Travel Safety Tips

Traveling can be exciting and intimidating at the same time. At Grand European Travel, we've got your back. Follow these valuable tips to prepare for your trip and travel with confidence.

Keep Your Travel Documents Safe

Check the expiration dates of your passport, credit cards, and driver's license well before your departure date so you have time to renew them if necessary. Ensure that your passport is valid for six months after completing your trip.

Make copies of important documents - especially your passport and visas - if anything is lost or stolen while traveling.

Only bring the essentials with you on your trip. Leave items such as your social security card and other membership cards at home—label personal belongings, including your camera, with your name, phone number, and email address.

Safety Tips for Traveling in a Foreign Place

• Dress inconspicuously, and avoid flashy accessories or expensive jewelry.
• Keep essential valuables, such as your passport and credit card, on you at all times. We suggest wearing a money belt under your clothing. Ladies, keep your purse on you at all times - do not take it off at cafes or on public transportation. Cross-body bags are easily accessible and more secure options. 
• Keep your wallet in a front pocket or an inside coat pocket. Wrapping an elastic band around your wallet will make it more difficult for a pickpocket to slide it out of your pockets unnoticed.  
• If you bring a backpack, be extra careful of pickpockets. Keep it in front of you wherever possible, and keep important documents on your person. 
• Pick up a hotel business card and keep it with you to show it to a taxi driver or get directions if you need them.
• Keep your camera out of sight when you are not using it. 

Travel Safety & Airports

• Stay up to date on potential security delays at your airport. 
• For current security information and guidelines, visit the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website at www.tsa.gov
• Ensure that your luggage complies with your airline's size and weight restrictions.
• Label your suitcase with a luggage tag and leave a copy of your contact information if your bags are delayed or the outer tag is lost. Take a photo of your luggage on your phone or digital camera.
• Use the restroom before going through security.
• Pack your carry-on bag so the contents can be easily inspected. Remember to follow the TSA 3-1-1 guide to liquids and pack them in a zip-lock bag.
• Be ready to remove your coat and shoes. Double-check that you have all of your belongings as you leave the screening area.

Travel Safety & Hotels

When you leave your room, lock your suitcase and, if your room has one, use the room safe for valuables. Be sure to remove them before you check out. It's best to leave valuables at home unless absolutely necessary.  Keep the door locked when you are in your room, and use the door peephole if someone knocks.

These tips will help your vacation go as smoothly as possible so that you and your belongings stay safe. In the unlikely event that you are pick-pocketed or you lose an item, inform your travel director and the local police. Keep copies of any reports in order to make a claim on your travel insurance when you return home.