Check out these six holiday travel safety tips when visiting the United States of America.
What we have for you are the six things that tourists should actually kind of pay attention to, when they do come to the US, because you hear all these crazy and horrible stories about the US and crime and stuff like that. And in reality, the US is a very safe place.
Still, there are only a few things you really need to worry about. Because it might happen. So, I’m gonna focus on those six things in this guide.
Before we get started, you should check out these 6 tips on how to save money for travel and trips.
The following are six Holiday Travel Safety Tips When Visiting the United States.
Getting Ripped off by A Taxi
The first on my list of holiday travel safety tips is not getting ripped off by a taxi. Look, if you’re going into a big city, or you’re flying into an airport, you’re going to take a taxi from there, those are the easiest ways for taxi to rip you off, because, look, you’re coming in the city, you don’t know how things are set up.
You’re like, oh, take me to this hotel here like, oh, okay, and they might take the long way to get there. And you could get ripped off that way.
So, when you’re going to book your accommodation, you should ask them, hey, how much is the taxi? How much would a taxi be from the airport, or the conference or whatever, to your hotel, so you have a rough idea of how much you should pay?
Also, ask them, how long it usually take care of rush hour or off rush hour. And if you’re calling from places like downtown or the airport, they’ll know how long that should be.
So, you can have a rough idea. And the thing is, if you feel like you’re getting ripped off, or you’re getting the runaround, you know, you have all these apps on your phone that can help you track where you’re going and stuff like that or the best way to get to the airport to your hotel.
Related: 3 Great tips for a successful long term travel
Getting Your Medicine Stolen
The second on my list of holiday travel safety tips I think will be so useful to you is about getting your medicine stolen from your hotel room.
There are a lot of tourists that have experienced this. Look, prescription drug abuse in the US is not a joke. It really is there. And people can make a lot of money selling people’s medicines.
And you might think why would they want my blood pressure medicine? Why would they want my cholesterol medicine? Why would they want my weight loss medicine?
Look, the thing is, is people will see it and they might take it I’m not saying happens a lot, but I’m saying it could happen. So, make sure you’re always putting your medicines away in your hotel.
So put it in your carry-on bag, or in your bag or in your suitcase or something like that during the day. Because I know most of the people that work in these places are fantastic people, but just like anything one bad apple could cause an issue.
Being In the Wrong Place At the Wrong Time
Another one of the holiday travel safety tips you should pay attention to is being in the wrong place a the wrong time.
This usually happens when you’re looking at things like, you know, carjackings and stuff like that, which don’t happen very often, but it’s more of a crime of opportunity.
So, you know what, make sure you’re talking to your hotel. Hey, are there any parts of town I shouldn’t be in? Or is there a place I should check out or not.
There are nice places during the day or at night, but you’d be surprised how many places not just here in the US but around the world, which are beautiful, beautiful tourist spots during the day, but not really place you want to be at night. So do actually ask your concierge about that.
Related: Top 25 tourist spots to visit in the USA
Aggressive Beggars
Next on the list of my holiday travel safety tips is knowing how to handle aggressive beggars.
Now, the next thing I kind of worry about when I go around, especially when I’m with my kids are aggressive beggars or aggressive homeless people you will see.
As rich as America is you will see an inordinate amount of homeless people and people begging in the US, which is really sad. And the thing is in the bigger cities and the more touristy cities, I’ve seen a lot of the beggars getting more forceful, hey, give me $1 Hey, give me some more money. I want more than this, hey, come on, give me some stuff. And it gets people very uncomfortable.
So, what I recommend is you can’t just walk out of the way or something like that. Just say, I don’t have any cash. Sorry, I don’t have any cash.
Related:
Credit Card Scams
Next on my list of holiday travel safety tips is being of aware of credit card scams.
If you go into a restaurant or you’re going someplace and you don’t feel comfortable, sometimes you may feel totally comfortable, but you want to make sure you always keep an eye on your credit card.
If they’re going to take your credit card to go pay make sure you can watch them where they’re going. And sometimes they’ll bring it like just bring it here so I can sign or put my chip card in or whatever, so you can pay attention to what’s going on.
What to do is when you travel around what you’ll usually pay with a credit card is a lot, and then always check your bill afterward, like, is there anything extra? Is there anything that didn’t go through? So, that might be something that you want to look at, okay.
Related: 6 Travel mistakes for first time tourists
Car Burglars
Next on the list of my holiday travel safety tips is being aware of car burglars.
This part actually has to do with your rental car, or your car, when you’re driving around the US because public transport really isn’t something you’re going to use too much when you are in the US.
You also have to worry about getting your car broken into at night. Look, if you have any valuables at all, do not leave them out in your rental car, bring all your suitcases in when you’re going to be spending the night.
Do not leave anything in that car, you may think, oh, it’s just a few dollars and change. Hey, that few dollars and change look good to somebody. Oh, it’s just like the battery for my phone, boom, that can be something as well.
So put everything away so people can’t see him. And this can happen during the day as well. We’re going around places we have the cover over the car, we run a car with a trunk to put our stuff in there, so we don’t have to worry about it.
Okay, so those are just some of the things that I actually worry about when I travel to the US. I don’t worry about too many other things. So, I go around because it is a pretty safe country to go see. And I hope this helps you feel more comfortable about coming to the US. Because the thing is, you’ll be safer if you’re better prepared.
Related: Snorkeling for beginners – Basic guide to snorkel like a pro
Summary Notes (Holiday Travel Safety Tips)
There you go, holiday travel safety tips when visiting the United States. Most likely, none of this stuff’s actually going to happen to you in the US.
But if I give you some things to feel better about coming here, because you know what you’re looking out for. And I would add one thing.
If someone does try to mug you or carjack you or something like that, which is extremely unlikely in the US. Just give it to them, give you all your phone, your car, whatever you do not like give them a reason to use whatever they’re using against you just give it to him. Okay?
The thing is, you can get a new car, you can get a new phone, you can get a new camera, you can book those vacations again, and go get the same pictures with your family again, but you can’t replace yourself.
What did you think of these holiday travel safety tips? Let’s have your comments in the box provided below.