How to Stay Safe While Traveling Abroad

Stop Telling Travelers: "Use Common Sense." It's Not Helping Anybody.

Person in striped shirt and red backpack jumps over orange rocks in desert landscape under a clear blue sky. Energetic and adventurous mood.

There are few things more irksome on internet travel threads than fellow travelers advising people to “use common sense” when OP has asked advice about traveling safely.

The phrase “use common sense” is thrown around so often that it ultimately sounds smug and dismissive, especially when it comes to something as nuanced as personal safety. While “common sense” may be shorthand for “be alert, be cautious, stay aware,” it neglects the realities of individual backgrounds, experiences, and biases. And it totally overlooks something that’s crucial to how we experience travel: our personal appetite for risk.

Nor is risk evenly distributed. Solo female travelers, LGBTQ+ travelers, people of color, even (and especially) those with disabilities all face unique situations. Telling someone to “just use your common sense” serves only to erase these and other very real differences between explorers.

Comment with text: "Hmmmmm, Use common sense if you go, but if you have to ask this question you probably don't have it." Thumbs up icon. Dark background. — Thanks /u/ mytravelempathyneedsanupgrade

Moreover, shouldn't each destination warrant a more case-by-case explanation? Maybe it’s time for the phrase “use common sense” to be stricken from travel guidance altogether – it does no one any favors.

What is true is that travelers need to have a personal safety toolbox, equipped at all times, and honed to enhance personal safety without compromising one’s enjoyment of adventure.

Read on to learn how we actually stay safe while traveling, without sacrificing your sense of adventure.

Reddit-style comment section with text saying "Use common sense like you would traveling anywhere." Dark background, arrow icons. — Like, say, the in-law's house during Thanksgiving?

An Anecdote for Context

Diego grew up in Medellín, Colombia circa 1991. Sally has never been outside her hometown of Westport, Connecticut.

At first glance, we might assume Sally is the ill-equipped traveler when it comes to safety, since she’s never left her bubble. And sure, in the absence of life experience outside Westport, she might be a tad naïve about potential dangers in another city. But Diego, despite growing up in one of the most notoriously dangerous cities of the early ’90s, might have his own blind spots thanks to a major glitch in human programming.

Police and civilians walk in a cobblestone plaza with a historic building backdrop in Cuzco, Peru. A dog is present. People appear calm. — Cuzco, amid riot police & attempted self-coup

Human nature is tricky. We tend to habituate, even to high-stress conditions, and become desensitized to extreme situations we deal with regularly. Diego may know how to duck a hail of bullets, but complacency can sneak up on anybody and get us in trouble. Meanwhile, Sally, though inexperienced, might be hyper-aware of everything that could go wrong.

From personal experience, the more I backpacked and stayed in hostels, the more comfortable I got. Which wasn’t necessarily a good thing for staying vigilant. I’ve met plenty of people who’ve had things stolen in hostel dorms. Still, I personally chose to take the risk rather than getting a cheap hotel for the chance to meet unforgettable travelers and make lasting connections. I’d secure my valuables as best I could and weigh the cost-benefit trade-off. Taking that risk wasn’t inherently foolish, just as avoiding it isn’t inherently over-cautious. It’s down to personal preference, not a nebulous "common sense".

Of course, now that I’m married with a baby in tow, I have no desire to meet anybody new ever again. (Just kidding.) But to that point, actually: Nowadays, my decision-making doesn’t just affect me, it directly impacts the people I’m traveling with.

The Traveler’s Toolbox: Some Tools for Staying Safe

So, let's get practical about how to actually stay safe while traveling. When I think about what helps me stay safe on the road, I like to picture a hard-won, well-stocked toolbox that I can reach into whenever I need. Some tools are more literal – like a physical printed photocopy of my passport – but many are intangible mindsets and habits I’ve picked up over time.

Instead of run-of-the-mill advice like, Don't Go There At Night, Look Over Your Shoulder at the ATM, Don't Follow Shady People on Treks, here are some favorite tools with a bit more nuance. Properly applied in case-by-case travel scenarios, they really help.

1. Appetite for Risk

This is the measuring tape in my toolbox. I gauge how much I’m willing to take on and how far I’m willing to go. It’s a mental barometer of sorts. Only individuals know their own risk tolerance.

Why It Matters: This is crucial to know where to draw the line between I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone and I’m about to have zero control over this situation.

2. Situational Awareness & Cultural Competence

This is the flashlight in my toolbox. I use this to shine a light on (and adapt to) local norms.

Why it Matters #1: On the one hand, am I naturally loud, boisterous, and high-energy? There’s a place and time for that. There’s also a time to be chill, to shut up, and take in the surroundings. It’s remarkable how “eyes open, mouth closed” has proven effective in so many situations.
Why it Matters #2: Standing out doesn’t automatically equal danger, but it calls for more vigilance and flexibility in how I’m moving through unfamiliar settings. That may sound like ‘duh’, but it’s not as intuitive as we always think.

3. Informed Decision-Making

This is the compass – it guides me, but I still had to learn how to read it first.

Why it Matters #1: Before I head to any radically new place, I read up on traveler forums, safety advisories, and personal blogs. Facts plus anecdotes help me understand what’s hype versus what’s real. It’s just not for safety! The money I’ve saved over the years thanks to good research is enough to finance a trip all by itself.
Why it Matters #2: Sometimes the best decisions are spur-of-the-moment, like deciding when and how to find an exit route before a march turns violent, or picking a new bus route at the station when Plan A falls through. The more you’ve read and prepared, the easier that snap decision gets.

4. Emergency Plan Reservoir

Every toolbox needs a stash of backup supplies – your “just in case” resources.

Why it Matters #1: I memorize a few emergency phrases in the local language – “I need help,” “Call the police,” "Where's your favorite taco spot?", “Where is the hospital?”
Why it Matters #2: I think through what I’d do if my phone died, or if I got separated from my travel companions, or if I lost my wallet. This “reservoir” of possibilities keeps me prepared, should anything go sideways.

WS&T Travel Tip: If you're with a group/family, don't designate one person to hold all the important stuff (phone, money, etc.). If that person is separated, the others are SOL.

At the End of the Trip

Risk tolerance shifts over time. I think it’s smart to check out your toolbox from time to time, if not simply to reassess your evolving priorities, then to make sure you haven’t become lax in your personal safety habits.

The goal here isn’t to terrify anyone into missing out on life-changing adventures – it’s to encourage informed exploration. By acknowledging that risk tolerance varies from person to person, and that “common sense” can’t possibly account for everyone’s unique backgrounds, experiences, and identities, we get to have a richer conversation about travel safety.

Here's a special call-to-arms for people with a wealth of travel experience:

Travel represents a bridge of mutually beneficial cultural enrichment. Beyond simply feeding our souls, travel chips away at divisions between people and fosters respect, understanding, and cooperation. Inversely, isolation begets fear, otherism, and xenophobia... (you know what comes next). If cultural exchange makes better humans, we have a responsibility to take the time to help new travelers more safely explore their world.

If you’ve got some tips and tools in your own traveler’s toolbox that you’d like to share, please leave a comment.

Have a healthy respect for your personal safety without letting it overshadow genuine cultural immersion. The more you understand about yourself – and the places you visit – the more you’ll realize you can navigate new environments confidently, respectfully, and frankly, smarter.

And that, I believe, is a whole lot more useful than being told to just “use common sense.” Now that you've gotten our practical advice for how to travel safely, I highly recommend our article on adapting to a seriously nerve-wracking situation... Checkpoints, Police Bribes & Shakedowns.