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Travel SafetyTips – For Your Data
In the online worldwe wanttoshare a few tipson how to keepyourdata safe,suchas creditcard and
smartphone.
for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo
Perhapsthe followingtipsondigital securityforthe travelercanhelpyouonyour owntravelsand
perhapsyourvisitors,asa host.
1. Turn off WiFi whentraveling
You knowyourSmartphone hasthe abilitytoconnectto mobile dataandWiFi.Thisis basic.
Here is the problemwiththat:
WiFi not onlyscreamsoutwhoyou are,it alsocallsout previouslysavednetworksyouconnectedwith.
Anyone willingtodoharmcan fake anyof these networksandyoumayconnectto a “rogue access
point”withoutbeingaware of it.
Many of yourapps still sendoutdataunencryptedandthusmake the data vulnerable tobeingreadby
attackers.
So,in a nutshell,the turnedonWiFi:
constantlysharesyouridentity
callspreviouslysavednetworks
Have you everloggedintoaStarbucksor McDonalds’ WiFi?
Once you are near one of theirstores,yoursmartphone connectsautomatically.Thispersé doesnot
meanthere isharm done,butit doessendoutdata withoutyouactuallyknowingaboutit.
Nice side-effect:Turningoff WiFi onyourSmartphone savesbattery.
Same goesactuallyforBluetooth.
Turn off WiFi whentraveling
2. UnknownWiFi?Use a VPN!
WhenconnectingtounknownWiFi accesspoints,use aVPN.
What isa VPN?
VPN standsfor Virtual Private Network.
Whenyouconnect to a (free orunknown) accesspointall yourdatagoesover the air andis susceptible
to beingreadbyanyone on the same network.
By makinguse of a trustworthyVPN provideryoucanhide yournetworkactivityanddata fromthe eyes
of others.Thisisthe case forlaptops,iPadsandsmartphonesandshouldbe especiallyconsideredwhen
doingyouronline banking.
What else canthe VPN dofor you?
You can place yourself virtuallyinothercountries.Meaning,youcansitinBali and suddenlywatchUK
showsthat are actuallyrestrictedtopeople locatedinsidethe UK.
How doyou getstarted?
It issimple.
The nerd-buddiesfromPCMagcreateda detailedguide onVPNsandappstouse for youriPhone and
Android.There isalsoa videoshowing how VPNsworkandthe editorschoice forhelpfulapps.
It isreallyeasy!
What do we use?
At Hostelgeekswe use Zenmate.We have aPremiumaccountfor 5 differentdevices,includinglaptops
and Smartphones.The businessisall aboutprotectingyou.The otherdaytheywrote me an email,and
theyevenprotectmyemail addressitself.Theycrawl spampagesandsuch to see if anyone of their
customershasbeenspammed.
for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo
Reallyrecommended!
ZenMate VPN forLaptops andSmartphones
3. Laptop/ Phone stolen?Install PREY
Confessiontime:Ihadmy Smartphone stolenthreeweeksaftermovingtoBarcelona.“Luckily”itwasa
cheapone,but I feltlike anidiot.
Ever since then, Iinstall anappcalled“PREY” on all the devicesIpurchase.
It isalwaysone of the firstappsI setup.
Preyletsyoutrack and findyourphone,laptop,ortablet.And:it’sfree.
Thisvideoshowshowitworksand whyit isuseful.Itiseasyto install,safe andfree.
Important:You have to install thisBEFOREyoulose yourphone.Youcannot install itremotelyonce itis
gone.
How can Preybe free?
PREY is free tosetup,free toinstall andregister.Itdoesnotcost youa thing,evenif yourdevice gets
stolen.The basicfeaturesare free!
You can upgrade to PRO/PREMIUM; withfairpricesas little as$5 per month.Iam usingthe free
version,andPREY workswell inconnectionwithaVPN (see above#2).
The premiumfeaturesinclude:
Acceleratedtracking
Paidaccounts can speedupincomingreportsfrommissingdevicesuptoevery2 minutes.
Wipe passwords,emailsandfiles
Complete andsecure removal of browserdata,storedpasswords,local mailboxesandpersonal
documentsispossibleondesktopandlaptopsunderpaidaccounts.
100 reportsperdevice
Storage of upto 100 reportsfor eachof yourdevices,insteadof 20.
Prioritysupport
Retrieve files
Smartphone lost?Finditagainwithprey
4. Watch outfor scams and spams
A lotof attackerssendoutmessagesclaimingthatyouneedtoverifyyouraccountor logindetails.
Some evengoas far as statingyouhave a paymentawaitingyou.
Nevertrustunsolicitedmessages,whetherbyWhatsApp,e-mail,SMS,iMessage orsimilarservice.
Also,don’tclickonany linksandattachmentssenttoyou.It may lookauthenticbutprobablywon’tbe!
For example:
You bookedyourtravel insurance with“HippieNoHarm”(yes,Imade thatone up!).Latersomeone with
the email addresscontact@hippien0harm.comcontactsyou…
Again,take a lookat the O – one time itis a zero,the otherone the letter“o”.
Have you evennoticedthis?
Hippie NoHarm (withthe lettero)
contact@hippien0harm.com(withthe numberzero)
Of course,thisisan extreme examplejusttogive youanidea.It isnot superobviousall the time.
Therefore,payattention.
A real-life story –to scare you!
Thisis storysubmittedbyourfriendKristafromPassportdelicious.com
A fewyearsago,one of mycolleagues(I’llcall himDavid) andIreceivedanemail fromaclient,
requestingfeedbackonareport.It wasa little odd –thisparticularclientreally hadnoreasonto sendus
thistype of report – but I clickedonthe linkanyhow.Uppoppeda Gmail loginscreen.Orat least,what
lookedlike aGmail loginscreen.
Luckily,Ilookedatthe URL; I couldtell itwas a spoof site inBrazil and notactuallyGmail.I quicklyclosed
my iPhone’sbrowser.
I was worriedthough –my colleague Davidwhohadalsoreceivedthe email wasolderandnotsuper
tech-savvy.Iwasactuallyonmy wayhome on the train whenIreceivedthe email,soIfiguredIwould
call Davidas soon as I got home andwarn himnot to clickon anything.
WhenI calledhim – and thiswas seriouslywithin45 minutesof receivingthe email –Icouldtell he was
ina panic.
“Krista,theygot everything.TheywentintomyGmail accountand tookall the emailsoutof my account.
Theygot all my taxesandfrequentflyeraccounts,basicallyanythingI’ve storedinthatemail account
overthe last 10 years.”
His entire Gmail accountwasempty.
Most chillingly?
“I’m at mybank rightnow.They’ve emptiedoutmybankaccount.”
I honestlycannotbelievehowquicklythisall happened.
Withinanotherhouror so,it got worse…the peoplewhohademptiedDavid’sGmail accounthadcalled
hisfinancial advisorandrequestedtowithdraw all of David’sretirementsavings.Theyhadall of David’s
informationtomake the transactionhappen.The onlythingthatstoppedhisfinancialadvisoristhatshe
knowsDavidwell andknewthatshe wasnot talkingtoDavid.
(Also,there are massive tax consequencestowithdrawingUSretirementfundsbefore retirementsoit
was an oddrequestanyhow.)
Davidis nowinperpetual identitythefthell.It’sbeenterribleforhim.
The moral of the storyhere isthat thiscan happento anyone,andthievesmove quickly.
If you are curious,we checkedwiththe clientwhohad“sent”the email andhe hadreceivedthe same
and clickedonitand loggedin.We thinkwhathappenedisthe hackersthengotintothe client’semail
account and sentthe same email toall of the client’scontactsandthendeletedthe sente-mail soasnot
to leave atrace. Because thiswasthe client’sworkemail account,theydidnotfindanypersonal details
and likelymovedon.UnfortunatelyforDavid,the clienthademailedhispersonal account.
Hindsightisalways20/20 buthere are at leasttwothingsyoucan doto preventthishorrorstory from
happeningtoyou.These securitytipscover#6 and #7.
5. Use a passwordlocker
Use a passwordlockerlike Lastpass,Onepass,orDashlane tocreate unique,complex passwordsforall
of youraccounts.
Davidunfortunatelyusedthe same passwordformanyof hisaccounts.
Once the thievesknewhisGmail accountpasswordandthe othersorts of accounts he had,theywere
able to breakintomanyof hisotheraccounts.I’ve beenusingapasswordlockersince thishappened
and I’mcontinuouslysurprisedbythe numberof accountsIhave (more than 300) and the numberof
passwordbreachesthatoccur.
A passwordlockerwill notifyyouimmediatelywhenabreachoccurs soyou can change your password
and anysimilarpasswords.
Andshouldyourowndetailsgetstolen,the passwordlockerwill helpyouquicklychange logindetails.
for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo
6. Turn on two-factorauthentication
Turn on two-factorauthenticationforanyaccountthat offersit.
Yes,I knowit’sa pain (especiallywhentraveling).
BUT had Davidhad2-factor authenticationturnedonforhisGmail account,the thieveswouldnothave
progressedbeyondthe loginscreen.(Theystill couldhave triedhispasswordonothertypical accounts
though).
If you’re not familiarwith2-factorauthentication,whathappensisthatbefore youcancomplete your
login,the websitesendsacode to yourphone.
You thenneedtouse that code to complete yourlogin.
So if thieveshave yourpasswordbutnotyourphone,theycan’tgetinto youraccounts.
In thisdayand age,it can be hard tostay safe online.
Unfortunately,there are badpeople outthere.Protectyourself byusingapasswordlockerandplease
setup two-factorauthentication!
Interesting:Manybanksofferatwo-stepverificationfortransactionsaswell.Foreveryonline purchase
or transfer,theysenda code to yourphone that youmust type inas well.
Good to know:I know,itisa real painto logineachtime twice.Itreallyannoysme aswell,yetitmakes
the whole game more safe.
Two StepVerification - annoyingbutreallypowerful!
7. Use longeranddifferentpasswords
The longeryourpassword,the better.
The firststepis obviouslychoosingapasswordinthe firstplace.Donot leave yoursmartphone orlaptop
unprotected.
That is like walkingoutof yourhouse andleavingthe doorwide open.If youdothis,youshouldnotbe
surprisedif someone walksinwithoutasking…makessense?!
The secondstepis choosingdifferentpasswordsforemail,social mediaetc.
The last step ischoosinga longpassword.
I came acrosssome great advise onchoosinga password.
Insteadof thinkinginlettersandnumbers,thinkaboutsentences.Thismakespasswordsautomatically
longerandmore difficulttohack.
If you have readthroughthe tragic hackerstoryabove,itseemsobviousnottouse one passwordfor
several accounts.Thismakeslife forahackerway tooeasy.
Good to know:I readthe most commonpasswordinthe worldis“password“….Idon’tevenhave words
for that!
Crazy Long Passwordsmightbe easierthanyouthink
8. Nevertrusta USB device
USB devicesare the prime source of malware andviruses – afterphishingemails.
Nevertrusta USB device giventoyouorthe device fromsomeoneyoudon’treallyknow onyourprivate
devices.
Note that 99% of the infectionsgounnoticedtothe user.
Nevertrusta USB device
9. Nevertrusta “quickcharge”booth
QuickCharge Boothsare tempting.Atthe airport,coffee shops,etc.Again,yourUSBdevice doesn’tjust
transferpower,italsosharesdata.
USB sharesdata!
Those “quick”recharge shopsmay verywell be readingyourdevice whilegivingyoujuice atthe same
time.
Use a wall socketchargerinsteadwithyourownUSB port, it’smuch safer!
What do we use?
We use an internationaltravel adapterwith3USB ports included.
QuickCharge Booth
10. Use Safe websites
In followingwiththe previouswarning,be onthe lookoutforcompaniesthatmayhave yourname but
don’taddressyouby itwhensendingseeminglyofficialmessages.
Alsobe on the lookoutforspellingmistakesandURLs (websiteaddresses) thatare differentthanthe
official companywebsite orthose thatdonot use HTTPS (secure webbrowsing).
How to know if a website issafe?
Checkif a website hasthe greenlockinitsURL and that the url showshttpS – withletter“s”.
Good to know:The so-calledSSLconnectionisimportantwhenitcomesto“sensitive data”suchas your
bankaccount and bookings.
Whenbookingyourhostel,make sure youcheckif the hostel actuallyusesasecure connection.There
are hostel websitesusingnon-secure bookingsoftware.Thisisnotatall normal,usuallyhostel andhotel
websitesare safe.
Justkeepan eye onit,especiallyif the websitedoesnotlook100% professionallydesigned.
Read:13 bookinghacksfor hostels
HTTPS - How to spotif a website issafe?The greenlock
11. Use Social Media,butpay attention
Beingsocial isimportant,butalsomindyourprivacy.
Social medianowadaysmakesitveryeasytoshare everythingaboutyourself.Be aware thatothersmay
use the informationyoupubliclyshare tobuildaprofile of you.
Be careful whatkindof informationyoushare andwithwhomyoushare it.Evenif you feel youhave
nothingtohide,don’tgoabout sharingeverything!
Photosyoushare can easilyenduponwebsitesyoudonotwantto be connectedto.Andinformation
youshare can endup invitingthievestoyourhouse while youare travelingthe world.
In all fairness,thisisaverydrasticexample andtip.Justkeepthisinmindwhensharinginformation
online.
QuotesforInstagramBio
12. Let yourBank knowyouare traveling
Your bankcares about yoursafetyandtheycare about yourmoneybeingsafe;orat leasttheydon’t
wantto cover the insurance partwhensomeone fromaforeignATMtakesmoney.
for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo
Therefore,letyourbankknowwhenandwhere youare traveling.
Thisway theyknowyouwill be usingitinthe Philippinesandnotsuddenlyblockthe creditcard.
A blockedcreditcardduringholidays –not cool!
13. Use Cash(ATMs and creditcard safety)
Talkingmore aboutmoneyandcreditcards, cash isthe safest optiontopay.
Especiallyincountrieslike Indonesiathe stealingof creditcarddetailsiswidelycommon.We metquite
a few – andit happenedtous!
Our ownstory:
We have beencareful andonlyusedofficial ATMsattachedto an actual bank,yetit happened.
Theystole ourcreditcard detailsmostlikelyinasupermarketorthe ATMattached.We cannotexactly
pinpointit,butitwas inSouthLombok,inKuta, Lombok.The thievesstole800€ fromour account and
we instantlyblockedthe creditcard.
Since we have insurance againstthiskindof theft,the bankandVISA covered;we were lucky.
So,how can youprotect yourself?
Try usingyourcreditcard as little aspossible,use more cash.Also,itisrecommendedtouse ATM
machinesthatare directlyattachedtobanks,insteadof supermarketsandsuch.
UsingCash whenTraveling
14. Digital Copyof yourpassport
Your passportisimportantand youshouldnotlose it.
Losingthe passportcomeswithquite some trouble includingspendingalotof time and moneytoget a
newone.A friendfromSwedenonce losthispassportona motorbike tripthroughVietnam.
Read:the 27 bestthingstodo inVietnam
He had toflyto Hanoi to the embassytogeta new one,spend2 weeksandaround1000€ intotal to
recoverthe passport.The 1000€ were additionaltravel costsandfees,however.
It isa goodideato make a simple copyof yourpassport.Thiswill obviouslynotbe a validdocumentto
enteran internationalflight,butitwill helpyoutogeta new one andto identifyyourself.
You can leave adigital copyof yourpassportin youremails,forinstance.
In case you are travelingwith afriend,youcan give eachothera copy of your passport.Thiswayyou
have a copy withyou.Again,a copydoesnot replace anoriginal passport,butithelps.
Verygoodto know:Your modernpassportisactuallymuchmore than justpaper.There are also some
electronicsinitsuchas an RFID chip(althoughnotall passportshave this!).
You shouldprotectthe electronicsandconserve yourpassportwell.We use asimple passportcover
withRID Blockerforthat.
15. Log out of Facebooketc
In the beginningImentionedthe GDPR.
Andalongwiththisyou mayhave hearda lotabout “cookies“.
Those cookiesare little filesthatare storedinyourbrowser(Chrome,Safari,Firefox etc).Thesecookies
helptotrack whoyouare and to personalizeyourads,yourpersonal preferencesandsuch.Cookiesare
nothingbad,theydonot do any harm.
Yet,there isdata of youcollectedwithoutyoumaybe knowingaboutit.
Social mediasitesinparticularcollectalotof data aboutyouto see whichwebsitesyoulike,readand
consume.Basedonthis,newadswill be showntoyou.A way to avoidthisisto alwayslogoutof
Facebooketcwhenyou’re notactuallyusingit.
What can you do?
You can use differentbrowsersfordifferenttasksyoudo.
For instance,youcan use Safari foryour FacebookandSocial Media,and MozillaFirefoxforyourregular
dailybrowsing.
16. Storingyourhome addressinMaps
Thistravel safetytipcomesfromLaura from The CulinaryTravel Guide.
Google Maps letsyoustore a shortcut to yourhome addressso youcan type lessandget directions
faster.While that’sconvenientforyou,if someonestealsyourphone,you’vemade iteasyforthemto
findtheirwayrightto your frontdoor.
Especiallyif yourphone isn’tpasswordprotected –thatis anotherno-go.
Insteadof savingyourhome address,save the addressof a nearbystore or restaurantinstead.You’ll still
be able to navigate close tohome witha single tap,butyou’ll be keepingyourpersonal information
safe.
If you’ve alreadysavedyourhome address,it’seasytochange.
JustopenGoogle Maps, thenClickMenu> Your Places> Labeled.
Nexttoyour Home Address,clickonthe three dots,selectEditHome.Thentype the addressof a public
location.
17. Turn off “automaticimage loading”inyouremails
Have you everreceivedanemail withanimage inside?Sure,youdid.Probablyathousandtimes.
Sometimes,sendersmayknowwhetheryou’ve openedanemail thathasan image.Especially
marketeersuse thistosee if someone receivesanemail ornot.
Personally,Ireallydislike this,because Ineveragreedtothistrackingof mine.Thisisjustunacceptable.
I do notknowthe image loadingbehavioronall email providers,butIknow Gmail.
Gmail scans everymessage forsuspiciouscontent. If Gmail thinksasenderormessage issuspicious,
imagesaren’tshownandyou’ll be askedif youwantto see the images.
How Gmail helpsmake imagessafe?
Google scansimagesforsignsof suspiciouscontentbefore youreceive them.
These scansmake imagessaferbecause:
Senderscan’tuse image loadingtogetinformationaboutyourcomputerorlocation.
Senderscan’tuse the image to setor read cookiesinyourbrowser.
Gmail checksthe imagesforknownharmful software.
I alwaysturnoff automaticimage loadingandonlyloadimagesfromemailsItrust.It goesinthe same
directionasthe linkstoryabove.
Anotheradvantage:Emailsloadfasterwithoutimagesanditsavesyourmobile data.
You can easilyturnoff “automaticimage loading”inGmail under Settings>General > Images
Turn off "automaticimage loading"inyouremails
SummaryDigital/OnlineSecurityTips
The pointsabove mayseemfar-fetched,butinaworldthat’spredominantlydigitalit’sgoodtobe aware
of the possible dangersthatmaybe outthere.Itis fairlyeasytoprotectyour data witha VPN and
followingsome basicguidelines.
Be open,enjoythe world,respectothersnomatterwhattheirbackgroundmaybe and follow your
instinctwhenmeetingnewpeople.
Enjoylife tothe fullestanddoso withlove,trustandcompassionwhile keepingyourpersonal(digital)
securityinmind.Withthese recommendationsyouare onthe safe side.
Keepyourself physicallysafe:Travel SafetyTips forthe Road
Now,we’ve coveredthe onlineandtechnical thingstostaysafe onthe road – and at home.Inthispart
we want to getfamiliarwiththe physical safety.
It can be robbery,natural disasters,scamsandthingsof thatmatter.Uff, heavystuff…
We will keepnumberingthislist:
for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo
18. Searchfor “Thingsyouneedto know before travelingto…”
Use the wisdomof the crowd.
Everycountry,city andplace has differentrules,problems,culture,scams…
The veryfirstthingI like todo before travelingtoaplace,isto run exactlythissearchquery.
Withsome luckyou will findsome greatblogorotherarticlescoveringexactlythattopic.Give itago
and readthrough.Thisis a good startingpointforplanningatrip.
19. Locals,specializedFacebookGroups,blogs,yourhostel
In case you cannotfindany solidinformation,youcanalwaysuse Facebookgroupsandaskat yourlocal
hostel.
EspeciallyFacebookgroupsbecamesuperpopularandthere isagroup foralmosteverything.
The group “MotorbikesVietnam”helpedustobuy a motorbike inHanoi andto sell itinHo Chi Minh.A
differentgroupwashelpful forplanningour3 monthsstayin Bali.
Facebookisnowadayssomuch more than friendsandpagesyoulike.The groupsare reallypowerful
and there isalmosta niche-groupforeverything.Justtype inyourdestinationandgive itatry.
Anotherresource istravel blogsandhostel websites.Some hostel teamsreallydedicate theirwebsite to
provide superusefulinformationonsightseeing,how togetaround,scams etc.
20. Become familiarwithcommontravel scams
A travel scamis a game to fool youto lose yourwallet,money,backpack,etc.The game “ends”when
the scammerwinsand the travelerhaslost.
I wishI couldgive youa huge listforall those travel scamsout there.The truth is,people are really
creative aboutthis.
How to findcommonscamsthen?Go to Google and/orYoutube andsearch for“Scams in India”,asan
example.There are fantasticvideosandarticlescoveringthese topicsforprettymuchany destination.
Make yourself familiarwithcommonlocal travel scams.
In Portoit is“sellingdrugs”rightinthe citycenterwhichis actuallyjustherbs.InThailand,it’sthe police-
drug-trickandthe tuck-tuck-drivertrick.Inmanycountriestaxi driverscanbe involvedinscams.Thatis
no genericrule,obviously!
Here is a listforcommontravel scams to lookoutfor:
BrokenTaxi Meter
“That hotel/hostel doesnotexistanymore” –saysthe taxi driverandbringsyouto hiscousin
The room inspectors
DamagedMotorbike Rental whenreturning
Charitypetition
The brokencamera
Eager Englishstudents(notalwaysascam, readour story here)
PrettyWoman
Good to know:Do notfeel badif youfall for a scam. Try to reduce the risk.
Truth be told,I’ve fallenforsome scamsmyself,forinstance the tuck-tuckdriverinSri Lankawho
chargedme waaaaytoo much,same in Hanoi.
In Marrakeshtheytalkedusintotheirshopand letus go once we boughtsomethingsmall.Theydidnot
threatenus,butgave us tea and pushedusto buysomething.
It was justtheirowntake on selling…
21. Are there dangerousanimalsinthe country?
The most dangerousanimal inParistolookout formay be the pigeons.
Theycan poop onyou (butactuallyare alsocarrying aroundlotsof bacteria).
In all seriousness,have alookif there are anydangerousanimalslivinginthe countryyouare visiting.I
am not talkingaboutthe zooor cockroaches,but wildlife.
In Sri Lanka for instance youhave Leopards,poisonoussnakes,elephants,crocodilesetc.
That is importantinformationwhenconsideringtravelingoff the beatenpath.
ElephantsSri LankaAnAligatorinSouthAfrica
22. CopyLonelyPlanet:Emergencyinfo
Althoughwe personallydonotbringLonelyPlanetguidebookson ourtravels(theyare simplytoo
heavy),itisa powerful source.
On the veryfirstpagesof everyLonelyPlanetyoufinddifferentembassylocations,safetytips,local
phone numbersof police andambulance etc.Some countriesofferaTouristHelpline in several
languages.
Thiscan be veryuseful!
The basic emergencyinformationyouneedis:
Police
Fire brigade
Ambulance
Redcross
23. Registerwithyourembassy
A verycommonpiece of safetyadvise fortourists.Well,we’ve neveractuallydone this –nota single
time.
It makessense thoughtoletyourembassyknow youare inthe country.Thisis especiallyhandywhena
natural disastertakesplace like flooding,volcanoeruptionandsuch.
Your embassycantake care of you andevacuate itsowncitizens.
Again,we neverdidthisandactuallyitisnot on our list.Itis an optionandsomethingtokeepinmind.
24. Don’tbe a fool:Lock Up Your Valuables
Whenstayinginhostels,youwill undoubtedlymeetpeople.Thisispartof the experience.Thisis WHY
youmost likelystayinahostel inthe firstplace.
Whenthere are people,therecanbe goodonesand bad ones.
Generallyspeaking,hostelsare safe.
To be completelysafe,we alwaysrecommendusingthe lockers.Youcan save some moneybybringing
your ownpadlock.
Quickstory: A friendof oursonce “lost”$10 inhis4-beddorm. He leftthe bill there,wentforashower,
and itwas gone.Obviouslythisisnotgood.Use the lockersanddon’tgive someone the opportunityof
takingeven10 bucks from you.
There are a fewthingstokeepan eye onto know if a hostel issafe BEFORE youactuallybookit.
In a nutshell:
Stay at a qualityhostel withasecure hostel location
The firstrule to stay safe at hostelsischoosingaqualityhostel –all 5 Star Hostelsare safe!
Trust yourgut and use your head
Use the lockers(eveninprivate rooms)
Askstaff for securityadvice
Is there somethingtoknowaboutthe city,scams,areasto skip?
If in doubt,travel ina group
Drinkresponsibly(andinagroup you are familiarwithif possible)
Don’topenthe hostel doorfor strangers
Don’tbringshady friendstothe house
Watch your belongingsthatyoucare about
Copyyour Passportandemail itto yourself
Remember:Yourpassportiscrucial!
Hide some backupmoneyina differentpocket
Put some moneyaway,justincase you lose yourwallet.
Arrive at the hostel the firsttime before dark
For Female Travelers:if indoubt,manyhostelsofferfemale-onlydormsaswell.There are even
complete hostelsonlyforfemaletravelers.
Read:whyfemale only-dorms?7prosand 4 cons of female-onlydorms.
Readfull article:Are hostelssafe?13tipsto stay safe inhostels
We alsoincludeda.pdf withall safetyhostel tipsforfree download.
for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo
25. Share your itinerarywithfriendsandfamily
A goodidea!Letyour friendsandfamilyknow where youare traveling.Incase somethinghappens(like
an earthquake and such),someone knowsyouare there.
In thisregardit isinterestingtomentioninmanycountries,youraccommodationhasalistof guests.
In some countriesthe accommodationhastodo a nightlyreportandsenditto the police.Sothe police
isaware of whois stayingthere incase somethinghappens.
26. Do not trustblindly&followyourgut
Didyou everhave thatstrange,odd,unsettledfeelingwhentalkingtoastranger?
That may verywell have beenyourgutinstinct.
Trustingothersisa goodthingwhenyoudon’tneglectyourinstinctive feelings.
It’sevolutionatit’score.Trust othersbutneverbe dishonesttowhatyourinstincttellsyou.
It isperfectlyokaytosay “No” if youhave a badfeelingaboutsomething.Donotletsomeone pressure
youintoany situation.
27. Dressappropriately
Whentravelingabroad,itisgoodadvise to be familiarwithlocal customs,suchasclothing.Thisis
especiallyimportantwhenitcomestoreligioussights.
A womenshouldnotenterachurch witha mini-skirtandthe shouldersshouldnotshow.The same goes
for mosques.
In Bali bothmenand womenneedtoweara sarong forenteringatemple.Atthe same time a women
havinghermonthlyperiodisnotallowedenteringthe temple.
Make yourself familiarwiththingsyoumayneedtobringto enter sights.Mostof the time youcan
purchase or getthe requireditemsnextdoor – eitherforfree ora small fee.
For instance,inBali we borrowedaSarong foraround 20 cents.
28. Behave appropriately
Afterwe’ve coveredourselvesinthe placeswe have toorshould,letustalkaboutbehavior.
Travelingisaboutgettingtoknowothercultures,thingsandcustomsyouare notfamiliarwithandwant
to experience firsthand.
Now,doingso,itis a good ideatoplayalongwithlocal behaviorandadapt.
Afterall,youare the guest.Doesthatmake sense?Ina worst case scenarioyoucouldendup injail for
refusingtoadhere tothe local customs.
We wantto share a fewexamples:
1. Showingaffection:
In the MaldivesandmostMuslimcountriesitisinappropriate toholdhandsinpublicandshow
affection.
Confessiontime;inthe Maldiveswe forgotthisforasecondand heldhands.A local instantly
“corrected”us ina friendly,yetdeterminedmanner.Okaythough, he wasright.
2. Light kissesonthe cheek
In some parts,especiallythe Southernpartsof Europe kissingonthe cheekfora friendlyhi andgoodbye
isperfectlynormal.Cheekkissingisacommonritual to indicate friendship,familyrelationshipandeven
whenyoumeetsomeone forthe fisttime.
Firstof all,Cheekkissingisnotthe same everywhere.Itdiffersfromcountrytocountry.It differsfrom
cityto city. No,youknowwhat:it actuallydiffersfromhouse-holdtohouse-hold!
It isusuallyone, twoor three kisses.Andletme tell you,thatevenforme asa German-French-Spanish
Europeanthiscan be confusing.
So if youare confusedandnotsure howoftenyoushouldkiss,don’tfeelbad.
BUT: Be aware of where youactuallypractice cheekkissingandevenmore importantly,where not!
You shouldn’tgoandkisseveryone forafriendlygreeting.Someculturesmaywellhave aheartattack
shouldyoutry to kissthemonthe cheek.
We actually witnessedthis.Ourstory:
An Argentinian(female) hostel mate we justmetjoinedusona walkthroughChiangMai. It was me,
Annaand a local,male friend.Whenournew Argentinianfemale hostel mate left,she cheek-kissedus
Europeansgoodbye andwentovertoour Thai friendtokisshimas well.
His eyes.Theygotbiggerandbigger.
I will neverforgethiseyesandthe lookonhisface whenshe gotcloserand closer.IthinkI glimpsed
panic!
I intervenedjustintime andsharedwithherthisbasicknowledgeof notcheek-kissingpeople inSouth
East Asia.The “funniest”partwasthat she had alreadybeentravelinginSouthEastAsiafor 6 months.
Ever since I’ve wonderedhowmanymenshe gave aheart attack throughcheek-kissing?!
I guessI will neverknow…
3. Going shoppinghalf-naked
In manybeach-locations,touristslovetowalkaroundshirtless.
It may be interestingtoknow,incitiessuchas Barcelonathisisforbidden –exceptforthe beach
obviously.Thislawwaspassedbecause toomanytouristsstartedtowalkaroundhalf-nakedandlocals
feltdisrespected.Manysupermarketsalsoshow signsthatyouhave towear shoes,pantsanda shirt
whenentering.
4. SpittinginSingapore (andafewmore thingsto remember)
Personally,we didnotdothis,butthere are unfortunatelymanystoriesof peoplewhodidactuallyspit
on the groundin Singapore.
4 Weeksona Bike ThroughIceland – IndependentBike Tour
See Also
4 Weeksona Bike ThroughIceland – IndependentBike Tour
This“fail”can cost you upto $5000.
Readmore aboutthingsthatare illegal inSingapore suchassellinggumandforgettingtoflushatoilet.
for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo
5. Left handvs righthand
In certaincountriesthe lefthandisthe “dirty”hand.
In countriessuchas Sri Lanka and India,youshouldpayattentiontothis.
Especiallywhenpassingsomeone yourplate ora drink.Confessiontime;thiswasreallynoteasyforme.
I constantlyhadto remindmyself orgeta travel buddytoremindme.But,I wasn’tthe onlyone
strugglingwiththis.Justtryto pay attention.
Readthe newguide tothe besthostelsinDelhi (includingsafetytipsforIndia)
29. Travel ina herd
Before Iscare you,Solo-Travel issafe,too!
Sometimesitisjustsafertotravel ina group insteadof alone.The reasonissimple;anindividualisan
easiertarget.
Read:10 Most CommonBackpackermistakesyoushouldavoid
Read:18 solo-travel quotestopushyourconfidencetotravel onyourown
A groupof travelersenjoyingthe commonareaatClockInn Kandy,Sri Lanka.
30. One adult– one passport
Whentravelinginagroup or as a family,itcanbe temptingtoletsomeone take responsibilityforall the
passportsinthe group. Well,that’slike puttingall your“eggsintoone basket“.
Whenthat bag withall the passportsgetslost,youwill have a lotsof problems.
In myfamily,we goby the rule “one adult – one passport”.
That meansthat everyone oldenoughcarriestheirownpassport.Youngerchildren’spassportsare
spreadamongthe adults.Thiswill make asingle theftlesspainful,notlosing all yourpassportsatonce.
ThissafetytipcomesfromPer,the writerbehindthe travel blogResrutt.
Good to know:Most countriesinthe worldrequire yourpassporttobe validformore than 6 months.
Make sure youalwaystravel witha validpassport andget a new one before itexpires.
31. Become familiarwithpickpockets
EarlierI mentionedyoushouldmake yourself familiarwithlocal scamsandsuch.
It isa goodideato become familiarwithpickpocketsingeneral.How dotheyworkand whatdo they
want?
It isusuallysimple:Theywantyourthingslike camera,money,backpack.
It isgood ideatounderstandthatyour back-pocketisnotyourfriendfromnow on and youmay not
wantto showall yourpreciousbelongingsinpublic.
Pickpocketsusually workbydistractingpeople.Here isaninterestingvideosharing13wayspickpockets
work.
32. Portable Safe
ThisrecommendationisaddedbyourfriendManoukBobfromBunch of Backpackers.
A portable travel safe isaninnovative waytokeepyourvaluablessafe ine.g.yourhotel roomorat the
beach.The safe is made of a slashproof meshwhichyoucan attach to a strong fixture (e.g.wooden
pole,tree) etc.Iteasilyfitsinyourbackpackas it’sflatand lightweight.Mostthievesare opportunity
thievesandaportable travel safe avoidsaquicksnatch andgrab.
33. Pack a basicmedicine kit
Diarrhea,a cut, motorbike accident,otherstomachsproblems,headache,hangover,mosquitobite…
A basictravel-sizedmedicinekitisreally,reallyhandyandwe alwaystravel withone.Inoticedthat
manytravelersdothat and love toshare.Whensomeone hasa headache or hangover,the nextpain
killerisneverfaraway.
Allergies?Youneedtopackyour medicine aswell.Tryalsoto findoutwhere youcan getyour medicine
if you runout of it.
Thisis notsuperspecific,sothe safestwaywouldbe toask your doctor.
34. Gettingdrunk
Oh oh oh…here comesanotherlecture.Actuallyno,dowhatever youfeel like aslongasyoudon’t harm
others.
Partyingcan be a bigpart of your travel lifestyle,andthere isendlesscrazypartyhostelsthatgave a lot
of people nightstheycannotremember.
There are justa fewthingsyoushouldhearbefore youtake onthat Mojito.
1. There is sucha thingas “bad” alcohol
A fewblacksheepthinkitisOKto punchcocktailswithbad alcohol.Thisisactuallynotreal alcohol but
Methanol.The reason?Itis cheaper!
You can actuallygetseriousmethanol poisoningfromit,andinthe worst case scenario:die.The 5 Star
HostelsGili MansionandGili Castle onthe Gili TrawanganIslandinLombok,nearBali actuallyeducate
theirguestsonthis.
The basic rule is:onlyconsume closeddrinks,meaningbottleddrinks.
2. Drunk people are easiertopickpocket
A drunkpersoniseasiertosteal from;makessense.
So whenyougo outand party hard,you shouldconsiderleavingyourvaluable Smartphone and$500
cash inyour hostel locker.EspeciallyincitieslikeBarcelona,Rome andHoChi Minh Citythere are
concentratedpartyareas – and pickpocketsknow that.Heck,itistheir“job”.
On the RamblasinBarcelonaI once saw twocompletelywasted60-ishyearoldmengetpickpocketed
of everythingtheyowned,includingtheirjacket.The prostitutesweregatheringaroundthemandtook
everything.Unfortunately,therewasnothingthatme andmy friendcouldhave done,exceptcall the
police.
It isa betterideatostay withyourhostel crowdor eveninthe hostel andpartyaway.Checkout here
the listof my favorite coolestpartyhostelsinthe world.
Loki Del Mar is one of the bestpartyhostelsinthe world
35. Otherillegal Drugsinforeigncountries
Here we cover twotopics.
1. Consumingdrugs
You may have heardthisalreadya thousandtimes.This“police”scaminThailandisbasicallywhenyou
purchase some Marijuanaand on the cornerthe “police”iswaitingforyou.
Thistravel scam isseriouslybasicknowledge!
The police will letyougofora bigpay check,youhave a shock forlife,anodd travel storyto tell and
probablywon’ttouchdrugsfor a longtime.My bestadvise wouldbe:skipthiswhole experience!
These scamsare mostlycommoninPhilippines,Malaysia,Thailand,Cambodia,LaosandVietnam.
2. Drug Trafficking
AlthoughIam prettysure none of our readersare financingtheirlife thisway,butanyway…
In some countriesdrugtraffickingcanbe penalizedwiththe deathpenalty.Wow,okay,Iknow thistook
a dark turn. I justwantto cover thisto have thisarticle complete.
Obviouslywe wouldneverdothat,yetit isquite harshto arrive at an airport andget a huge sign
shuffledinyourface:Capital punishmentfordrugtrafficking.
Drug traffickingisone of the reasonswhytheyaskyou at the airport if youpackedyour backpackby
yourself andif anyone touchedyourluggage afterwards.If yousay“Yes,I packedit myself”and“No,no
one toucheditafterwards“,youcan have a seriousproblemif theyfindsomething.Sobetterbe sure it’s
true – and yourluggage drug-free.
Here is an overview of countriesthathave the deathpenaltyfordrugcrimes:
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Brunei
China
Cuba
DemocraticRepublicof the Congo
Egypt
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Laos
Libya
Malaysia
Myanmar
NorthKorea
Oman
Qatar
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
SouthKorea
SouthSudan
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Syria
Taiwan
Thailand
UnitedArabEmirates
UnitedStatesof America
Vietnam
Yemen
BrokedownPalace isatravel movie tellingareal-life storyof twoAmericangirlsgoingtojail inThailand
for drug-trafficking.
Readnext:33 bestwanderlustmovies
36. Vaccines
Vaccinesare superbasic,or at leasttheyshouldbe.Askyourdoctor whatvaccinesyouneedandwhat
youmightneedto topup.
In mostcountries,these vaccinesare affordable andnothingreallytosave moneyon.
Thistopic isquite big,soI cannot give yousuperdetailedadvice,butyourdoctorcan.
Good to know:Some vaccinesare mandatoryto entera country.Andsome vaccinesneedtobe taken
some time aheadof the travel date itself.
37. Basic Self-defense
How to protectyourself while traveling?SelfDefense isthe answer.
There isno needtobecome the nextKarate Kidor KungFu Master. The basicscan be enoughtoprotect
you.
Have a lookforlocal self-defense classesinyourtown.There isalsoplenty of onlinecoursesaboutself-
defense.Inmyopinionitisbesttoworkdirectlywithanexperiencedcoachandpractice withhim/herin
personratherthan watchinga video.
38. Use a helmet
I cannot believe Ihave towrite thisone down.Whenyouhopon a motorbike,putona helmet.SofarI
didnot wantto scare you,but inthiscase I thinkIhave to.
Have you everheardsomeone saying“drivingascooterinSouthEast Asiais dangerous“?
Well,drivinganywhere inthisworldwithoutahelmet“drivinga scooterisdangerous“.The same goes
for drivingina car withoutusingthe seat-belt.
Trust me whenI say the concrete inThailand,VietnamandCambodiaisashardand relentlessasinThe
USA, Italy,SouthAfricaor Brazil.Incase of an accident,your headwon’tmake a difference betweenthe
streetsof Rome,Hanoi or Los Angeles.
Furthermore,abrokenarm isnot a huge deal.Yet,yourheadis the mostfragile partof yourbody.
Recoveringfromaseriousheadinjuryismuchmore difficult.
Importantnote:Doesthismeanyoushouldnotdrive a scooter?Not at all.I urge everybodytodoitif
youfeel readyforit.It is AWESOME to cruise aroundChiangMai, PenangandHanoi on a bike.
Thissimplymeans:wearahelmet!
Wearinga helmetisa goodidea
Wearinga helmetisa goodidea
39. Get Travel Insurance
I didnot scare youuntil here sothat youinvestintravel insurance.Thatwasnotmy intention.Take this
advice or leave it,butI guesssince youreaduntil here,there mustbe areasonfor that.
We alwaystravel withinsurance.ThisiseitherSafetywingorWorldNomads.If thistopicisinteresting
for you,I wrote a bigguide to WorldNomadsInsurance andwhyit makessense toat the veryleast
considerit.
We alsowrote a bigarticle comparing SafetywingvsWorldNomadsInsurance.
Good to know:Youmay alreadyhave travel insurance includedinyourregularinsurance athome.Check
directlywithyourinsurance company.There isusuallynoneedtobuy17 differenttravelinsurance
policies.
WorldNomadsvs SafetywingInsurance
Update:40. MoneyBeltor justa Belt(notonlyfor Nerds)
Personally,Iamnota bigfan of a moneybelt.Youknow,the onesbelow yourtshirtandaroundyour
wist.Youcan wearit almostlike abra and payingwiththe moneyyouare carryingaround?!uff…it
annoyedme.
Therefore,aftermyfirstsolo-travel Iskippeditandjusthopedforthe best.
Yet,here is the bettersolution.Anactual beltthatyoumightbe wearinganywaycombinedwitha
hiddenmoneypocket.
Thisis perfectforme personally.
I addedthisitemas well tomypersonal bestpackinglistwith23 must-bringitems.
Get yourMoney Belthere
securitymoneybelt - a must-have forbackpacker
securitymoneybelt –a must-have forbackpacker
FewNotesonTravel Safety
All of thissecurityadvise isimportanttoremember.
Yet,I hope we didnot scare you.Thisis justpurelyinformationandincase anythinghappens,youwill
be happyyou have heardaboutit beforehand.
1. Over-preparing
There issuch a thingas “over-preparing”.The more youread,the more paranoidyoumayget.
Quickstory:
We were sittingona beachinBali watchingthe sunset,surroundedbymanymanypeople.A local young
guy comesupto us and wantedtoshowus a photo onhisphone.I instantlysaw he hadtakena photo
of usfrom behind.Ialsoinstantlyassumedhe wantedtosell thistousnow.
I toldhim“I don’tspeakEnglish,sorry.” I guesshe realizedwe were indefense-mode,assuminghe was
a scammer.He told us “I justthoughtyoumightwant to have thisphoto,since itisa nice photoof you,
sorry!”.Long story short;Annaand the friendlyyoungguyexchangedthe photo,afew wordsandI felt
silly…
That is nothingcomparedtothe nextstoryof being“over-prepared”.
A travel friendof oursarrivedinSaigon,Vietnam.She arrivedatthe Airportandshe feltlike abosssince
she read EVERYTHINGthere ison the internetaboutVietnam:The good,the badandthe ugly.
“No one will scamME!! – that washer attitude.
She jumpedina taxi,andtoldthe driverto use the taximeter.He did.Sofar,so good.Yet, the price was
racing upsky-highwhenhe startedtodrive.Since she wasinthe “I know all scams” mode,she startedto
yell athim.
The poor guy hadno ideawhatwas goingon.He stoppedandshe got out of the taxi,superangry.
Anothertaxi drivercame andtranslated.Everythingwascorrect,thistaxi wasnoscammer.
What happened?
Our frienddidnottake the currencyintoaccount. The taximeterrolledsuperfastupto 10.000 Dong,
then12.000 Dong, then14.000 Dong.
The problem?
22.000 Dong isaround $1. She totallyforgotthatand screamedatthat poor taxi driverfornothing.
Well,over-prepared!Atthe endtheycontinuedthe tripandshe tipped himvery,verywell atthe end!
2. There are more good people inthisworld
Afteryearsof traveling,Ican tell you:There ismore goodin the worldthanevil,andyouwill notice
more people are eagertohelpinsteadof hurtyou.
Alwaysrememberthat!
3. RememberWill Smith
Do not letfeardefine yourlifeandtravel experience.
It isimportantto stay safe,itisimportantto stayhealthy.Yet,“Atthe pointof maximumdangeristhe
pointof minimumfear“. – Will Smith
Watch hisvideoaboutfearand skydiving.
4. Is it yourfault?Fallingfora scam
What do youdo if you fall fora scam?
Firstof all itis a bad feeling.Youmayfeel like anidiotthatyoufell forit.Youmay start tellingyourself
youcouldhave avoidedthis,thatitis your own fault.
The truth is itis notyour fault;it’sthe bad personsfault!
Anothertruthis,youcannot change what has alreadyhappened.
Andanothertruth: Everybodydoesfall forascam once in a while.
I did,Annadid,and evenmore experiencedtravelerscanfall victimtoa scam as well.There isnoshame
init and especiallynoneedtoblame yourself.
Justtry to learnfrom it,minimizethe damage andmove on.
5. Learninginthe process
Last but not least;there isnoneedtodrive yourself crazynow.
Thisis a huge guide withmanydifferenttravel safetytips.Thisisnottoscare you andto stop youfrom
traveling.Quite the opposite,justbe aware.Youcouldnow go and buy17 lockers foryour hostel time,
use 23 VPNs,learn43 techniquesforself-defenseandpurchase 172 travel insurance packages.Youwill
learnmostof the lessonsinthe process.
There isthis(kindof) cheesytravel quote Iactuallylike:
A shipina harbour issafe,butthisis not whata shipis builtfor.
If travelingwouldbe reallysodangerous,whydosomanypeople doit?Whydo so manypeople catch
the travel bug?Why are people,afteryearsof traveling,still soincrediblypassionateaboutit?
Read:109 Travel Quotes
Sumup the Travel SafetyTips
By no meaningisthisa full list.
There are endlesslistsof scams,crazytravel stories,youname it.I startedthislistandI thoughtI would
endup with5 points.I thenstartedto talkwithfriends,travel buddies,bloggers.Idecidedtopackthis
article withas muchinformationasIcan to helpyoutravel safe.
Overto you
Do youthinkI missedanything?Wouldyoulike toaddanything?Doyoudisagree somewhere?Iwould
love tohear youropiniononthis.
Justleave a commentbelow.
Quicknote:Nota single productsharedinthisarticle paidusto be featuredorreviewed. We use all
productsthat are mentioned.
Last but not least:
By the endof May 2018, the newdata privacyregulationcame intoforce.The EuropeanParliament
passedthe lawon UnionGeneral Data ProtectionRegulation(short:GDPR).
In Europe itis the mostimportantchange in data privacyregulationin20 years.FunFact: Thisregulation
has actuallybeenactive since 2016. The main difference from2018, isthat from now on websitescan
receive penaltiesif theydonotfollowthroughwithsecuritymeasures.Youmayhave receivedplentyof
emailsduringApril andMay2018 tellingyouaboutnew datapolicy,cookiesandprivacypolicy.
At Hostelgeekswe implementedthe dataprivacyandprotectionbackin2016. We anonymize yourIP
and use so-calledCookiesthathelpustomake our website more user-friendly,efficient,andsecure.
Here is the thing:
Insteadof boringyouwithprivacypoliciesandwhatwe dowithyour data,we thoughtit wouldbe more
interestingtogive youactual safetytipswhile traveling;bothonline andoffline.Youcanactuallytake
control of yourowndata. It may soundcomplicated,butIpromise itismucheasierthanyou think.
Safe travels,
The Hostelgeeks
– – –
pinterestisyourfriend
39 Simple andeffective Travel SafetyTips(bothoffline andonline)
BackpackingArgentinaBackpackingArmeniaBackpackingAustraliaBackpackingAustriaBackpacking
BelgiumBackpackingBrazilBackpackingCambodiaBackpackingCanadaBackpackingChileBackpacking
ChinaBackpackingColombiaBackpackingCostaRicaBackpackingCroatiaBackpackingCzech
RepublicBackpackingDenmarkBackpackingEcuadorBackpackingEstoniaBackpackingFinlandBackpacking
FranceBackpackingGeorgiaBackpackingGermanyBackpackingGreeceBackpacking
GuatemalaBackpackingHungaryBackpackingIcelandBackpackingIndiaBackpacking
IndonesiaBackpackingIsraelBackpackingItalyBackpackingJapanBackpackingLaosBackpacking
MacedoniaBackpackingMalaysiaBackpackingMexicoBackpackingMoroccoBackpacking
NepalBackpackingNetherlandsBackpackingNewZealandBackpackingNicaraguaBackpacking
NorwayBackpackingPeruBackpackingPhilippinesBackpackingPolandBackpackingPortugalBackpacking
PuertoRicoBackpackingRomaniaBackpackingRussiaBackpackingSerbiaBackpacking
SingaporeBackpackingSloveniaBackpackingSouthAfricaBackpackingSpainBackpackingSri
LankaBackpackingSwedenBackpackingSwitzerlandBackpackingTaiwanBackpacking
ThailandBackpackingTurkeyBackpackingUKBackpackingUkraineBackpackingUSABackpackingVietnam
for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo

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travel Safely

  • 1. Travel SafetyTips – For Your Data In the online worldwe wanttoshare a few tipson how to keepyourdata safe,suchas creditcard and smartphone. for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo Perhapsthe followingtipsondigital securityforthe travelercanhelpyouonyour owntravelsand perhapsyourvisitors,asa host. 1. Turn off WiFi whentraveling You knowyourSmartphone hasthe abilitytoconnectto mobile dataandWiFi.Thisis basic. Here is the problemwiththat: WiFi not onlyscreamsoutwhoyou are,it alsocallsout previouslysavednetworksyouconnectedwith. Anyone willingtodoharmcan fake anyof these networksandyoumayconnectto a “rogue access point”withoutbeingaware of it. Many of yourapps still sendoutdataunencryptedandthusmake the data vulnerable tobeingreadby attackers. So,in a nutshell,the turnedonWiFi: constantlysharesyouridentity callspreviouslysavednetworks Have you everloggedintoaStarbucksor McDonalds’ WiFi?
  • 2. Once you are near one of theirstores,yoursmartphone connectsautomatically.Thispersé doesnot meanthere isharm done,butit doessendoutdata withoutyouactuallyknowingaboutit. Nice side-effect:Turningoff WiFi onyourSmartphone savesbattery. Same goesactuallyforBluetooth. Turn off WiFi whentraveling 2. UnknownWiFi?Use a VPN! WhenconnectingtounknownWiFi accesspoints,use aVPN. What isa VPN? VPN standsfor Virtual Private Network. Whenyouconnect to a (free orunknown) accesspointall yourdatagoesover the air andis susceptible to beingreadbyanyone on the same network. By makinguse of a trustworthyVPN provideryoucanhide yournetworkactivityanddata fromthe eyes of others.Thisisthe case forlaptops,iPadsandsmartphonesandshouldbe especiallyconsideredwhen doingyouronline banking. What else canthe VPN dofor you? You can place yourself virtuallyinothercountries.Meaning,youcansitinBali and suddenlywatchUK showsthat are actuallyrestrictedtopeople locatedinsidethe UK.
  • 3. How doyou getstarted? It issimple. The nerd-buddiesfromPCMagcreateda detailedguide onVPNsandappstouse for youriPhone and Android.There isalsoa videoshowing how VPNsworkandthe editorschoice forhelpfulapps. It isreallyeasy! What do we use? At Hostelgeekswe use Zenmate.We have aPremiumaccountfor 5 differentdevices,includinglaptops and Smartphones.The businessisall aboutprotectingyou.The otherdaytheywrote me an email,and theyevenprotectmyemail addressitself.Theycrawl spampagesandsuch to see if anyone of their customershasbeenspammed. for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo Reallyrecommended! ZenMate VPN forLaptops andSmartphones 3. Laptop/ Phone stolen?Install PREY Confessiontime:Ihadmy Smartphone stolenthreeweeksaftermovingtoBarcelona.“Luckily”itwasa cheapone,but I feltlike anidiot. Ever since then, Iinstall anappcalled“PREY” on all the devicesIpurchase.
  • 4. It isalwaysone of the firstappsI setup. Preyletsyoutrack and findyourphone,laptop,ortablet.And:it’sfree. Thisvideoshowshowitworksand whyit isuseful.Itiseasyto install,safe andfree. Important:You have to install thisBEFOREyoulose yourphone.Youcannot install itremotelyonce itis gone. How can Preybe free? PREY is free tosetup,free toinstall andregister.Itdoesnotcost youa thing,evenif yourdevice gets stolen.The basicfeaturesare free! You can upgrade to PRO/PREMIUM; withfairpricesas little as$5 per month.Iam usingthe free version,andPREY workswell inconnectionwithaVPN (see above#2). The premiumfeaturesinclude: Acceleratedtracking Paidaccounts can speedupincomingreportsfrommissingdevicesuptoevery2 minutes. Wipe passwords,emailsandfiles Complete andsecure removal of browserdata,storedpasswords,local mailboxesandpersonal documentsispossibleondesktopandlaptopsunderpaidaccounts. 100 reportsperdevice Storage of upto 100 reportsfor eachof yourdevices,insteadof 20.
  • 5. Prioritysupport Retrieve files Smartphone lost?Finditagainwithprey 4. Watch outfor scams and spams A lotof attackerssendoutmessagesclaimingthatyouneedtoverifyyouraccountor logindetails. Some evengoas far as statingyouhave a paymentawaitingyou. Nevertrustunsolicitedmessages,whetherbyWhatsApp,e-mail,SMS,iMessage orsimilarservice. Also,don’tclickonany linksandattachmentssenttoyou.It may lookauthenticbutprobablywon’tbe! For example: You bookedyourtravel insurance with“HippieNoHarm”(yes,Imade thatone up!).Latersomeone with the email addresscontact@hippien0harm.comcontactsyou… Again,take a lookat the O – one time itis a zero,the otherone the letter“o”. Have you evennoticedthis? Hippie NoHarm (withthe lettero) contact@hippien0harm.com(withthe numberzero) Of course,thisisan extreme examplejusttogive youanidea.It isnot superobviousall the time. Therefore,payattention.
  • 6. A real-life story –to scare you! Thisis storysubmittedbyourfriendKristafromPassportdelicious.com A fewyearsago,one of mycolleagues(I’llcall himDavid) andIreceivedanemail fromaclient, requestingfeedbackonareport.It wasa little odd –thisparticularclientreally hadnoreasonto sendus thistype of report – but I clickedonthe linkanyhow.Uppoppeda Gmail loginscreen.Orat least,what lookedlike aGmail loginscreen. Luckily,Ilookedatthe URL; I couldtell itwas a spoof site inBrazil and notactuallyGmail.I quicklyclosed my iPhone’sbrowser. I was worriedthough –my colleague Davidwhohadalsoreceivedthe email wasolderandnotsuper tech-savvy.Iwasactuallyonmy wayhome on the train whenIreceivedthe email,soIfiguredIwould call Davidas soon as I got home andwarn himnot to clickon anything. WhenI calledhim – and thiswas seriouslywithin45 minutesof receivingthe email –Icouldtell he was ina panic. “Krista,theygot everything.TheywentintomyGmail accountand tookall the emailsoutof my account. Theygot all my taxesandfrequentflyeraccounts,basicallyanythingI’ve storedinthatemail account overthe last 10 years.” His entire Gmail accountwasempty. Most chillingly? “I’m at mybank rightnow.They’ve emptiedoutmybankaccount.”
  • 7. I honestlycannotbelievehowquicklythisall happened. Withinanotherhouror so,it got worse…the peoplewhohademptiedDavid’sGmail accounthadcalled hisfinancial advisorandrequestedtowithdraw all of David’sretirementsavings.Theyhadall of David’s informationtomake the transactionhappen.The onlythingthatstoppedhisfinancialadvisoristhatshe knowsDavidwell andknewthatshe wasnot talkingtoDavid. (Also,there are massive tax consequencestowithdrawingUSretirementfundsbefore retirementsoit was an oddrequestanyhow.) Davidis nowinperpetual identitythefthell.It’sbeenterribleforhim. The moral of the storyhere isthat thiscan happento anyone,andthievesmove quickly. If you are curious,we checkedwiththe clientwhohad“sent”the email andhe hadreceivedthe same and clickedonitand loggedin.We thinkwhathappenedisthe hackersthengotintothe client’semail account and sentthe same email toall of the client’scontactsandthendeletedthe sente-mail soasnot to leave atrace. Because thiswasthe client’sworkemail account,theydidnotfindanypersonal details and likelymovedon.UnfortunatelyforDavid,the clienthademailedhispersonal account. Hindsightisalways20/20 buthere are at leasttwothingsyoucan doto preventthishorrorstory from happeningtoyou.These securitytipscover#6 and #7. 5. Use a passwordlocker Use a passwordlockerlike Lastpass,Onepass,orDashlane tocreate unique,complex passwordsforall of youraccounts. Davidunfortunatelyusedthe same passwordformanyof hisaccounts.
  • 8. Once the thievesknewhisGmail accountpasswordandthe othersorts of accounts he had,theywere able to breakintomanyof hisotheraccounts.I’ve beenusingapasswordlockersince thishappened and I’mcontinuouslysurprisedbythe numberof accountsIhave (more than 300) and the numberof passwordbreachesthatoccur. A passwordlockerwill notifyyouimmediatelywhenabreachoccurs soyou can change your password and anysimilarpasswords. Andshouldyourowndetailsgetstolen,the passwordlockerwill helpyouquicklychange logindetails. for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo 6. Turn on two-factorauthentication Turn on two-factorauthenticationforanyaccountthat offersit. Yes,I knowit’sa pain (especiallywhentraveling). BUT had Davidhad2-factor authenticationturnedonforhisGmail account,the thieveswouldnothave progressedbeyondthe loginscreen.(Theystill couldhave triedhispasswordonothertypical accounts though). If you’re not familiarwith2-factorauthentication,whathappensisthatbefore youcancomplete your login,the websitesendsacode to yourphone. You thenneedtouse that code to complete yourlogin. So if thieveshave yourpasswordbutnotyourphone,theycan’tgetinto youraccounts. In thisdayand age,it can be hard tostay safe online.
  • 9. Unfortunately,there are badpeople outthere.Protectyourself byusingapasswordlockerandplease setup two-factorauthentication! Interesting:Manybanksofferatwo-stepverificationfortransactionsaswell.Foreveryonline purchase or transfer,theysenda code to yourphone that youmust type inas well. Good to know:I know,itisa real painto logineachtime twice.Itreallyannoysme aswell,yetitmakes the whole game more safe. Two StepVerification - annoyingbutreallypowerful! 7. Use longeranddifferentpasswords The longeryourpassword,the better. The firststepis obviouslychoosingapasswordinthe firstplace.Donot leave yoursmartphone orlaptop unprotected. That is like walkingoutof yourhouse andleavingthe doorwide open.If youdothis,youshouldnotbe surprisedif someone walksinwithoutasking…makessense?! The secondstepis choosingdifferentpasswordsforemail,social mediaetc. The last step ischoosinga longpassword. I came acrosssome great advise onchoosinga password.
  • 10. Insteadof thinkinginlettersandnumbers,thinkaboutsentences.Thismakespasswordsautomatically longerandmore difficulttohack. If you have readthroughthe tragic hackerstoryabove,itseemsobviousnottouse one passwordfor several accounts.Thismakeslife forahackerway tooeasy. Good to know:I readthe most commonpasswordinthe worldis“password“….Idon’tevenhave words for that! Crazy Long Passwordsmightbe easierthanyouthink 8. Nevertrusta USB device USB devicesare the prime source of malware andviruses – afterphishingemails. Nevertrusta USB device giventoyouorthe device fromsomeoneyoudon’treallyknow onyourprivate devices. Note that 99% of the infectionsgounnoticedtothe user. Nevertrusta USB device 9. Nevertrusta “quickcharge”booth QuickCharge Boothsare tempting.Atthe airport,coffee shops,etc.Again,yourUSBdevice doesn’tjust transferpower,italsosharesdata. USB sharesdata!
  • 11. Those “quick”recharge shopsmay verywell be readingyourdevice whilegivingyoujuice atthe same time. Use a wall socketchargerinsteadwithyourownUSB port, it’smuch safer! What do we use? We use an internationaltravel adapterwith3USB ports included. QuickCharge Booth 10. Use Safe websites In followingwiththe previouswarning,be onthe lookoutforcompaniesthatmayhave yourname but don’taddressyouby itwhensendingseeminglyofficialmessages. Alsobe on the lookoutforspellingmistakesandURLs (websiteaddresses) thatare differentthanthe official companywebsite orthose thatdonot use HTTPS (secure webbrowsing). How to know if a website issafe? Checkif a website hasthe greenlockinitsURL and that the url showshttpS – withletter“s”. Good to know:The so-calledSSLconnectionisimportantwhenitcomesto“sensitive data”suchas your bankaccount and bookings. Whenbookingyourhostel,make sure youcheckif the hostel actuallyusesasecure connection.There are hostel websitesusingnon-secure bookingsoftware.Thisisnotatall normal,usuallyhostel andhotel websitesare safe.
  • 12. Justkeepan eye onit,especiallyif the websitedoesnotlook100% professionallydesigned. Read:13 bookinghacksfor hostels HTTPS - How to spotif a website issafe?The greenlock 11. Use Social Media,butpay attention Beingsocial isimportant,butalsomindyourprivacy. Social medianowadaysmakesitveryeasytoshare everythingaboutyourself.Be aware thatothersmay use the informationyoupubliclyshare tobuildaprofile of you. Be careful whatkindof informationyoushare andwithwhomyoushare it.Evenif you feel youhave nothingtohide,don’tgoabout sharingeverything! Photosyoushare can easilyenduponwebsitesyoudonotwantto be connectedto.Andinformation youshare can endup invitingthievestoyourhouse while youare travelingthe world. In all fairness,thisisaverydrasticexample andtip.Justkeepthisinmindwhensharinginformation online. QuotesforInstagramBio 12. Let yourBank knowyouare traveling Your bankcares about yoursafetyandtheycare about yourmoneybeingsafe;orat leasttheydon’t wantto cover the insurance partwhensomeone fromaforeignATMtakesmoney.
  • 13. for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo Therefore,letyourbankknowwhenandwhere youare traveling. Thisway theyknowyouwill be usingitinthe Philippinesandnotsuddenlyblockthe creditcard. A blockedcreditcardduringholidays –not cool! 13. Use Cash(ATMs and creditcard safety) Talkingmore aboutmoneyandcreditcards, cash isthe safest optiontopay. Especiallyincountrieslike Indonesiathe stealingof creditcarddetailsiswidelycommon.We metquite a few – andit happenedtous! Our ownstory: We have beencareful andonlyusedofficial ATMsattachedto an actual bank,yetit happened. Theystole ourcreditcard detailsmostlikelyinasupermarketorthe ATMattached.We cannotexactly pinpointit,butitwas inSouthLombok,inKuta, Lombok.The thievesstole800€ fromour account and we instantlyblockedthe creditcard. Since we have insurance againstthiskindof theft,the bankandVISA covered;we were lucky. So,how can youprotect yourself? Try usingyourcreditcard as little aspossible,use more cash.Also,itisrecommendedtouse ATM machinesthatare directlyattachedtobanks,insteadof supermarketsandsuch.
  • 14. UsingCash whenTraveling 14. Digital Copyof yourpassport Your passportisimportantand youshouldnotlose it. Losingthe passportcomeswithquite some trouble includingspendingalotof time and moneytoget a newone.A friendfromSwedenonce losthispassportona motorbike tripthroughVietnam. Read:the 27 bestthingstodo inVietnam He had toflyto Hanoi to the embassytogeta new one,spend2 weeksandaround1000€ intotal to recoverthe passport.The 1000€ were additionaltravel costsandfees,however. It isa goodideato make a simple copyof yourpassport.Thiswill obviouslynotbe a validdocumentto enteran internationalflight,butitwill helpyoutogeta new one andto identifyyourself. You can leave adigital copyof yourpassportin youremails,forinstance. In case you are travelingwith afriend,youcan give eachothera copy of your passport.Thiswayyou have a copy withyou.Again,a copydoesnot replace anoriginal passport,butithelps. Verygoodto know:Your modernpassportisactuallymuchmore than justpaper.There are also some electronicsinitsuchas an RFID chip(althoughnotall passportshave this!). You shouldprotectthe electronicsandconserve yourpassportwell.We use asimple passportcover withRID Blockerforthat.
  • 15. 15. Log out of Facebooketc In the beginningImentionedthe GDPR. Andalongwiththisyou mayhave hearda lotabout “cookies“. Those cookiesare little filesthatare storedinyourbrowser(Chrome,Safari,Firefox etc).Thesecookies helptotrack whoyouare and to personalizeyourads,yourpersonal preferencesandsuch.Cookiesare nothingbad,theydonot do any harm. Yet,there isdata of youcollectedwithoutyoumaybe knowingaboutit. Social mediasitesinparticularcollectalotof data aboutyouto see whichwebsitesyoulike,readand consume.Basedonthis,newadswill be showntoyou.A way to avoidthisisto alwayslogoutof Facebooketcwhenyou’re notactuallyusingit. What can you do? You can use differentbrowsersfordifferenttasksyoudo. For instance,youcan use Safari foryour FacebookandSocial Media,and MozillaFirefoxforyourregular dailybrowsing. 16. Storingyourhome addressinMaps Thistravel safetytipcomesfromLaura from The CulinaryTravel Guide. Google Maps letsyoustore a shortcut to yourhome addressso youcan type lessandget directions faster.While that’sconvenientforyou,if someonestealsyourphone,you’vemade iteasyforthemto findtheirwayrightto your frontdoor.
  • 16. Especiallyif yourphone isn’tpasswordprotected –thatis anotherno-go. Insteadof savingyourhome address,save the addressof a nearbystore or restaurantinstead.You’ll still be able to navigate close tohome witha single tap,butyou’ll be keepingyourpersonal information safe. If you’ve alreadysavedyourhome address,it’seasytochange. JustopenGoogle Maps, thenClickMenu> Your Places> Labeled. Nexttoyour Home Address,clickonthe three dots,selectEditHome.Thentype the addressof a public location. 17. Turn off “automaticimage loading”inyouremails Have you everreceivedanemail withanimage inside?Sure,youdid.Probablyathousandtimes. Sometimes,sendersmayknowwhetheryou’ve openedanemail thathasan image.Especially marketeersuse thistosee if someone receivesanemail ornot. Personally,Ireallydislike this,because Ineveragreedtothistrackingof mine.Thisisjustunacceptable. I do notknowthe image loadingbehavioronall email providers,butIknow Gmail. Gmail scans everymessage forsuspiciouscontent. If Gmail thinksasenderormessage issuspicious, imagesaren’tshownandyou’ll be askedif youwantto see the images.
  • 17. How Gmail helpsmake imagessafe? Google scansimagesforsignsof suspiciouscontentbefore youreceive them. These scansmake imagessaferbecause: Senderscan’tuse image loadingtogetinformationaboutyourcomputerorlocation. Senderscan’tuse the image to setor read cookiesinyourbrowser. Gmail checksthe imagesforknownharmful software. I alwaysturnoff automaticimage loadingandonlyloadimagesfromemailsItrust.It goesinthe same directionasthe linkstoryabove. Anotheradvantage:Emailsloadfasterwithoutimagesanditsavesyourmobile data. You can easilyturnoff “automaticimage loading”inGmail under Settings>General > Images Turn off "automaticimage loading"inyouremails SummaryDigital/OnlineSecurityTips The pointsabove mayseemfar-fetched,butinaworldthat’spredominantlydigitalit’sgoodtobe aware of the possible dangersthatmaybe outthere.Itis fairlyeasytoprotectyour data witha VPN and followingsome basicguidelines. Be open,enjoythe world,respectothersnomatterwhattheirbackgroundmaybe and follow your instinctwhenmeetingnewpeople. Enjoylife tothe fullestanddoso withlove,trustandcompassionwhile keepingyourpersonal(digital) securityinmind.Withthese recommendationsyouare onthe safe side.
  • 18. Keepyourself physicallysafe:Travel SafetyTips forthe Road Now,we’ve coveredthe onlineandtechnical thingstostaysafe onthe road – and at home.Inthispart we want to getfamiliarwiththe physical safety. It can be robbery,natural disasters,scamsandthingsof thatmatter.Uff, heavystuff… We will keepnumberingthislist: for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo 18. Searchfor “Thingsyouneedto know before travelingto…” Use the wisdomof the crowd. Everycountry,city andplace has differentrules,problems,culture,scams… The veryfirstthingI like todo before travelingtoaplace,isto run exactlythissearchquery. Withsome luckyou will findsome greatblogorotherarticlescoveringexactlythattopic.Give itago and readthrough.Thisis a good startingpointforplanningatrip. 19. Locals,specializedFacebookGroups,blogs,yourhostel In case you cannotfindany solidinformation,youcanalwaysuse Facebookgroupsandaskat yourlocal hostel. EspeciallyFacebookgroupsbecamesuperpopularandthere isagroup foralmosteverything. The group “MotorbikesVietnam”helpedustobuy a motorbike inHanoi andto sell itinHo Chi Minh.A differentgroupwashelpful forplanningour3 monthsstayin Bali.
  • 19. Facebookisnowadayssomuch more than friendsandpagesyoulike.The groupsare reallypowerful and there isalmosta niche-groupforeverything.Justtype inyourdestinationandgive itatry. Anotherresource istravel blogsandhostel websites.Some hostel teamsreallydedicate theirwebsite to provide superusefulinformationonsightseeing,how togetaround,scams etc. 20. Become familiarwithcommontravel scams A travel scamis a game to fool youto lose yourwallet,money,backpack,etc.The game “ends”when the scammerwinsand the travelerhaslost. I wishI couldgive youa huge listforall those travel scamsout there.The truth is,people are really creative aboutthis. How to findcommonscamsthen?Go to Google and/orYoutube andsearch for“Scams in India”,asan example.There are fantasticvideosandarticlescoveringthese topicsforprettymuchany destination. Make yourself familiarwithcommonlocal travel scams. In Portoit is“sellingdrugs”rightinthe citycenterwhichis actuallyjustherbs.InThailand,it’sthe police- drug-trickandthe tuck-tuck-drivertrick.Inmanycountriestaxi driverscanbe involvedinscams.Thatis no genericrule,obviously! Here is a listforcommontravel scams to lookoutfor: BrokenTaxi Meter “That hotel/hostel doesnotexistanymore” –saysthe taxi driverandbringsyouto hiscousin The room inspectors
  • 20. DamagedMotorbike Rental whenreturning Charitypetition The brokencamera Eager Englishstudents(notalwaysascam, readour story here) PrettyWoman Good to know:Do notfeel badif youfall for a scam. Try to reduce the risk. Truth be told,I’ve fallenforsome scamsmyself,forinstance the tuck-tuckdriverinSri Lankawho chargedme waaaaytoo much,same in Hanoi. In Marrakeshtheytalkedusintotheirshopand letus go once we boughtsomethingsmall.Theydidnot threatenus,butgave us tea and pushedusto buysomething. It was justtheirowntake on selling… 21. Are there dangerousanimalsinthe country? The most dangerousanimal inParistolookout formay be the pigeons. Theycan poop onyou (butactuallyare alsocarrying aroundlotsof bacteria). In all seriousness,have alookif there are anydangerousanimalslivinginthe countryyouare visiting.I am not talkingaboutthe zooor cockroaches,but wildlife. In Sri Lanka for instance youhave Leopards,poisonoussnakes,elephants,crocodilesetc. That is importantinformationwhenconsideringtravelingoff the beatenpath.
  • 21. ElephantsSri LankaAnAligatorinSouthAfrica 22. CopyLonelyPlanet:Emergencyinfo Althoughwe personallydonotbringLonelyPlanetguidebookson ourtravels(theyare simplytoo heavy),itisa powerful source. On the veryfirstpagesof everyLonelyPlanetyoufinddifferentembassylocations,safetytips,local phone numbersof police andambulance etc.Some countriesofferaTouristHelpline in several languages. Thiscan be veryuseful! The basic emergencyinformationyouneedis: Police Fire brigade Ambulance Redcross 23. Registerwithyourembassy A verycommonpiece of safetyadvise fortourists.Well,we’ve neveractuallydone this –nota single time. It makessense thoughtoletyourembassyknow youare inthe country.Thisis especiallyhandywhena natural disastertakesplace like flooding,volcanoeruptionandsuch. Your embassycantake care of you andevacuate itsowncitizens.
  • 22. Again,we neverdidthisandactuallyitisnot on our list.Itis an optionandsomethingtokeepinmind. 24. Don’tbe a fool:Lock Up Your Valuables Whenstayinginhostels,youwill undoubtedlymeetpeople.Thisispartof the experience.Thisis WHY youmost likelystayinahostel inthe firstplace. Whenthere are people,therecanbe goodonesand bad ones. Generallyspeaking,hostelsare safe. To be completelysafe,we alwaysrecommendusingthe lockers.Youcan save some moneybybringing your ownpadlock. Quickstory: A friendof oursonce “lost”$10 inhis4-beddorm. He leftthe bill there,wentforashower, and itwas gone.Obviouslythisisnotgood.Use the lockersanddon’tgive someone the opportunityof takingeven10 bucks from you. There are a fewthingstokeepan eye onto know if a hostel issafe BEFORE youactuallybookit. In a nutshell: Stay at a qualityhostel withasecure hostel location The firstrule to stay safe at hostelsischoosingaqualityhostel –all 5 Star Hostelsare safe! Trust yourgut and use your head Use the lockers(eveninprivate rooms) Askstaff for securityadvice
  • 23. Is there somethingtoknowaboutthe city,scams,areasto skip? If in doubt,travel ina group Drinkresponsibly(andinagroup you are familiarwithif possible) Don’topenthe hostel doorfor strangers Don’tbringshady friendstothe house Watch your belongingsthatyoucare about Copyyour Passportandemail itto yourself Remember:Yourpassportiscrucial! Hide some backupmoneyina differentpocket Put some moneyaway,justincase you lose yourwallet. Arrive at the hostel the firsttime before dark For Female Travelers:if indoubt,manyhostelsofferfemale-onlydormsaswell.There are even complete hostelsonlyforfemaletravelers. Read:whyfemale only-dorms?7prosand 4 cons of female-onlydorms. Readfull article:Are hostelssafe?13tipsto stay safe inhostels We alsoincludeda.pdf withall safetyhostel tipsforfree download. for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo 25. Share your itinerarywithfriendsandfamily A goodidea!Letyour friendsandfamilyknow where youare traveling.Incase somethinghappens(like an earthquake and such),someone knowsyouare there. In thisregardit isinterestingtomentioninmanycountries,youraccommodationhasalistof guests.
  • 24. In some countriesthe accommodationhastodo a nightlyreportandsenditto the police.Sothe police isaware of whois stayingthere incase somethinghappens. 26. Do not trustblindly&followyourgut Didyou everhave thatstrange,odd,unsettledfeelingwhentalkingtoastranger? That may verywell have beenyourgutinstinct. Trustingothersisa goodthingwhenyoudon’tneglectyourinstinctive feelings. It’sevolutionatit’score.Trust othersbutneverbe dishonesttowhatyourinstincttellsyou. It isperfectlyokaytosay “No” if youhave a badfeelingaboutsomething.Donotletsomeone pressure youintoany situation. 27. Dressappropriately Whentravelingabroad,itisgoodadvise to be familiarwithlocal customs,suchasclothing.Thisis especiallyimportantwhenitcomestoreligioussights. A womenshouldnotenterachurch witha mini-skirtandthe shouldersshouldnotshow.The same goes for mosques. In Bali bothmenand womenneedtoweara sarong forenteringatemple.Atthe same time a women havinghermonthlyperiodisnotallowedenteringthe temple. Make yourself familiarwiththingsyoumayneedtobringto enter sights.Mostof the time youcan purchase or getthe requireditemsnextdoor – eitherforfree ora small fee.
  • 25. For instance,inBali we borrowedaSarong foraround 20 cents. 28. Behave appropriately Afterwe’ve coveredourselvesinthe placeswe have toorshould,letustalkaboutbehavior. Travelingisaboutgettingtoknowothercultures,thingsandcustomsyouare notfamiliarwithandwant to experience firsthand. Now,doingso,itis a good ideatoplayalongwithlocal behaviorandadapt. Afterall,youare the guest.Doesthatmake sense?Ina worst case scenarioyoucouldendup injail for refusingtoadhere tothe local customs. We wantto share a fewexamples: 1. Showingaffection: In the MaldivesandmostMuslimcountriesitisinappropriate toholdhandsinpublicandshow affection. Confessiontime;inthe Maldiveswe forgotthisforasecondand heldhands.A local instantly “corrected”us ina friendly,yetdeterminedmanner.Okaythough, he wasright. 2. Light kissesonthe cheek
  • 26. In some parts,especiallythe Southernpartsof Europe kissingonthe cheekfora friendlyhi andgoodbye isperfectlynormal.Cheekkissingisacommonritual to indicate friendship,familyrelationshipandeven whenyoumeetsomeone forthe fisttime. Firstof all,Cheekkissingisnotthe same everywhere.Itdiffersfromcountrytocountry.It differsfrom cityto city. No,youknowwhat:it actuallydiffersfromhouse-holdtohouse-hold! It isusuallyone, twoor three kisses.Andletme tell you,thatevenforme asa German-French-Spanish Europeanthiscan be confusing. So if youare confusedandnotsure howoftenyoushouldkiss,don’tfeelbad. BUT: Be aware of where youactuallypractice cheekkissingandevenmore importantly,where not! You shouldn’tgoandkisseveryone forafriendlygreeting.Someculturesmaywellhave aheartattack shouldyoutry to kissthemonthe cheek. We actually witnessedthis.Ourstory: An Argentinian(female) hostel mate we justmetjoinedusona walkthroughChiangMai. It was me, Annaand a local,male friend.Whenournew Argentinianfemale hostel mate left,she cheek-kissedus Europeansgoodbye andwentovertoour Thai friendtokisshimas well. His eyes.Theygotbiggerandbigger. I will neverforgethiseyesandthe lookonhisface whenshe gotcloserand closer.IthinkI glimpsed panic!
  • 27. I intervenedjustintime andsharedwithherthisbasicknowledgeof notcheek-kissingpeople inSouth East Asia.The “funniest”partwasthat she had alreadybeentravelinginSouthEastAsiafor 6 months. Ever since I’ve wonderedhowmanymenshe gave aheart attack throughcheek-kissing?! I guessI will neverknow… 3. Going shoppinghalf-naked In manybeach-locations,touristslovetowalkaroundshirtless. It may be interestingtoknow,incitiessuchas Barcelonathisisforbidden –exceptforthe beach obviously.Thislawwaspassedbecause toomanytouristsstartedtowalkaroundhalf-nakedandlocals feltdisrespected.Manysupermarketsalsoshow signsthatyouhave towear shoes,pantsanda shirt whenentering. 4. SpittinginSingapore (andafewmore thingsto remember) Personally,we didnotdothis,butthere are unfortunatelymanystoriesof peoplewhodidactuallyspit on the groundin Singapore. 4 Weeksona Bike ThroughIceland – IndependentBike Tour See Also 4 Weeksona Bike ThroughIceland – IndependentBike Tour This“fail”can cost you upto $5000. Readmore aboutthingsthatare illegal inSingapore suchassellinggumandforgettingtoflushatoilet.
  • 28. for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo 5. Left handvs righthand In certaincountriesthe lefthandisthe “dirty”hand. In countriessuchas Sri Lanka and India,youshouldpayattentiontothis. Especiallywhenpassingsomeone yourplate ora drink.Confessiontime;thiswasreallynoteasyforme. I constantlyhadto remindmyself orgeta travel buddytoremindme.But,I wasn’tthe onlyone strugglingwiththis.Justtryto pay attention. Readthe newguide tothe besthostelsinDelhi (includingsafetytipsforIndia) 29. Travel ina herd Before Iscare you,Solo-Travel issafe,too! Sometimesitisjustsafertotravel ina group insteadof alone.The reasonissimple;anindividualisan easiertarget. Read:10 Most CommonBackpackermistakesyoushouldavoid Read:18 solo-travel quotestopushyourconfidencetotravel onyourown A groupof travelersenjoyingthe commonareaatClockInn Kandy,Sri Lanka.
  • 29. 30. One adult– one passport Whentravelinginagroup or as a family,itcanbe temptingtoletsomeone take responsibilityforall the passportsinthe group. Well,that’slike puttingall your“eggsintoone basket“. Whenthat bag withall the passportsgetslost,youwill have a lotsof problems. In myfamily,we goby the rule “one adult – one passport”. That meansthat everyone oldenoughcarriestheirownpassport.Youngerchildren’spassportsare spreadamongthe adults.Thiswill make asingle theftlesspainful,notlosing all yourpassportsatonce. ThissafetytipcomesfromPer,the writerbehindthe travel blogResrutt. Good to know:Most countriesinthe worldrequire yourpassporttobe validformore than 6 months. Make sure youalwaystravel witha validpassport andget a new one before itexpires. 31. Become familiarwithpickpockets EarlierI mentionedyoushouldmake yourself familiarwithlocal scamsandsuch. It isa goodideato become familiarwithpickpocketsingeneral.How dotheyworkand whatdo they want? It isusuallysimple:Theywantyourthingslike camera,money,backpack. It isgood ideatounderstandthatyour back-pocketisnotyourfriendfromnow on and youmay not wantto showall yourpreciousbelongingsinpublic.
  • 30. Pickpocketsusually workbydistractingpeople.Here isaninterestingvideosharing13wayspickpockets work. 32. Portable Safe ThisrecommendationisaddedbyourfriendManoukBobfromBunch of Backpackers. A portable travel safe isaninnovative waytokeepyourvaluablessafe ine.g.yourhotel roomorat the beach.The safe is made of a slashproof meshwhichyoucan attach to a strong fixture (e.g.wooden pole,tree) etc.Iteasilyfitsinyourbackpackas it’sflatand lightweight.Mostthievesare opportunity thievesandaportable travel safe avoidsaquicksnatch andgrab. 33. Pack a basicmedicine kit Diarrhea,a cut, motorbike accident,otherstomachsproblems,headache,hangover,mosquitobite… A basictravel-sizedmedicinekitisreally,reallyhandyandwe alwaystravel withone.Inoticedthat manytravelersdothat and love toshare.Whensomeone hasa headache or hangover,the nextpain killerisneverfaraway. Allergies?Youneedtopackyour medicine aswell.Tryalsoto findoutwhere youcan getyour medicine if you runout of it. Thisis notsuperspecific,sothe safestwaywouldbe toask your doctor. 34. Gettingdrunk Oh oh oh…here comesanotherlecture.Actuallyno,dowhatever youfeel like aslongasyoudon’t harm others.
  • 31. Partyingcan be a bigpart of your travel lifestyle,andthere isendlesscrazypartyhostelsthatgave a lot of people nightstheycannotremember. There are justa fewthingsyoushouldhearbefore youtake onthat Mojito. 1. There is sucha thingas “bad” alcohol A fewblacksheepthinkitisOKto punchcocktailswithbad alcohol.Thisisactuallynotreal alcohol but Methanol.The reason?Itis cheaper! You can actuallygetseriousmethanol poisoningfromit,andinthe worst case scenario:die.The 5 Star HostelsGili MansionandGili Castle onthe Gili TrawanganIslandinLombok,nearBali actuallyeducate theirguestsonthis. The basic rule is:onlyconsume closeddrinks,meaningbottleddrinks. 2. Drunk people are easiertopickpocket A drunkpersoniseasiertosteal from;makessense. So whenyougo outand party hard,you shouldconsiderleavingyourvaluable Smartphone and$500 cash inyour hostel locker.EspeciallyincitieslikeBarcelona,Rome andHoChi Minh Citythere are concentratedpartyareas – and pickpocketsknow that.Heck,itistheir“job”. On the RamblasinBarcelonaI once saw twocompletelywasted60-ishyearoldmengetpickpocketed of everythingtheyowned,includingtheirjacket.The prostitutesweregatheringaroundthemandtook everything.Unfortunately,therewasnothingthatme andmy friendcouldhave done,exceptcall the police.
  • 32. It isa betterideatostay withyourhostel crowdor eveninthe hostel andpartyaway.Checkout here the listof my favorite coolestpartyhostelsinthe world. Loki Del Mar is one of the bestpartyhostelsinthe world 35. Otherillegal Drugsinforeigncountries Here we cover twotopics. 1. Consumingdrugs You may have heardthisalreadya thousandtimes.This“police”scaminThailandisbasicallywhenyou purchase some Marijuanaand on the cornerthe “police”iswaitingforyou. Thistravel scam isseriouslybasicknowledge! The police will letyougofora bigpay check,youhave a shock forlife,anodd travel storyto tell and probablywon’ttouchdrugsfor a longtime.My bestadvise wouldbe:skipthiswhole experience! These scamsare mostlycommoninPhilippines,Malaysia,Thailand,Cambodia,LaosandVietnam. 2. Drug Trafficking AlthoughIam prettysure none of our readersare financingtheirlife thisway,butanyway… In some countriesdrugtraffickingcanbe penalizedwiththe deathpenalty.Wow,okay,Iknow thistook a dark turn. I justwantto cover thisto have thisarticle complete.
  • 33. Obviouslywe wouldneverdothat,yetit isquite harshto arrive at an airport andget a huge sign shuffledinyourface:Capital punishmentfordrugtrafficking. Drug traffickingisone of the reasonswhytheyaskyou at the airport if youpackedyour backpackby yourself andif anyone touchedyourluggage afterwards.If yousay“Yes,I packedit myself”and“No,no one toucheditafterwards“,youcan have a seriousproblemif theyfindsomething.Sobetterbe sure it’s true – and yourluggage drug-free. Here is an overview of countriesthathave the deathpenaltyfordrugcrimes: Bahrain Bangladesh Brunei China Cuba DemocraticRepublicof the Congo Egypt India Indonesia Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Laos Libya Malaysia Myanmar
  • 34. NorthKorea Oman Qatar Pakistan Saudi Arabia Singapore SouthKorea SouthSudan Sri Lanka Sudan Syria Taiwan Thailand UnitedArabEmirates UnitedStatesof America Vietnam Yemen BrokedownPalace isatravel movie tellingareal-life storyof twoAmericangirlsgoingtojail inThailand for drug-trafficking. Readnext:33 bestwanderlustmovies 36. Vaccines Vaccinesare superbasic,or at leasttheyshouldbe.Askyourdoctor whatvaccinesyouneedandwhat youmightneedto topup.
  • 35. In mostcountries,these vaccinesare affordable andnothingreallytosave moneyon. Thistopic isquite big,soI cannot give yousuperdetailedadvice,butyourdoctorcan. Good to know:Some vaccinesare mandatoryto entera country.Andsome vaccinesneedtobe taken some time aheadof the travel date itself. 37. Basic Self-defense How to protectyourself while traveling?SelfDefense isthe answer. There isno needtobecome the nextKarate Kidor KungFu Master. The basicscan be enoughtoprotect you. Have a lookforlocal self-defense classesinyourtown.There isalsoplenty of onlinecoursesaboutself- defense.Inmyopinionitisbesttoworkdirectlywithanexperiencedcoachandpractice withhim/herin personratherthan watchinga video. 38. Use a helmet I cannot believe Ihave towrite thisone down.Whenyouhopon a motorbike,putona helmet.SofarI didnot wantto scare you,but inthiscase I thinkIhave to. Have you everheardsomeone saying“drivingascooterinSouthEast Asiais dangerous“? Well,drivinganywhere inthisworldwithoutahelmet“drivinga scooterisdangerous“.The same goes for drivingina car withoutusingthe seat-belt.
  • 36. Trust me whenI say the concrete inThailand,VietnamandCambodiaisashardand relentlessasinThe USA, Italy,SouthAfricaor Brazil.Incase of an accident,your headwon’tmake a difference betweenthe streetsof Rome,Hanoi or Los Angeles. Furthermore,abrokenarm isnot a huge deal.Yet,yourheadis the mostfragile partof yourbody. Recoveringfromaseriousheadinjuryismuchmore difficult. Importantnote:Doesthismeanyoushouldnotdrive a scooter?Not at all.I urge everybodytodoitif youfeel readyforit.It is AWESOME to cruise aroundChiangMai, PenangandHanoi on a bike. Thissimplymeans:wearahelmet! Wearinga helmetisa goodidea Wearinga helmetisa goodidea 39. Get Travel Insurance I didnot scare youuntil here sothat youinvestintravel insurance.Thatwasnotmy intention.Take this advice or leave it,butI guesssince youreaduntil here,there mustbe areasonfor that. We alwaystravel withinsurance.ThisiseitherSafetywingorWorldNomads.If thistopicisinteresting for you,I wrote a bigguide to WorldNomadsInsurance andwhyit makessense toat the veryleast considerit. We alsowrote a bigarticle comparing SafetywingvsWorldNomadsInsurance. Good to know:Youmay alreadyhave travel insurance includedinyourregularinsurance athome.Check directlywithyourinsurance company.There isusuallynoneedtobuy17 differenttravelinsurance policies. WorldNomadsvs SafetywingInsurance
  • 37. Update:40. MoneyBeltor justa Belt(notonlyfor Nerds) Personally,Iamnota bigfan of a moneybelt.Youknow,the onesbelow yourtshirtandaroundyour wist.Youcan wearit almostlike abra and payingwiththe moneyyouare carryingaround?!uff…it annoyedme. Therefore,aftermyfirstsolo-travel Iskippeditandjusthopedforthe best. Yet,here is the bettersolution.Anactual beltthatyoumightbe wearinganywaycombinedwitha hiddenmoneypocket. Thisis perfectforme personally. I addedthisitemas well tomypersonal bestpackinglistwith23 must-bringitems. Get yourMoney Belthere securitymoneybelt - a must-have forbackpacker securitymoneybelt –a must-have forbackpacker FewNotesonTravel Safety All of thissecurityadvise isimportanttoremember. Yet,I hope we didnot scare you.Thisis justpurelyinformationandincase anythinghappens,youwill be happyyou have heardaboutit beforehand. 1. Over-preparing There issuch a thingas “over-preparing”.The more youread,the more paranoidyoumayget.
  • 38. Quickstory: We were sittingona beachinBali watchingthe sunset,surroundedbymanymanypeople.A local young guy comesupto us and wantedtoshowus a photo onhisphone.I instantlysaw he hadtakena photo of usfrom behind.Ialsoinstantlyassumedhe wantedtosell thistousnow. I toldhim“I don’tspeakEnglish,sorry.” I guesshe realizedwe were indefense-mode,assuminghe was a scammer.He told us “I justthoughtyoumightwant to have thisphoto,since itisa nice photoof you, sorry!”.Long story short;Annaand the friendlyyoungguyexchangedthe photo,afew wordsandI felt silly… That is nothingcomparedtothe nextstoryof being“over-prepared”. A travel friendof oursarrivedinSaigon,Vietnam.She arrivedatthe Airportandshe feltlike abosssince she read EVERYTHINGthere ison the internetaboutVietnam:The good,the badandthe ugly. “No one will scamME!! – that washer attitude. She jumpedina taxi,andtoldthe driverto use the taximeter.He did.Sofar,so good.Yet, the price was racing upsky-highwhenhe startedtodrive.Since she wasinthe “I know all scams” mode,she startedto yell athim. The poor guy hadno ideawhatwas goingon.He stoppedandshe got out of the taxi,superangry. Anothertaxi drivercame andtranslated.Everythingwascorrect,thistaxi wasnoscammer. What happened? Our frienddidnottake the currencyintoaccount. The taximeterrolledsuperfastupto 10.000 Dong, then12.000 Dong, then14.000 Dong.
  • 39. The problem? 22.000 Dong isaround $1. She totallyforgotthatand screamedatthat poor taxi driverfornothing. Well,over-prepared!Atthe endtheycontinuedthe tripandshe tipped himvery,verywell atthe end! 2. There are more good people inthisworld Afteryearsof traveling,Ican tell you:There ismore goodin the worldthanevil,andyouwill notice more people are eagertohelpinsteadof hurtyou. Alwaysrememberthat! 3. RememberWill Smith Do not letfeardefine yourlifeandtravel experience. It isimportantto stay safe,itisimportantto stayhealthy.Yet,“Atthe pointof maximumdangeristhe pointof minimumfear“. – Will Smith Watch hisvideoaboutfearand skydiving. 4. Is it yourfault?Fallingfora scam
  • 40. What do youdo if you fall fora scam? Firstof all itis a bad feeling.Youmayfeel like anidiotthatyoufell forit.Youmay start tellingyourself youcouldhave avoidedthis,thatitis your own fault. The truth is itis notyour fault;it’sthe bad personsfault! Anothertruthis,youcannot change what has alreadyhappened. Andanothertruth: Everybodydoesfall forascam once in a while. I did,Annadid,and evenmore experiencedtravelerscanfall victimtoa scam as well.There isnoshame init and especiallynoneedtoblame yourself. Justtry to learnfrom it,minimizethe damage andmove on. 5. Learninginthe process Last but not least;there isnoneedtodrive yourself crazynow. Thisis a huge guide withmanydifferenttravel safetytips.Thisisnottoscare you andto stop youfrom traveling.Quite the opposite,justbe aware.Youcouldnow go and buy17 lockers foryour hostel time, use 23 VPNs,learn43 techniquesforself-defenseandpurchase 172 travel insurance packages.Youwill learnmostof the lessonsinthe process.
  • 41. There isthis(kindof) cheesytravel quote Iactuallylike: A shipina harbour issafe,butthisis not whata shipis builtfor. If travelingwouldbe reallysodangerous,whydosomanypeople doit?Whydo so manypeople catch the travel bug?Why are people,afteryearsof traveling,still soincrediblypassionateaboutit? Read:109 Travel Quotes Sumup the Travel SafetyTips By no meaningisthisa full list. There are endlesslistsof scams,crazytravel stories,youname it.I startedthislistandI thoughtI would endup with5 points.I thenstartedto talkwithfriends,travel buddies,bloggers.Idecidedtopackthis article withas muchinformationasIcan to helpyoutravel safe. Overto you Do youthinkI missedanything?Wouldyoulike toaddanything?Doyoudisagree somewhere?Iwould love tohear youropiniononthis. Justleave a commentbelow. Quicknote:Nota single productsharedinthisarticle paidusto be featuredorreviewed. We use all productsthat are mentioned.
  • 42. Last but not least: By the endof May 2018, the newdata privacyregulationcame intoforce.The EuropeanParliament passedthe lawon UnionGeneral Data ProtectionRegulation(short:GDPR). In Europe itis the mostimportantchange in data privacyregulationin20 years.FunFact: Thisregulation has actuallybeenactive since 2016. The main difference from2018, isthat from now on websitescan receive penaltiesif theydonotfollowthroughwithsecuritymeasures.Youmayhave receivedplentyof emailsduringApril andMay2018 tellingyouaboutnew datapolicy,cookiesandprivacypolicy. At Hostelgeekswe implementedthe dataprivacyandprotectionbackin2016. We anonymize yourIP and use so-calledCookiesthathelpustomake our website more user-friendly,efficient,andsecure. Here is the thing: Insteadof boringyouwithprivacypoliciesandwhatwe dowithyour data,we thoughtit wouldbe more interestingtogive youactual safetytipswhile traveling;bothonline andoffline.Youcanactuallytake control of yourowndata. It may soundcomplicated,butIpromise itismucheasierthanyou think. Safe travels, The Hostelgeeks – – – pinterestisyourfriend
  • 43. 39 Simple andeffective Travel SafetyTips(bothoffline andonline) BackpackingArgentinaBackpackingArmeniaBackpackingAustraliaBackpackingAustriaBackpacking BelgiumBackpackingBrazilBackpackingCambodiaBackpackingCanadaBackpackingChileBackpacking ChinaBackpackingColombiaBackpackingCostaRicaBackpackingCroatiaBackpackingCzech RepublicBackpackingDenmarkBackpackingEcuadorBackpackingEstoniaBackpackingFinlandBackpacking FranceBackpackingGeorgiaBackpackingGermanyBackpackingGreeceBackpacking GuatemalaBackpackingHungaryBackpackingIcelandBackpackingIndiaBackpacking IndonesiaBackpackingIsraelBackpackingItalyBackpackingJapanBackpackingLaosBackpacking MacedoniaBackpackingMalaysiaBackpackingMexicoBackpackingMoroccoBackpacking NepalBackpackingNetherlandsBackpackingNewZealandBackpackingNicaraguaBackpacking NorwayBackpackingPeruBackpackingPhilippinesBackpackingPolandBackpackingPortugalBackpacking PuertoRicoBackpackingRomaniaBackpackingRussiaBackpackingSerbiaBackpacking SingaporeBackpackingSloveniaBackpackingSouthAfricaBackpackingSpainBackpackingSri LankaBackpackingSwedenBackpackingSwitzerlandBackpackingTaiwanBackpacking ThailandBackpackingTurkeyBackpackingUKBackpackingUkraineBackpackingUSABackpackingVietnam for the full videoclickhere https://oke.io/aEEo