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How to Travel Safely While Backpacking

Contrary to some popular opinion and the many myths of backpacking out there, backpacking is really not all that dangerous. That said, there are a few things that you should keep in mind while traveling to minimize any risks.

 

Copy That

It’s always a good practice to keep digital copies of all of your important documents. This includes scanned copies of your passport and ID, digital copies of your flight info, health and travel insurance, plus anything that may be important to you while traveling.

These documents can be incredibly difficult to replace while abroad if they are lost or stolen. Scanning and emailing all of these documents to yourself before you depart, can help prevent a lot of headaches down the road.

 

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Keep Watch On Those Gadgets

Be Careful with Bling

For lack of a better term, your bling can make you an instant target. Even if you are traveling cheaply, the fact that you are traveling at all usually puts you in a higher income class than many of the locals where you are vacationing.

By showing off your stylish and expensive Rolex or having that really expensive camera hanging around your neck, you are making yourself a possible theft target. Furthermore, when you aren’t taking photos, be sure to keep your camera out of sight in a bag.

 

Diversify Your Assets

Whether trying to avoid risk of pick pocketing or your own absent mindedness, one of the best ways to ensure that you don’t lose all of your money and credit cards is to diversify these financial assets. This means to keep your finances in different forms and in different places. You don’t want to travel with just cash, and you should ideally only keep a small amount of cash on you at any given time.

The rest should be kept in a hotel safe or a very safe place in your lockup at your hostel. This way if you do lose your wallet, not all of your money is gone.

The same goes for credit cards. You should have only one on you, and another back up hidden safely at your hotel or hostel. It is also best to make sure they are prepaid options so that if they are misplaced, then there is a maximum amount of money that can be lost.

 

Be Smart about Your Health

Obviously you should have travel health insurance. However, there are many travelers that overlook vaccinations. You should always do your research about the possible health threats that exist in your travel destination and take the proper precautions; whether that means getting vaccinated by your doctor or getting Malaria pills.

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