5 Tips for Safe Travel

The excitement of going to new places may tempt you to let down your guard. Then you become easy prey for thieves or worse. As you prepare to hit the road on that mission trip, impress these safe travel tips in your memory:

1. Keep your luggage nearby and within your view. If traveling by air, check your baggage in as soon as you arrive at the airport. Only allow airline personnel and uniformed sky caps to handle your baggage.
2. Don’t flash cash in public. When buying something at a store, don’t pull out a huge wad of money (even if it seems like “play” money to you). When you travel, wear a money belt or sack under your clothes to carry your cash and small valuables. Don’t leave valuables in a car or hotel room when you’re not there.
3. Keep your address somewhat private. If you’re staying in a hotel, don’t disclose your room number when strangers are within earshot. Be reluctant about opening your door for unexpected visitors or deliveries without calling the front desk to verify the visitor’s identity.
4. Be alert for deliberate mishaps. Thieves and pickpockets distract people with ploys like bumping into someone or spilling a drink on people in a crowd.
5. Keep hotel room doors and windows locked. Don’t leave a hotel room door ajar while you go down the hall for an errand. If you find your room door open after you had left it closed, return to the hotel lobby and ask that someone go with you back to the room.

Howard Culbertson is a missions professor at Southern Nazarene University. He maintains a website featuring an extensive collection of articles on missions.