Travelling is exciting. It enables us to discover new places, new people, new customs and much more. While some people like to travel with someone, others enjoy their own company. Whatever you prefer, one thing is always important when you travel: safety.
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Being safe while travelling can look different depending on who you are and where you go. As a rule, it is always best to look up what is acceptable or not in the country you are visiting. It is also important to check areas that may not be safe for tourists.
However, while these tips are common knowledge, the following ones, given by a former CIA agent, are far from ordinary. Some of them could save your life.
Pick your hotel room correctly
TikTok content creator @theunexpectedspy, shared some of the tips she used while she was working for the CIA.
The first one is: never accept a hotel room that is on the ground floor. Tracy Walder explains:
The safest floors are floors 3 to 6.
The reason behind that is quite scary. She adds:
The reason I say 3 to 6 is: it’s difficult for someone to climb up that. However, it is, for the most part, pretty accessible if there is an emergency.
Lock the locks
This second tip might sound basic but it is something that not all of us do. Maybe it’s the holiday spirit that makes us feel invincible but the reality is, if you lock your house every night, then you should lock your hotel door too.
Walder explains:
There really is no reason to have it unlocked if you’re inside your room
The former CIA agent goes on and says that she never travels without a door stop. She specifies that this door stop doesn’t need to be fancy. She, herself, uses a cheap one. She justifies this choice by stating:
You can jam that into the door while you’re sleeping to give you an added sense of security.
Tell people where you are
Another piece of advice Tracy Walder has for us is to ‘send your itinerary to folks who aren’t travelling with you.’
This one pretty much explains itself. You need to do so in order for people to know where you are. Walder sends hers to two people, her husband and her mom.
Other tips from Walder include, not leaving your drink unattended at a bar and downloading apps such as The Safe Traveller App and Panic Button.
Read more:
⋙ Here’s all you need to know about Airbnb’s new safety features for solo travellers
⋙ Former inmate, Amanda Dove, reveals what are the ‘most disgusting’ things in prison
⋙ Former inmate shares the one unexpected thing you should never do in prison
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