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A few weeks ago, an online acquaintance asked me for some travel tips about Paris - while I was proofreading the letter I was about to send her, I realized that about 80 percent of it consisted of safety and security hints. I didn't want to scare her, but I wanted to make it clear to her that any holiday, no matter how expensive, or how perfectly planned and executed, can be instantly and totally ruined in the event of a major loss or theft. Almost everyone seems to have stories about meeting people during their travels who had lost everything - I have met my share of people who claim to have had their bags or bikes stolen while they slept on a train, or their belongings lifted from a station locker room, or their fanny-packs sliced from their waists by gangs of marauding children... some of these stories may have been true, others may have been fabrications designed to lighten my own wallet, but these things can, and do happen to many people every day. There are a number of ways to reduce the possibility that you will become a victim or a target while travelling abroad - while many of them may seem like basic common sense, others may be new to you. Here, then, are my "top ten" suggestions (in no particular order) for travel safety - specifically in the larger cities of the Mediterranean countries, since that is where most of my experience is, though these tips may be useful wherever you go!
In cities like Barcelona or Florence, where the local residents always seem to be well-dressed and elegantly turned out, tourists in ragged jeans and "Hard Rock Café" tee-shirts stand out like neon signs. This isn't a judgement, or a fashion criticism - I dress like that myself much of the time in my own neighborhood - but just something to consider when you travel. You will probably look like a tourist no matter what you do - maps and camera cases are a dead giveaway - but it's a good idea to consider some sort of "urban camouflage." It may be unfair, but it's true that you will get better service if you are nicely dressed in "neutral" clothes - you will also avoid hassles when you try to enter churches or other sacred sites, and you are more likely to blend into the crowds, becoming a less visible target than you would be in cut-off shorts and a tee-shirt emblazoned with the Maple Leaf or the Stars and Stripes.
The copyright of the article Travel safe! Keep your wits -- and your wallet -- about you. in Italy is owned by Sonia Michaels. Permission to republish Travel safe! Keep your wits -- and your wallet -- about you. in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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