Ten dumb things you’re likely to do if you drink and travel

by Annie Scott on


We’ve all heard it a million times: don’t drink too much when you’re traveling. It’s dangerous. However, that “danger” is so amorphous and non-specific, it’s hard to determine what the warnings really mean. Here are ten dumb things you’re likely to do if you drink and travel. You can take this as a warning, or, if you happen to be drunk and traveling right now … as a checklist.

Don’t ask me how I know these things.

1. Not remember anything.

Whoops. Isn’t the whole point of traveling to experience things and make memories? If you had an amazing travel experience but you were so drunk you can’t remember it very well, it practically didn’t happen. When someone asks if you had a good time on your trip to Cabo and you say “I think so …” … you have failed.

2. Drunk dial or text — for quite a hefty roaming price.

Telephone calls can be a dollar, two dollars or more per minute from foreign locations. Text messages: also spendy. Drunk dialing is all fun and games when it’s included in your plan, but that twenty minute message you leave before falling asleep on the phone while traveling in Bora Bora can cost darn near as much as your flight. Be careful.3. Get on the wrong train/boat/bus.

I get on the wrong train sober all the time. Transportation stations are confusing! There are often signs for several destinations on the same platform, and when you’re out of your element, you don’t necessarily know where to look for information or which train is the right one. When you’re drunk, you’re also more likely to just “take an educated guess,” which can take you ten or more miles in the wrong direction. If you’re trying to get to the airport, this mistake could make you …

4. Miss your flight.

Not only do the flight attendants not have to let you board if you’re under the influence, but there are a hundred things that could go wrong between the bar and the airport that would result in you missing your flight. Even drinking heavily at the airport is dangerous to your itinerary. Airports can be very complex buildings with poor signage. Don’t let rebooking fees happen to you.

5. Lose your wallet and/or passport.

Whether it’s because you got sloppy and let yourself get robbed (those robbers are looking for drunk tourists, you know) or you simply left your purse/wallet on the back of a toilet; losing your money and/or documents in a foreign country — or even in some dive bar in Austin — totally sucks. You almost never hear stories of “I lost my wallet in London” without alcohol being involved. There’s a reason for this. There’s also the danger of deciding to put your passport in a “really safe hiding place” late at night and then never finding it again. It’s a problem.

6. Send overly-emotional emails.

Travel can bring up a lot of big feelings about yourself or the people in your life. Drinking and emailing, as well as drinking and blogging, are hilarious discouraged.

7. Pay too much.

It can happen even in your own town. You open up your wallet after a night out and — oh hey! — where did all your money go? This can be even more likely to happen in a foreign country for a number of reasons. The currency can be confusing or just plain not feel like real money to you, encouraging you to spend willy-nilly. Also, the thrill of being somewhere new can tempt you to buy drinks for entire groups of people you won’t ever see again (which is fine if you can afford it and not fine if you can’t) or do something ridiculous like get a tattoo in the middle of the night — and pay a lot of money for it.

8. Get a tattoo or other permanent bodily adornment.

There is nothing quite like having no idea why you have a an ugly unicorn with the name “Sean” under it tattooed on your right hip.

9. Get lost.

Getting lost is a natural part of travel, but if you’ve been drinking, it can be especially dangerous. Chances are, if you don’t know where you are, no one else does either, which means if you go missing, you’re more likely to never be found again. You can also walk into a rough part of town without realizing it — the impaired judgment won’t help you in any way. You might just be interested in the things you’re looking at and not even realize you’ve gotten yourself totally lost and that the only way home, if you can find one, is a pricey taxi. Try to stick to places you’ve already been sober.

10. Fall asleep somewhere inappropriate (above).

Jet lag + alcohol = sleep. It’s science.

[Photo by crossfirecw via Flickr.]

Situational awareness: can you detect danger before it strikes?

by Sean McLachlan on

The global intelligence firm Stratfor has published an interesting primer on situational awareness, which is a fancy way of saying that you should pay attention.

The article is based on the obvious premise that most crimes such as kidnapping, robberies and terrorist attacks take several steps to complete, and that if someone is sufficiently aware of their surroundings they can spot the crime unfolding and react. The sharp-eyed street vendor who stopped the Times Square bomb is a perfect example.

Stratfor says that travelers and others who may be in harm’s way must get into the mindset of situational awareness. You should trust your gut instincts because often your subconscious has picked up on something your conscious mind hasn’t had time to process. People should practice being in a state of relaxed awareness similar to defensive driving. Enjoy life, but study your surroundings. Is that protest in front of the government building attracting some angry cops? Is that group of young men staring at you out of more than just curiosity? Who is standing near the ATM you want to use?

Relaxed awareness doesn’t mean being paranoid, it simply means that you should keep your eyes open and your mind active. Enjoy your vacation, but don’t leave your brain at home.

Stratfor has a free weekly newsletter with informative, level-headed articles on topics of interest to travelers and general news junkies, ranging from why we should worry about Al-Shabaab to why the fears over a radioactive “dirty bomb” are mostly hype. More articles and analysis are available through a paid subscription.

Unlike certain news organizations, Stratfor doesn’t exaggerate threats to grab readers. Their articles are meant to make you safer, not make you scared. As they say in the primer, “The world is a wonderful place, but it can also be a dangerous one.”

Words to travel by.

Photo of 2007 Bastille protests courtesy David.Monniaux via Wikimedia Commons.

The ten safest African airlines

by Sean McLachlan on

Airlines based in Africa have a bad reputation. When the European Union published a blacklist of airlines banned from flying in the EU, it included 111 carriers from 13 African countries. Carriers got on the list for having out-of-date planes (often Soviet-era “flying coffins”), poor government oversight in their own country, and not fixing problems pointed out by EU inspectors. You can read more about the criteria and the list here.

Airlines from other countries got on the list too, including a large number from Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and the Philippines, but the preponderance of Africa-based carriers was noticeable.

In response, Flight Africa blog has published a list of the ten safest African airlines based on “attainment of IOSA Certification, number of accidents per flight and fatalities per passenger kilometres.” That last phrase actually made me wince. Here’s the list:

1. South African Airways
2. Ethiopian Airlines
3. Air Botswana
4. Air Mauritius
5. Air Seychelles
6. Kenya Airways
7. TunisAir
8. Royal Air Maroc
9. Nigerian Eagle Airlines
10. Air Zimbabwe

This is an encouraging list because it includes carriers from every region of Africa and some of the most popular tourist destinations. One common mantra of adventure travelers is that they’re helping the local economy with the money they spend. This list proves they can start helping before their adventure even starts.

Travel safety tips: Traveling with jewelry

by Leigh Caldwell on

Jewelry is rarely at the top of my packing list. Truth be told, I’ve worn the same rings and earrings in nearly all my travels for the past several years. And other than the addition of a cheap, costume necklace or two for a night out, I generally don’t pack any jewelry.

But sooner or later, we all have to travel for some function where “the good stuff” needs to come along. Be it a family wedding where grandma’s pearls need to make an appearance or a gallery opening where that canary diamond you have (and I say “you” because I certainly don’t have one) begs to be worn, we all find ourselves packing some fine jewelry occasionally.

So, how do you keep it safe and secure? I went to the experts to find out.

The hotel security director

You can probably guess what Robert Brauner, the director of safety and security at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, said when I asked him. “Don’t take your heirlooms and your favorite stuff with you.”

But, if you are going to take them, here are Brauner’s tips for traveling with jewelry:

  • Be sure you are staying in a hotel with a safe in the room or safety deposit boxes at the front desk. Most 3-star or better hotels have both.
  • Once you’ve checked into the hotel, use the safe or safety deposit box. “The hardest part is getting people to utilize them,” Brauner says. “We advertise that we have them, but then people don’t use them, and that’s where things can go wrong.”
  • Know the hotel’s policy if something should happen to your jewelry. In most U.S. states, an innkeeper is not liable for hotel losses, unless they are the direct result of the hotel’s negligence. For example, if a hotel employee is caught stealing it.

The insurance agent

If you own fine jewelry, you probably have insurance to cover it. But does that insurance apply when you are traveling? That’s the question I asked Thomas Trask, owner of Dennis Insurance Agency in Lutz, Fla.

He said you first need to ensure that you are insured. “A standard homeowner’s policy will not cover jewelry for disappearance, and it will only cover theft of jewelry up to $1,000,” Trask said.

The key is to purchase a rider to your homeowner’s policy or a separate policy to cover jewelry. Either one will cover your jewelry for theft, disappearance or other mishaps, including losing a stone from a setting or the old familiar dropping of your wedding ring down a garbage disposal.

Now you will need to be sure that you are following your specific policy’s rules for travel, and Trask said to check with your agent about that. Most standard policies will cover you for travel anywhere, but some might require that certain items be kept in a safe when you are not wearing them. And, if we’re talking about Harry Winston, red carpet-level jewels, your policy may limit exactly how much jewelry you can travel with.

And Trask, like Brauner, said it’s probably best to leave the heirlooms at home. “There is no way to insure sentimental value,” Trask said. “That ring that your grandmother gave you can only be insured for an appraised value,” and it probably means more to you than that.

Hotel safety tips: How to choose the best hotel room, best hotel location

by Melanie Nayer on

When it comes to your safety, hotels can be your best source of security while traveling. While hotels are constantly making improvements to improve their safety, there’s nothing worse than discovering your passport has been stolen or your laptop is broken thanks to a disabled door lock and a fast thief.

While you’re searching for your next hotel, keep these safety tips top of mind.

What makes a safe hotel:

Never compromise your safety for a dollar. A great deal on hotel room can certainly cushion you budget, but it’s worthless if the hotel is in a bad neighborhood or isn’t up to code on things like door locks and surveillance cameras. Once you find the right location, narrow down your hotel choices by taking into consideration the following:

  • Is each room equipped with a dead bolt lock and a peephole?
  • Does the hotel room have an electronic guest room lock? Key locks are cute and add a bit of charm, but electronic doors track the comings-and-goings of all who enter.
  • Do the hotel rooms have a telephone enabled with emergency call button or the ability dial outside of the hotel?
  • Do photos of the hotel show well-lit hallways, parking garages and lobby areas? (Side note: never book a hotel without viewing pictures first).
  • Hotels with limited entry/exit options usually have less foot-traffic, which keeps stragglers off the premises.
  • Does the hotel provide 24-hour concierge/security? Knowing someone is on duty at all times allows for peace of mind if you’re feeling unsafe.
  • Before booking a hotel room in an international destination, make sure it’s in a safe area by checking with the US Embassy in that country.

When arriving at your hotel:

  • Stay with your luggage at all times. If a bellman offers to take your bags, make sure to keep the bag with your laptop, wallet and jewelry in it, and get the Bellman’s name.
  • Once you check in, grab a few hotel cards or matchbooks with the hotel’s address on it and place them in your bag. If you get lost, you have the address and phone number ready to give to a cab driver.

Selecting the safest hotel room:

  • While the higher floors have the best views, the lower floors have quicker access to the ground. In the event of an emergency, you want to get out fast. Keep in mind that some fire departments, including those in the United States, can only reach as high as floor 8 in an emergency.
  • Whenever possible, do not take a hotel room on the ground floor if it has doors and windows that open to the outside. This is particularly important for motels with rooms off parking lots. If you can’t get a room on a higher floor, forgo your view and choose a room facing the interior or courtyard.
  • Guestrooms near the elevators are generally the safest, but can also be the noisiest. If you’re staying alone, request that your room is in the middle of the hallway or near an elevator – while the alcoves and corner rooms are very intimate and offer great views, they are also somewhat hidden making it easier for thieves to access.

After arriving in your room, check for the following:

  • If the hotel room you’re staying in has older door locks (metal keys instead of the electronic key cards) make sure to check the deadbolt and safety chain when you arrive in your room. If they seem jittery or loose, ask to change rooms.
  • Check the closets and bathrooms for anything left from the last guests and ensure all windows and adjoining doors shut and lock properly.
  • Check the phone to make sure an outside line is accessible.
  • Locate the nearest fire exit and count how many doors along the way until you reach the exit. In the event of a fire and heavy smoke, counting the doors will ensure you get to safety if you can’t see.


When you leave your hotel room:

  • Leave the television on – it gives the impression someone is in the room. Ask the maid service to keep the TV on or turn on the radio during turn-down service.
  • The ‘please make up my room’ sign is also code for ‘I’m not here’. Don’t worry about making your bed or needing clean towels – maid service keeps track of the rooms and what’s been cleaned, so they’ll get to you regardless of whether you have the sign on your door. If you don’t need your room serviced, place the “Do not disturb” sign on your door when you leave. This gives the impression you’re inside.
  • If you have valuables and don’t have an in-room safe, ask to use the security vault in the hotel. If you have an in-room safe, use it!

Now that you’re armed with the best hotel safety tips, get out of your room and enjoy your trip!

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