Resources For Women

Safety Travel Tips for Women

• Keep your schedule varied, try not to come and go at the same time everyday.
• Stay in a hotel that uses cards to open room doors and make sure your room has a peephole and a deadbolt lock. Not only secure the chain but secure the door by pushing a rubber stop under it.
• Making travel arrangements is easier than ever with the help of the Internet. We recommend the #1 rated travel site Travelocity. If you use a travel agent, deal with a reputable travel agent. Realize that travel agents are not licensed except in California and Rhode Island. You can look to see if your agent has membership in the ASTA or the American Society of Travel Agents. If they are members, that is a good sign.
• When staying in a hotel, request a room close to a stairwell. The 3rd, 4th,or 5th floor is high enough to discourage would be robbers, but close enough to the ground in case of a fire.
• You want to be far from emergency exits (which someone might pry open to avoid using the elevators), and on an upper floor away from catwalks and terraces
• If you are traveling with a tour group, take off your name tag. It is a big red flag for would be robbers.
• The hotel parking lot should be well lit and secure. Find out if there's valet parking . . . and if it will be available when you need it.
• In cabs, sit behind the driver, so you can watch him, but he won't be able to watch you. Do not give personal information to doormen, cab drivers, waiters, etc. Better yet, arrange for a car and driver during your visit so you don't have to rely on taxi's.
• Airports seem to be a place for thieves to gather. Always keep control of your carry-on bags and luggage. When putting baggage on an X-ray conveyor belt, wait until you are ready to go through and always watch it. Lock your luggage to prevent anything from being taken or placed inside. Don't tag luggage with your business card.
• Wear plain clothes that don't give the impression you are carrying money or valuables. Leave jewelry at home.
• If you have to carry valuables, lock them up at the safe at the front desk.
• Don't forget to carry your medical information with you. Bring along your insurance companies address, phone number, and any forms they may require. Check with them to see if you are covered in another country.
• Carry just one credit card and photocopies of important documents. Don't carry all your money together in one big wad.
• Try to find out as much as you can about places you are planning to visit by logging onto Internet web sites and chat rooms to obtain safety information.

Kathy Peet is a freelance writer from Michigan where she publishes the premier women's online magazine for enjoying life, WomensFun.com. It is the perfect solution for a laugh, a lesson learned, and just having fun. Her work appears on many sites on the Internet and at her own site WomensFun.com. You will find life enhancing articles, freebies, wit, wisdom, entertainment, simple pleasures, humor, shopping deals, resources for women, knowledge, adventure, and a free monthly ezine. Remember to relax, indulge, and laugh...You deserve to!.