveled the World for 14 Years.

This is Dan of Vagabond Awake, the YouTube Channel for Vagabond Buddha. The world is your home. What time will you be home for dinner?