Backpacking Abroad | Safety Measures To Follow | Travel Itinerary | Money and Valuables in a Safe Place
Backpacking abroad is a truly spectacular experience that every person should experience at least once in their life. Traveling from small town to small town; . However, when it comes to backpacking in dangerous areas or by yourself it is important that you follow a few backpacking safety tips to ensure that you stay safe throughout the length of your trip.
1. Create a Travel Itinerary and Give it to a Friend – Whether you are backpacking on your own or with a group of friends it is essential that you give your itinerary to a friend back home before leaving and then sticking to it. This ensures that if anything were to happen to you or your group that someone would notify police if you didn’t return and would be able to help provide the police a particular area(s) where you would have been during the trip. 
2. Be Alert and Smart if You are on Your Own – A foreigner alone in certain areas of the world can be a very tempting victim for things like theft, violence, sexual assault and so forth, so it is important that if you are traveling on your own you stay alert. Pay attention to where you are going, to who is around you, etc. Also, think of purchasing a whistle to help you alert authorities and scare away people if you are attacked.
3. Keep Your Money and Valuables in a Safe Place – Having your money or valuables in a place where they can easily be taken could put you in danger of an assault or theft and could leave you without any money or treasured items that are important to you. If staying in a hostel use the hostel’s safe to store money and valuables while you are there, invest in a money pouch that can be hidden on your body and wear purses or bags in such as way that they can’t be ripped off the arms very easily. 
4. Try to Travel in Safe Areas and Stay at Reputable Hotels – Like with any travel there are occasionally going to be areas that are more dangerous than others such as places that are dealing with internal conflict or warring with neighboring countries, parts in cities and towns that are considered less savory than other parts, etc. Try to travel as much as you can in safer areas and when you can always stay in reputable hotels that offer you safety at least during the night. 
5. Adhere to Local Customs – One of the ways you can help to ensure your safety from the locals is adhering to their local customs while you visit the area. As an example, if women are expected to wear hi-jabs to be modest, wear them because a woman’s uncovered head in Muslim countries can be a potential danger for violence or legal issues.
6. Invest in Travel Insurance – Backpacking inherently comes with certain dangerous such as the danger of getting sick or injured, being robbed, getting involved with situations that could lead legal issues or a liability on your part, etc. Travel insurance can help cover you in these kinds of situations so that a trip traveling aboard doesn’t leave you with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills or without the money/valuables you began your trip with.