My husband and I took a long-planned trip to the UK for which we used a local travel agent who specialized in Scotland and England.
Then the October 7 massacre in Israel occurred two weeks before we were scheduled to depart.
The agent recommended we register with STEP, which we did. State Department indicated that there were no major alerts in the UK, but advised us to stay away from dodgy ares and crowds assembling, etc. etc. They also wanted to have our itinerary, including hotels, and contact information.
As it turned out, we did see a street protest of pro-Palestinians blocking traffic in Liverpool (including the bus we had just gotten off), but that was all. I know some people would refuse to register with State, but it put our minds at ease.
I'm of the belief that having a government is better than none at all. Yes, they often work against us, but on some level, they do have a responsibility to us, since pissing off your whole country by failing them is a really bad idea. I think STEP is one of the things in the federal government that actually works.
All great stuff! I wasn’t aware of the Inreach but there was one situation travelling where I was nearly locked in an ancient church overnight and that would have been ideal.
Megaditto on keeping in touch and providing hotel and flight info to relatives in advance, especially if you’re solo. I always sent a daily email on my trips.
Some additional advice:
1. Make sure you have health insurance. If you are doing a long trip, there is extended backpacker insurance available.
2. Keep your passport plus any entry or exit slips in a ziplock. My passport once got soaked in a typhoon in Japan. Plus it can be very important to keep those slips.
3. If you can, book domestic transport and hotels in advance. I had pre-booked train tickets on Renfe in Spain when the Icelandic volcano hit. Suddenly you couldn’t buy a ticket for the life of you.
4. As you said, trust your instincts. My instincts said to stay in my hotel at night in Washington DC and Philadelphia, although other American cities were better. And if you don’t feel safe going somewhere or food looks dodgy, don’t. I once ate unappetizing meat offered to me by my hosts in Vietnam and paid with nasty food poisoning.
5. As a male sole traveller I was OK, but I did not go drinking solo. Generally best not to get intoxicated.
6. If you have a contact, family or friends, take advantage. This allowed me to visit places I might not have gone to, like Russia, Mexico City, Lima and Vietnam. I even took advantage of a site called Meetup where you could meet locals and had some amazing nights out in Portugal and Italy.
7. Try to find fun entertainment at night, like opera, ballet, symphony, jazz, soccer matches, etc. The nights are part of your trip and you shouldn’t waste them.
8. You can see a lot by walking, if you’re up to it.
9. FWIW, I had no problems with my stomach in Mexico, but I had a non-stop upset stomach in Peru. I also went to China in November and had nasty colds all the time.
10. Try Europe in off season. Florence in November was warm, golden and uncrowded. I visited Belgium for a winter wedding and it was gorgeous in the snow. Plus a lot of places have Christmas festivals, markets and lights that are wonderful.
All great advice. Pre-booking is very important, especially when it comes to popular tourist destinations. I always think about how promotional photographs of popular sites are always sparse, but when you get there, it's jam-packed!
Not getting drunk is so important. Drinking alone at home is fine, but overseas, if you get intoxicated and there's nobody there to help you, you stand to lose everything, including your life.
I'm a biug believer in visiting the Second World, if not the Third World, but you should never rough it alone. I understand lots of people do it without issues, but it's still not a chance I'd ever take, unless you're an experience world traveller. If you're a woman, don't do it alone. I find that traveling with a group is almost all upside.
“You can see a lot by walking, if you’re up to it.”
So true! My husband and I were in Edinburgh, and had scheduled a trip to Rosslyn Chapel, but missed the bus. So rather than go back to our hotel we decided to hoof it around the city.
Turned out that missing the bus was a happy accident. I fell in love with the city, and want to return (maybe this time catch a visit to the Chapel).
My husband and I took a long-planned trip to the UK for which we used a local travel agent who specialized in Scotland and England.
Then the October 7 massacre in Israel occurred two weeks before we were scheduled to depart.
The agent recommended we register with STEP, which we did. State Department indicated that there were no major alerts in the UK, but advised us to stay away from dodgy ares and crowds assembling, etc. etc. They also wanted to have our itinerary, including hotels, and contact information.
As it turned out, we did see a street protest of pro-Palestinians blocking traffic in Liverpool (including the bus we had just gotten off), but that was all. I know some people would refuse to register with State, but it put our minds at ease.
I'm of the belief that having a government is better than none at all. Yes, they often work against us, but on some level, they do have a responsibility to us, since pissing off your whole country by failing them is a really bad idea. I think STEP is one of the things in the federal government that actually works.
All great stuff! I wasn’t aware of the Inreach but there was one situation travelling where I was nearly locked in an ancient church overnight and that would have been ideal.
Megaditto on keeping in touch and providing hotel and flight info to relatives in advance, especially if you’re solo. I always sent a daily email on my trips.
Some additional advice:
1. Make sure you have health insurance. If you are doing a long trip, there is extended backpacker insurance available.
2. Keep your passport plus any entry or exit slips in a ziplock. My passport once got soaked in a typhoon in Japan. Plus it can be very important to keep those slips.
3. If you can, book domestic transport and hotels in advance. I had pre-booked train tickets on Renfe in Spain when the Icelandic volcano hit. Suddenly you couldn’t buy a ticket for the life of you.
4. As you said, trust your instincts. My instincts said to stay in my hotel at night in Washington DC and Philadelphia, although other American cities were better. And if you don’t feel safe going somewhere or food looks dodgy, don’t. I once ate unappetizing meat offered to me by my hosts in Vietnam and paid with nasty food poisoning.
5. As a male sole traveller I was OK, but I did not go drinking solo. Generally best not to get intoxicated.
6. If you have a contact, family or friends, take advantage. This allowed me to visit places I might not have gone to, like Russia, Mexico City, Lima and Vietnam. I even took advantage of a site called Meetup where you could meet locals and had some amazing nights out in Portugal and Italy.
7. Try to find fun entertainment at night, like opera, ballet, symphony, jazz, soccer matches, etc. The nights are part of your trip and you shouldn’t waste them.
8. You can see a lot by walking, if you’re up to it.
9. FWIW, I had no problems with my stomach in Mexico, but I had a non-stop upset stomach in Peru. I also went to China in November and had nasty colds all the time.
10. Try Europe in off season. Florence in November was warm, golden and uncrowded. I visited Belgium for a winter wedding and it was gorgeous in the snow. Plus a lot of places have Christmas festivals, markets and lights that are wonderful.
Have fun!
2.
All great advice. Pre-booking is very important, especially when it comes to popular tourist destinations. I always think about how promotional photographs of popular sites are always sparse, but when you get there, it's jam-packed!
Not getting drunk is so important. Drinking alone at home is fine, but overseas, if you get intoxicated and there's nobody there to help you, you stand to lose everything, including your life.
I'm a biug believer in visiting the Second World, if not the Third World, but you should never rough it alone. I understand lots of people do it without issues, but it's still not a chance I'd ever take, unless you're an experience world traveller. If you're a woman, don't do it alone. I find that traveling with a group is almost all upside.
“You can see a lot by walking, if you’re up to it.”
So true! My husband and I were in Edinburgh, and had scheduled a trip to Rosslyn Chapel, but missed the bus. So rather than go back to our hotel we decided to hoof it around the city.
Turned out that missing the bus was a happy accident. I fell in love with the city, and want to return (maybe this time catch a visit to the Chapel).