Tips for Staying Safe and Healthy While Traveling

Traveling safe and healthy are two really important things to keep in mind especially when traveling to places far from home. While you can’t control everything when traveling, there are definitely things you can do to help keep yourself safe and keep your body healthy. Here are our tips for staying safe and healthy while traveling so you can enjoy your travels as much as possible!

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There is no one secret thing that will keep you 100% safe and healthy while traveling. It is extremely important to use common sense while traveling. Make sure you think through situations and places before getting yourself somewhere you don’t want to be.

That said, there are a few things that we always do before leaving for a trip to be the most prepared we can be. There are also items that we always travel with in order to make ourselves feel safe and help our bodies if we start to feel sick.

But something we have learned is that so many items can be found in so many different places. We have found so many of the same brands we know from home in all kinds of different places. So our motto is try to leave as best equipped as we can but remember that with some research we know we can almost always find things we need wherever we are!

6 Tips for Staying Safe and Healthy While Traveling

1. Travel with a First Aid Kit

Traveling with a first aid kit is always a good idea in case something happens unexpectedly. You can buy first aid kits from various places or you can choose to make your own with items you know you will want access to.

We chose to make our own to make sure it had specific items. We use this plastic pouch (the smaller one) to store our first aid kit. Thankfully we haven’t had to use it but it’s nice to know we have it in case we do. Inside it we keep:

• Band-aids
• Gauze and tape
• Alcohol Wipes
• Pepto Bismol / Imodium (for upset stomach)
• Tylenol / Motrin (for pain relief)
• Anti Nausea medicine
• Antihistamine (for allergic reactions / allergies)
• Cough Drops
• Cold medicine

2. Bring an Emergency Contact Card

Before leaving to travel we made emergency contact cards to put in each of our wallets. On it they have our name, phone number and email address. As well they have each others name and phone number as well as names and phone numbers of our parents in case something were to happen.

We made these just in case we got separated and we needed identification as well as contact numbers but weren’t able to provide them ourselves. We’ve never had to use them (thank goodness) but you never know! It’s something super easy to carry around and also works if you lose your wallet!

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3. Look into Vaccines & Medicines

Before traveling internationally we always look at vaccines necessary to travel to the country we are visiting. Before leaving to travel long term we had an appointment with a travel doctor where we went over all the possible countries and areas we would be visiting. In that appointment we went through vaccines we had previously as well as ones needed to travel to various places.

• A common vaccine for traveling to parts of South America and Asia is Yellow Fever.
• Vaccines depend on where you are traveling to and for how long. Make sure to schedule an appointment with your doctor or a travel doctor to get all the information you need.

There are also a few prescription medicines to consider bringing as well. From that same appointment with a travel doctor we got a prescription for stomach medicine, altitude medicine as well as Malaria medicine.

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4. Consider Travel Insurance

Travel insurance essentially is insurance for you while traveling outside of your home country. Different plans and companies cover different things but generally travel insurance includes trip cancellation, baggage coverage and delays, overseas medical and more!

Purchasing travel insurance is a way to make sure if anything happens you will have access to medical coverage as well as reimbursements for travel costs. We use World Nomads and although we haven’t had to file any claims yet (and hopefully never have to) we have had a really positive experience!

5. Download Offline Maps

Wherever we are visiting we always download Google Maps offline prior to getting there. That way we never find ourselves lost in a new place with no service or wifi. This just always makes us feel more secure in case we get to an area we don’t want to be.

We also generally try to walk around an area during the day before we go there at night just to make sure we feel comfortable. While exploring a place we usually have our Sony A7iii camera with us but we always scope out where we are before taking out an expensive piece of equipment.

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6. Don’t Carry All Your Debit / Credit Cards All the Time

One thing we never do is leave to go out somewhere with every single one of our debit and credit cards. We intentionally make sure to leave at least one debit card and one credit card in our accommodation (in a safe or secure spot) in case our bag or wallet was stolen while out. That way you always have a back up way to get money if you loose everything else.

• Getting debit and credit cards replaced internationally can be really inconvenient and can also take a long time which you might not have. This way we know that worse case scenario we always have one card that is safe.

6 Items To Travel With to Stay Safe and Healthy

Below are a few items that we always travel with to stay safe and healthy. Some may seem like no brainers but it’s worth mentioning just in case there is an item you forgot!

1. Bag Clips

After getting my wallet stolen in a crowded bar at home, we learned the hard way it’s easier than you think for someone to reach into your bag whether it’s closed or not. So we use these carabiner clips on my crossbody purse as well as our daypack to clip the zippers together so someone can’t open the bag and take something from inside.

• It’s something that you can easily do and feel more secure when you’re walking around a new place especially somewhere that is really crowded!

2. Steripen (Water Purifier)

The Steripen is a UV water purifier that is small and rechargeable so we can purify water in countries where the tap water is not drinkable. This helps keep us healthy and our stomachs happy in case the water in the country we are visiting has things our bodies aren’t used to. The UV light purifies water against both bacteria and viruses.

• Drinking water is one of the most common people get sick or get food poisoning. Traveling with a water purifier is a consistent way to reduce getting sick from foreign water!

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3. Hand Sanitizer

We travel with a small bottle of hand sanitizer clipped to each of our backpacks as well as one inside my purse. You can usually find ones with a silicone case that can be clipped to a bag in the travel section of stores like Target, CVS and Walmart for no more than a few dollars!

Washing your hands with hand sanitizer is a really good way to keep yourself healthy while traveling! It also doesn’t require water or soap so you can use it when you don’t have access to those!

• We try to use it whenever we hold onto handles on busy public transportation or anywhere else it feels necessary.

4. Copies of Important Documents

Before leaving for any trip we always make copies of important documents like our passports. We also made copies of items like our credit cards and driver licenses and scanned them so we have digital copies. We also have digital copies of our passports in case we lose the printed copies we can simply print out another one.

Especially when traveling for a long period of time it’s also good to travel with a few extra passport pictures in case you need them for visas. You can get them done so easily and it’s easier than scrambling at the last minute to get one while trying to enter a new country.

• We put all of these important copies into this plastic folder to keep it all together and protected!

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5. Luggage Locks

We travel with carry on size backpacks so we never check luggage but sometimes while traveling on buses or trains we have to put it down below or out of reach. We lock the zippers of our backpacks with these luggage locks just to make it a little harder for someone to open it up and take something.

• They are backpacks though so we know if someone really wanted they could simply cut it open but it just is an added precaution!
• If you’re traveling with large suitcases that you often check you definitely want to get luggage locks especially if you’re going to be traveling on planes as well as buses and trains!
• We chose combination locks because then we don’t have to worry about losing the key but we can always change the combination if we think we need to!

6. Headlamp

We originally got headlamps for hiking but we have used them so many times while in cities and so many other places! You can use the flashlight on your phone in a pinch but a headlamp you can wear on your head and be hands free. It also is so much brighter and lasts so much longer than a phone flashlight.

We have used them a lot in South America and Asia while walking back from dinner in places where there aren’t street lights as well as when the power goes out in our accommodation.

Let us know if you have any other tips for staying safe and healthy while traveling!

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