6 Safety Tips For Traveling Off The Beaten Track

One of my absolute favorite ways to explore the world is to avoid busy tourist traps and head off the beaten track. It may sound cliche, but you can see and experience so much more when you take the road less traveled — inviting you to try things you’d never expect to see or do, like an impromptu invitation to a local’s birthday party or uncovering a quiet pathway by a river you never knew was there. While it enables more adventures, and I believe allows you to really soak in another country more authentically, there are a few more things you have to be aware of when steering clear of the tourist traps or even a well trodden backpacker trail.

For starters, here are six safety tips to keep in mind:

1) Pick your destination wisely

Before you close your eyes, put a pin in a map, and decide to go there, you might want to consider your options. I get it — you don’t want to head to any typical destinations, and that’s cool, but you don’t want to end up somewhere that’s dangerous, either.

There are plenty of amazing places off the beaten track that are still really safe for travelers. The Secret Traveller blog by 1Cover has an awesome list of destinations no one knows about, such as the Lost City in Colombia and Appi in Japan. These are definitely not places where you’ll find a bus load of tourists, but they’re still accessible and exciting.

Make sure to check your embassy page to see what your country says about traveling to a country/region you may not know a lot about, too. (But in doing so, keep in mind that they tend to exaggerate the severity of danger. Currently (early 2019), Italy is considered “medium risk” to travel to for Americans. I’ll let you be the judge of that).

2) Don’t get stranded

Did you ever read my story about the time I was stranded without my passport? When stopping off to use the restroom during my bus journey to Lithuania, my friend and I came out only to find the bus had left without us. We didn’t have our phones, our purses, or our passports, so it was a pretty scary time.

One word of advice if you’re going to travel off the beaten track solo, with someone else, or even on a group tour — don’t be like me, haha. It may sound simple, but be sure you keep your passport (or at least a copy of it) and some cash on you at all times.

3) Always tell people where you are

I travel alone all the time. But I’m never truly alone at hostels, festivals, restaurants, etc. However, some people really crave some serious solitude, especially in nature. If you do want to head off on your own, though, be it hiking a difficult trail or riding the slopes solo, it’s essential you let people know where you are. This could be an update to your mom or dad back home, or it could be just letting your group know where you’re off to. Let them know when you think you’re going to be back — if anything does happen, they’ll then know to sound the alarm.

4) Trust your instincts

If something feels too weird or you get a bad feeling, you’re probably right.. Your gut will become your best friend when you’re traveling off the beaten track, so make sure you listen to it. You hear about scams all the time while traveling (I wrote about 7 classic scams to avoid). Just because you’re not in a tourist-heavy area doesn’t mean that some locals won’t still try their luck. Keep yourself safe and always get out of any situation you don’t feel comfortable in.

5) Don’t stray too far off the literal (or proverbial) track

Unless you’re a survival expert with training in the Navy, it’s probably a good idea not to stray too far off the beaten track. You know, going to the kind of place that even Google doesn’t have a map for. Of course it’s fun to explore a little bit further afield, but you don’t want to stumble across a protective native tribe or a pride of hungry lions. Stick to the roads less traveled, but not the roads that haven’t been traveled at all!

6) Learn some lingo

Finally, as I learned from my experience of getting stranded, it’s probably a good idea to learn some of the country’s language before you head off. The less tourist-centric areas are probably going to have far fewer English-speakers than you’d find elsewhere, so you’re going to want to know some key phrases. You can also download translation apps, which are especially helpful if you’re going to be visiting lots of different places — just so you don’t have to try and learn 16 languages before you jet off.

Traveling off the beaten track is so much fun, but it’s important not to get caught up in the adreneline rush of a new adventure and remember to think about ways to keep yourself safe!

Feel free to toss any other safety tips that could be helpful into to this list in the comments section down below. Stay safe out there!

❤ Liv

Originally published at Lost With Liv.