While taking things such as jewellery or phones with you when you’re away is important, you need to find ways to protect your valuables when on a trip. Here are some top tips…
As much as you would want to have a stress-free trip, the fear of losing your different valuables such as jewelry, smartphones, money, passport, and specialised cameras makes this impossible. The worst thing is that you cannot avoid carrying these valuables as they complete your trip by making it easy for you to navigate the different streets in the said town. This is why it is important to find smart ways to protect your valuables when on a trip.
After all, bringing these valuables with you as you travel comes with its share of worry. Besides making you an easy target for smugglers, some of your valuable items, such as your camera and smartphone, may get broken as you move around.
To counter such unwelcomed incidents, you must take action to protect your valuables when traveling. You can do this using these five effective measures.
Keep Your Items in a Safe
First in our ways to protect your valuables when on a trip is to keep your items in a safe. A safe can translate to hidden and tight pockets, a money bag, or a cut-proof bag. Storing your valuables in such places as you travel will keep you away from pickpockets as it makes it hard for them to locate the items.
Moreover, it puts you on the alert, making it easy for you to notice any weird behavior from a stranger. As you do this, ensure always to have the zips of your bags in front as you walk in crowded places. This keeps the smugglers away as they know you can easily sense their intentions.
For items such as your smartphones and cameras, ensure to have them protected to avoid breakage. You can, for instance, have your phone in a personalised phone case to protect its screen in case of any falls. But, equally important, ensure to avoid putting them on the table or open surface where they can easily fall.
Get Prior Reviews on a Hotel’s Safety Before Booking
Where you stay during your trip can broadly impact your security. You, therefore, need to conduct thorough research to allow you to settle on a hotel that has good protection in terms of offering the best safes, hard to break in doors and windows, and 24/7 surveillance.
Also, ensure the hotel’s location is strategic to avoid getting robbed on the streets as you go out and come back. Equally important, avoid ground floor rooms as they are easily accessible to thieves. If possible, stay anywhere between the third and sixth floors.
While here, avoid storing your valuables in the room’s safe as different people, including the staff, can easily access them. It would be best to have your valuables with you all the time or put them in a central safe inside the hotel instead of your room’s safe.
Travel With Only What You Need
You don’t have to risk your life carrying extra valuables that you will not use on your trip. Instead, try to be specific during packing only to have what is necessary. This will help you in managing the items by enabling you to notice if anything goes missing.
Moreover, it lessens your worry, enabling you to enjoy your trip. Valuables are generally dear to your heart, and as such, having too many of them will keep you from enjoying your journey as you constantly worry about them getting stolen or damaged.
You can easily avoid taking a camera with you by substituting it with a good smartphone that will serve all the purposes of a camera and more.
Don’t Tell on Yourself
Travelers make the mistake of being too promiscuous that everyone gets to know they are new in town. Let this not happen to you. You, for instance, don’t have to go around asking for directions or someone to photograph you from every Tom and Harry in the streets. Instead of this, take time to research the area you intend to visit before your actual trip day.
Moreover, take advantage of internet apps such as Google Maps to get directions and different places. If you need an accompaniment, liaise with your hotel to bring you a tour guide to accompany you in the streets.
Equally important, practice high levels of alertness by always knowing where every piece of your valuables is and being conscious of any stranger that approaches you with fake stories. You do not have to greet anyone who says hi on the streets if you don’t know them. This is important to remember when it comes to ways to protect your valuables when on a trip.
Lastly, be careful with what you post on social media. Commonly, you will want to tell your friends and family that you are on holiday, but please avoid sharing your exact location. Thieves use such information to track tourists in their location and steal from them. Therefore avoid falling into this temptation.
Insure Your Trip
It’s always better to be safe than sorry. A travel insurance policy comes in handy when the unfortunate happens that even after trying all means to safeguard your valuables, they end up getting lost. Before signing up for any travel insurance, please inquire with the agents about its coverage.
Most travel insurance policies will cover your cash and various documents such as a passport.
Conclusion
Traveling is supposed to be all fun and merry. However, all this is cut short by the fear of theft which is on the rise today. Therefore, take charge of your traveling experience by incorporating the above five tips to secure your valuables in your upcoming trip. What do you think of our ways to protect your valuables when on a trip? Let us know in the comments below!
