blog post

by Dawn Stevens

Does it bother you to check your bag without a lock?    How can you protect your luggage contents if your suitcase gets accidentally slashed?   What can you do to protect yourself from personal theft?   How can you ensure you are safe in your hotel room?   Want to feel safe on your vacation?  Well of course you do! 

Tourists are targets, we all know that.  To travel with confidence there are a few smart things that you can do to protect yourself.

Always be aware of what is going on around you.  While you are being acutely aware of your surroundings, act confidently and like you know exactly what you are doing.  A woman walking alone in a big city should walk with purpose.  One day I walked all over New York City by myself.  I felt safe and unthreatened walking around the upper west side where we were staying.  When I ventured down into mid-town I started to feel less so.  I felt like everyone knew I was a vulnerable tourist.  I felt eyes looking at me by unsavory types as I dawdled.  I quickened my pace and looked straight forward.  It annoyed me because I wanted to dawdle and look around and enjoy all the excitement of New York City.   However, with my new quickened pace and forward gaze, I felt like I blended in as a resident of the city instead of an easy target.  Unsavory looking types did not try to stop me anymore.  The threat seemed to vanish.  Don’t walk down lonely and quiet streets after dark.    In case you do get mugged, keep some (not all) in an accessible pocket.  This might appease the thief.

Wallets and Bags

Men should never carry a wallet in the back pocket of their pants…it’s the easiest place for a pick pocket to lift it.   A front pocket wallet is perfect for travel.  A money belt is even more secure.  You could use both.  Leave your unessential cards at home.   If someone bumps into you in a crowded area, immediately feel for your valuables, as this is a common tactic of pickpockets.  They often work in groups.  One distracts you by asking questions or "accidentally" bumping into you while the other lifts your wallet.  Women should carry bags close to their bodies and with straps that cross the body.  Secure bags are offered that have steel cords running through the strap, to make it impossible for the strap to be cut with a knife.    Passports and some credit cards are now imbedded with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags that contain personal and financial information.   Thieves have figured out how to scan for this personal information.  RFID blocking wallets and bags have a protective shield that prevents scanned access to your personal data.  Magellans carries many RFID blocking wallets and bags.

Passport Security

Keep your passport in the hotel safe and just take a copy with you when you are out sightseeing.  Be sure to make several copies of your passport.  Leave one at home, put one in your suitcase and keep one on your person.  Consider scanning the first two pages of your passport to a thumb drive and keep that on your person.  If your passport gets lost or stolen, having a copy of the first two pages will greatly expedite the process of getting it replaced so you can get back into the U.S.!  Be sure that your passport is good for 6 months past your travel date.   Many countries require this, just in case you are detained in the country for some reason.  (For example, if you or your traveling companion became very ill and could not travel right away.)

Hotel Safety

Choosing a hotel chain for lodging may not be the most quaint or atmospheric of hotel stays, but they generally stand the best chance of being safe and secure.  Most hotel chains will have security locks on the doors and peepholes.   If you will be staying in quaint boutique hotels or tourist class hotels, consider bringing along a small door stopper or one of these Magellans solutions.    I love to stay in more atmospheric boutique type hotels.  At a small historic hotel in Ireland we accidentally went to the wrong room.  Unfortunately for the couple in the room, our key worked for their room as well as ours!   I didn't feel too secure going to bed but a door stopper would have done the trick. 

Luggage Security

You are allowed to lock your checked luggage for flights if they are the right kind of locks!  TSA approved locks can be found most places that sell travel supplies.   These locks can be opened by the TSA agents, who are supposed to make sure to lock them back up if they inspect your bag.   If you put any other kind of lock on your luggage, it is bound to be cut off by airport security. 

Even if you don't use locks for air travel, it's a good idea to take some luggage locks with you for those times when you might need to leave your luggage in the hotel's back room (your room is not ready when you get there or you have a late flight out).   Your luggage should be locked when you hand it over to cruise ship porters as well.  Get a little more substantial lock that is not as easy to pick.   However, any kind of lock will be a deterrent.   

Differentiate and Protect Your Bag

As my husband watched for his bag to show up on the carousel after a flight, he found what he thought was his bag, but on closer inspection could tell it was not his.   Soon the carousel stopped and he never saw his bag.  He looked up to see a women walking away with a bag that looked just like his.  The other bag that looked similar to his was still sitting on the carousel and he thought that maybe the woman had mixed up the bags.  He asked her to check the contents of the bag to verify that it was, indeed, hers.   She refused, claiming that it was definitely her bag, turned and started walking away.  My husband alerted a security officer that he felt the woman had picked up his bag by mistake.  The security officer went running after the woman, who was making her way out of the airport.  She was quite annoyed when he asked her to open the suitcase and verify that the contents belonged to her.  She indignantly unzipped the bag and then let out an audible gasp as she viewed my husbands belongings in the suitcase! 

The moral of the story is…you may recognize your own bag but someone else may think it is their bag unless you add a glaring personal touch or two.   I’ve found the most effective way to do this is to put a strap on the bag or some other brightly colored ID tags, colored ribbon, etc.  A personalized luggage strap (I don't recommend your full name) will set your bag apart even more!

On another occasion, when I picked up my suitcase from the carousel I noticed my zipper had broken and was unzipped!  This would have been a disaster, except for the fact that I always put a luggage strap around my suitcase, so it held together!  The luggage strap has a duel purpose, protect the contents and make the bag easier to identify.