Travel Safety
These travel safety issues are concerns from our Mobal World Phone users. Do they match with yours?
1. Health
“I am 69 and what I worry about on vacation is my health. I have some heart problems and do worry that I’ll get very sick on vacations.”
Keith
2. Political situations/anti American feelings
“When planning for travel, I worry most about danger to my spouse or myself. I won’t visit a country that is hostile to tourists or to Yankees. I won’t visit a country that is unstable. Right now, Egypt, Georgia, Kenya, Congo and Zambia would be examples.”
Take care and be well,
Pat Milligan
3. Terrorism
“Although the chances of anything happening are slim, today it’s terrorism is something that is always present in the back of my mind. But of course, the same can be said of staying in the US too.”
Christine Woods
4. Language barrier
“I love to travel, but I also like to be in control, but sometimes language can get in the way.
I try to make the effort to learn a few phrases, but I’ve had more than one experience of nearly missing connecting transport as I’ve not been able to find which platform to go to, or find someone to understand me when I’ve asked.
But I guess that’s all part of the experience.”
Barry
5. Luggage security in airports
“Whether traveling for business or pleasure my biggest concern by a large margin is the security of my belongings going through TSA checking and then going unlocked through multiple baggage handlers. It is getting increasingly difficult to take items on board but I have little faith that anything I check in at the ticket counter will arrive intact and be with me when I reach my destination. It is just as important today to take everything on board that you will need at the other end when traveling.”
Bruce Stenman
6. The food
“So, it’s my fault for being fussy, but I always worry I won’t be able find something I can eat on the menu.”
Regards,
Jean McBride
7. Flying
“No matter how many times I fly, I still can’t get over the fact that a huge hulk of metal shouldn’t be able to stay in the air, no matter what the laws of physics say.”
Daniel Pozzi
8. Missing important news
“I have lots of family that we’re very close to, so when I go away I always worry that if something happens I won’t be able to help. I guess that why I got my Mobal phone in the first place.”
Mary Barnet
9. Forgetting something
“There are a lot of “things” to finish up before setting off on a trip. I have a check list that I complete before locking the front door behind me. I know that if I have checked off every item on that list, that there is nothing more I can do about what I leave behind, so I simply go forward with my travel plans. I could worry about everything that “could” happen, but then I would never have the courage to leave home. Once I am at the airport, I have forgotten about my day-to-day life and simply look forward to my adventure.”
Pam
10. Budget
“Travel is a passion, but I always have to keep myself on the strictest budget. Although you can research costs you never truly know until you arrive. I worry that what I’ve budgeted for 3 weeks gets spent in a week and I spend the rest of the vacation living on bread and water!”
J. Hooper
11. Crime
“As I’ve gotten older, and dare I say it, a bit frailer I’ve started to think I’m more of a soft-target as a tourist.”
Anon.
13. Disappointment
“I put a lot of money, time and effort into my vacations to visit places I’ve always dreamed of seeing, so I worry that when I get there, they won’t live up to what I hoped for.”
Susan Sottrup
14. Nothing
“NOTHING!!!!!! I CAN DO MY WORRYING AT HOME”
Marlene Uebel
What do you think?
Should travelers have these worries?
Have you overcome these worries yourself?
Do you have worries not in the list?
Leave a comment below and share your experiences…
I second the advice about notifying your credit card issuer about your travels.
Last time I went to Japan, I had a panicky moment when the hotel told me that my credit card was blocked, even though I had called the bank before leaving. Oddly enough, the bank had not blocked my debit card, so I was able to pay for the first couple of nights with that while I hurriedly e-mailed my bank and asked them what was going on. Fortunately, they immediately unblocked my credit card and reimbursed my debit card (that account needed to pay some checks I had written before leaving). The moral of this story: Always double check with your bank, and always carry at least two credit/debit cards and/or traveler’s checks.
With regard to the health question. I have had American Express Travel Medial Protection for years and have had to access it on two occasions. They were so easy to deal with, very simple process of reporting the incident and the costs (out of pocket and outstanding bills). They pay the bills that qualify in a short time, so there is no hassling with the hospitals and such. It’s very affordable, I’m thinking something like $400 a year, and covers medical and dental emergencies that take place 50 miles from your home. You have to prove that you did not leave your home especially for treatment, and that the “incident” occured while on a vacation or business trip (flight info etc.). When I broke my wrist out of town, AMEX also covered the Drs. and physical therapy I received in my home city.
Check it out.
I just got back from Peru and Ecuador also and my Mobal worked—even in the Galapagos–just not on the boat. We were with OAT and they always do a good job. Our guides were great. But I agree that the nature walks were very rough.
Regarding suggestion to use ATM on trips, care should be excercised on international trips. I know one individual whose card was damaged by the machine, and another whose card was “kept” by the machine. While both of these incidents were revolved, it took a portion of the following day to do so, thus having to forfeit a portion of the touring schedule. While I have one, I rarely use it internationally.
The key to any trip is planning. The more you do, the less each of these issues becomes. I do most of my own planning using a variety of online resources. I check every destination with two sources…every hotel with two or more sources. There are so many online “communities,” that you can find out about any destination.
When at the destination, use common sense. Know where you are going and the best way to get there.
Sure this type and amt. of planning takes time, but it will save a lot of problems/disappointments during the trip. You probably can also save $$ by doing a lot of your own trip planning/online booking.
I just got back from a two week tour ( with a woman friend) of Peru and Ecuador, the main sites being Machu Picchu and the Galapagos. We went with a well known tour company but parts of the tour were not well explained and parts were very disorganized. The accomodations were excellent but the tour guides changed several times during the trip and at least one was rather unpleasant. We also didn’t see all the attractions that were listed, and in the Galapagos islands we were not given enough information about how difficult some of the nature walks were. We are in our 70’s and so were other people on the tour. My advice would be that if you are booking a sightseeing tour, try to speak with other people who have taken the same tour and are in your age group.I would like to add that no cell phones (including Mobal) worked from Ecuador!
I don’t think you should *worry* about any of the 13 (count them) items on the list. You should be concerned, aware and prepared for most of them. This is why you have plans, contingency plans and escape routes in case something goes wrong. This is why you have international cell phones, credit cards, a money belt, a first aid kit, ear plugs, etc. I wouldn’t be concerned about #13 or #14.
To the person worried about unlocked checked baggage, you can get TSA-approved locks that the TSA inspectors can open and then re-lock. To the person worried about running out of money, take an ATM card with you. Be sure to advise your bank which countries you are visiting, so their security dept. doesn’t get alarmed by foreign transactions. Just in case, take some traveler’s checks as a backup.
I heard someone say that they don’t worry about what they can control and they do not worry about what they cannot control which still makes a lot of sense. Consider what is most likely to not go according to plan and prepare for it as best you can and then forget about it.
For me the emost important thing is to never have all my eggs in one basket. Passport scanned and then is backed up to the Internet along with credit card info and my travel arrangements, reservations numbers etc., so even if I lose everything I can get to an Internet cafe and retrieve key information and documents.
What I can’t take on board goes into checked luggage and if two bags are going than half of my clothes go into each bag. Worst case I can survive with what I have in my carry on bag and in my travel coat which has many large pockets and serves as an extra bag that is not counted by airline personnel.
My money and credit cards are in 3 different places so if I were to be robbed I would lose 1/3 of my cash and still have other credit cards to use while I reported the one that was stolen. What is really foolish (and I know people who do it and have had problems as a result) and completely unnecessary, is to have passport(s), credit cards, and all your cash on your person, bag, or purse.
Same goes for any medications that one might need during the trip – and I pack my own first aid supplies, even when traveling in the USA having learned from personal experience that hotels have token first aid kits that can take a long time to locate and are often poorly stocked. And almost all commercial first aid kits are poorly suited for even dealing with a serious cut, lacking a coagulant and compression bandages, and elastic tape.
Some of these “worries” are legitimate (e.g., terrorism, security), but I think others are exaggerated, helped along by the media (e.g., crime). Some of the other worries are just plain silly. They’re totally within one’s own control. Take overspending one’s budget; what was the point of budgeting in the first place if it’s going to be a worry. And disappointment? Come on, get realistic, and grow up. If you’re disappointed, don’t complain. You are the one who wanted to go there. The food? Good gracious me, unless you are in some forgotten corner of the world, you’ll find something. Get a grip. :-)) There’s always something one COULD worry about. But why ruin a good time? Have fun and enjoy.
I think people are terribly afraid of change or unpredictability when traveling.