The holiday season is arguably one of the busiest times to travel! Whether we are traveling to a vacation spot, enjoying a cruise, or taking a road trip to visit family and friends, we should be able to enjoy traveling to destinations of our choice without fearing for our safety.

Regardless of where we decide to travel for the holidays, we should always keep some basic safety and security precautions in mind to stay safe while traveling.

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Protect your home.
Be mindful of what information you put in email auto-responses. Do not announce your plans. As excited as you may be for your upcoming vacation, be careful about the people with whom you discuss it.
Announcing your travel plans on blogs or social media would not be considered a best practice when it comes to protecting your home while you are away. The less information you put out to the public, the less likely it is to reach the wrong eyes and ears.

“Wait until you return home to post and share photos of your adventure. ”

An additional tip about protecting your home while you are traveling for the holidays is to post a “Beware of Dog” sign at your home.

Homes that have dogs (or at least the appearance of having a dog) are often avoided by burglars because dogs make noise and it is unknown if they bite.

Hold your mail and stop newspaper delivery.
If your trip will extend beyond a couple of days, request a hold on mail delivery until you are back home. The United States Postal Service will hold your mail from three to 30 days, and will do so free of charge.
With USPS Hold Mail Service, you can avoid having a pile of yellowing newspapers and packages out front signaling an empty house by stopping deliveries while you are out of town.
While transiting through an airport, always keep your bags in your possession.

If you are traveling as a family or in a group, designate one person to watch the bags.

Do not let a stranger watch your luggage to avoid having someone steal your bags, take valuables out of your bags, or have them place unauthorized items in your bags.

Let your bank know that you are traveling.
There is nothing more frightening than being locked out of your bank account when you are in a foreign country. This happens to travelers more often than you may think, as banks have tightened security to fight fraud.

You should make your next travel experience a blessing and not a financial curse. So, before embarking on your trip, tell your credit card company when and where you plan to travel, no matter how long you will be gone.
By taking this step, any transactions you make will not be flagged as fraudulent and your card is less likely to be blocked.

Many banks and credit card companies allow you to do this online by setting up a travel notification. You should also request an increase in your daily spending limit if you plan to make expensive purchases while traveling.

You definitely want to prevent having your credit card blocked when you are trying to make an essential payment while you are traveling and not being able to reach your credit card company on the phone to get the payment authorized.
Alcohol is a major contributing factor of personal safety incidents for travelers during the holiday season.

Be aware of your limits, and never drink and drive! There is plenty of alcohol in most locations you will travel for the holidays, and it is easy to get carried away, but be mindful of how much you are consuming.

If you are traveling abroad, you also want to make sure you are familiar with the local laws concerning alcohol, such as minimum age limits for consumption and open container laws that outline where it is legal to consume alcoholic beverages.

Be mindful, too, of who is buying you alcoholic beverages, and do not accept drinks from strangers. Also, however inebriated you are, do not accept a walk back to your hotel room or cruise cabin from a stranger.

Have access to a cell phone.
It is a good idea to make sure you will be able to use your phone throughout your trip if you need to make a phone call in the event of an emergency.
Before you depart on your holiday trip, check with your service provider to verify coverage in the area in which you will be traveling. You will also want to check rates and plans available if you are traveling internationally.

Program important numbers in your phone such as the direct line to your hotel’s front desk, your home country’s nearest embassy, and a friend or family member you designate as an emergency contact.

For the U.S. and Canada, dialing 911 will be a helpful number to have for emergencies, while dialing 112 will connect you to emergency services (police, fire, and medical) in many European countries.

The only thing you cannot afford to lose while traveling is your life…and your children!

You can earn more money, cancel and replace credit cards, buy a new watch, and file a claim for lost luggage, but do not put your life at risk for items than can be replaced (even if their sentimental value to you is “irreplaceable”).

Be safe while traveling during this holiday season. For more tips to enhance your travel safety and security, check out my latest book, How to Stay Safe While Traveling. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!