On vacation alone: what dangers await

Traveling alone is pleasant and convenient: there is no need to coordinate your plans with anyone, to depend on the mood and whims of your fellow traveler. But there are also disadvantages.

For example, pay more for a room: single occupancy costs 30-70% more than each of the guests will pay for a double room. Alone, be responsible for everything. Our tips will help you avoid some of the trouble.

• If you go on a free voyage around the globe – without travel agencies, vouchers and guides – you need to carefully develop a route. Especially carefully it is necessary to calculate the time of arrival and departure, without leaving breaks between flights, and do not be too lazy to check how long it will take to get to the city. Smaller airlines often use small provincial airports far from major cities, although the ticket may indicate a “metropolitan” direction. Sometimes travelers who have to make a transfer realize only at the last moment that they will have to move to another airport.

• Better to travel light. Get rid of things that "may be needed." Hygiene products will be provided at the hotel, if you suddenly need something else, you can buy it on the spot. Just take into account the specifics of the country: in Muslim states there are problems with condoms, and in law-abiding Europe, a pharmacy will require a prescription for everything – even for the most innocuous antihistamine pills that we sell in almost supermarkets, but without which allergy sufferers cannot survive. When the weight of souvenirs purchased along the way begins to interfere with existence, you can send them home by mail.

• A large suitcase is a big inconvenience. There is no strong companion nearby, which means that you will have to overcome various stairs on which they forgot to install ramps, drag kilograms into the bus, and even constantly monitor things, to be actually chained to this multi-kilogram weight. Trouble will start from the airport. Even on the road, people have a habit of going to the toilet, and most bathrooms are not designed to fit with a huge suitcase. This should be taken into account: as soon as possible, hand over your suitcase at check-in, and then visit the WC before collecting your baggage. It is clear that asking a random neighbor in the waiting room to look after the travel bag is like donating things to scammers yourself. You can try to negotiate with local employees, but after the terrorist attacks, they are unlikely to be happy with such a prospect. Therefore, if you have to wait a long time, you can check in your belongings or, even better, travel without luggage.

• With the help of Internet sites, travel forums, talking with other tourists, you need to learn as much as possible about the country and, most importantly, about local laws, breaking which is fraught with the most unpleasant consequences. Not in all countries of the world the police are ready to call the consulate on demand, and in some places they may even "forget" about the existence of the telephone. A friend who could act quickly and decisively will not be around. The embassy can find out about the problems of the tourist after the verdict has been passed. So you shouldn't use drugs (in some places they are easily executed for possession), don't give a damn about portraits of kings (you won't get into trouble later either), and in general you need to respect other people's traditions and do not forget that you are visiting.

• When traveling alone, you should not completely cut ties with the world. You need to agree with relatives or friends at what time you will get in touch, as well as leave them your route (and even with the emergency numbers of the police and Russian consulates in the host countries). After all, the sooner they start looking for the missing tourist, the more chances of success. At home, it is necessary to leave copies of all basic documents with reliable people: passports, insurance policies, tickets, telephone numbers of the "hot line" of banks in which plastic cards are issued. Take a few copies with you: keep the originals in the hotel safe and carry a duplicate in your bag. You can also place all the necessary papers on the Internet, in your mailbox, which can be accessed from any computer. On the road, between hotels, you cannot put all documents and money in one bag. Part of the amount, a photocopy of your passport and a backup plastic card must be put in a secret pocket.

• There are many people who are incapable of spending money wisely. Traveling without friends, you have to rely only on yourself, and therefore you should be especially careful: there will be no one to "intercept" before returning home. You must always have a certain amount in case of force majeure. Even if the hotel with three meals a day is fully paid in advance, all transfers, insurance covers any injuries, the trip is still full of surprises. The flight is often delayed, and free food is not always handed out to passengers. A person may need the help of a doctor, but not all clinics agree to work with an insurance company by bank transfer – they ask to pay for services, and the insurer compensates for the costs after the fact. And do not forget to keep track of the balance on your cell phone: if you run out of money, you will not be able to ask a friend for a cell phone.

• Everyone understands that it is not worth wandering in the dark along unlit streets among suburban barracks. But in safer places, you should be careful, and in some areas you don't need to look in even during the day. The lone traveler is always at risk.

• Sometimes one is uncomfortable even in a restaurant. A lonely girl staring at the sides will invariably attract attention. If you want to avoid this, you need to take at least a book with you so that you have something to occupy your eyes while waiting for your order.

• On the road without an interlocutor is dreary, and those who cannot easily start a conversation with a fellow traveler should take care of entertainment in advance: take a book, a player, a DVD-player.But traveling alone, it is much easier to find friends. You just need to smile at your fellow traveler, and easy communication can develop into a long acquaintance. You can learn a lot of interesting things from new comrades. But it is just as easy to meet with scammers. Therefore, you should not lose your vigilance, start a story about diamonds hidden "for a rainy day" in the soles of shoes, even if they are not there.

Do not hurt anyone's feelings, do not provoke religious or national conflicts. Yes, everyone knows this, but for some reason they continue to step on the same rake!

Enjoy your trip!