It’s necessary to think about travel safety tips for seniors before embarking on a trip. Seniors who want to travel solo or with friends need to consider general safety precautions and common sense travel tips.

Traveling on a long journey can become an intimidating prospect for anyone, particularly if you are a senior citizen. However, it is unnecessary to use this as an excuse for not enjoying yourself and seeing the world.

This article will provide travel safety tips for seniors. It will help them enjoy hassle free trips, whether they are going on a weekend journey, or if they decide to take an adventure abroad.

Essential Travel Safety Tips for Seniors

Here are some valuable travel safety tips for seniors that you should follow before taking off on any trip:

Doctor Checkup – The most important step for seniors who want to stay safe on a trip is to get a physical checkup from their physician. It’s necessary for your doctor to determine that you don’t have any pre-existing illness that might prevent you from making a strenuous trip. Your doctor might also be able to refer you to some doctors in the country or area that you plan to visit.

Your doctor can give you suggestions about certain types of travel, which could depend on your medical condition and history. If you are suffering from a heart condition, you might be advised to avoid strenuous activities. Or, if you have diabetes, your doctor might suggest that you go to certain countries that can provide you the proper medicine and treatment if you need it.

You might already take prescription medication, and you should ensure that you bring enough to last for your trip. Certain medications might not be available in the country that you are visiting, and if you ran out, you would need to have them sent by express delivery to your destination.

Vaccines – You might need some vaccinations before you go. A lot will depend on the area of the world where you plan on traveling. Vaccinations against yellow fever, cholera, and hepatitis might be suggested or even required. Although, seniors have probably been vaccinated against many diseases such as rubella, polio, measles, and mumps, some diseases might require a booster shot for guaranteed protection in some countries.

In addition, make sure that you are provided with an International Vaccination Card, so you know what vaccines you have been given, and in cases of yellow fever, some Immigration agents might verify that you have been given a vaccination. Without it, you might not be able to enter or exit some countries.

Avoid Questionable Transportation – Here’s another travel safety tip for seniors. In some developing countries, some transportation can be extremely dangerous. For example, in Indonesia and Thailand, some bus drivers travel at extremely high speeds and accidents are common. Numerous African countries and Russia have poor airline safety standards. Avoiding some of these situations could prevent accidents.

Seniors should also only travel with recognized companies. If you are approached by strangers and told that they can take you to your destination for a cheaper price than a known company, you should be careful because they could rob you.

You should also look for transportation that provides seat belts because you never know when an accident can occur in any country, and safety belts can save your life.

Notify Family and Friends of Your Whereabouts – You might want to leave an itinerary with family and friends, so they know where you are. You can also keep them updated every couple of days on the Internet. Facebook and Twitter are great ways to provide instant updates on your location. You can also keep people updated by e-mail.

Register with a U.S. Embassy or Consulate – Nearly every country in the world has a U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate that provides assistance for U.S. citizens. If you are planning to visit a country for an extended period of time, or if you are planning to live there, you should notify them and give them your address. This helps them reach you if an emergency happens with someone in your family, and your family can’t reach you, or if something happens to you.

Safety in Numbers – You are safer when you travel in small groups. If you walk around alone, you are an easier target for robbers and other thieves.
If you prefer to walk alone, ask trusted local citizens where the safest parts of town are, and make sure you walk around during the daylight hours and not at night.

Use Simple Attire on the Streets – A final safety tip for seniors is to try not to stick out. You don’t want to wear some fancy clothes with an expensive watch, or have two cameras and a video recorder dangling from your neck. In tourist areas, this could spell trouble for you.

Don’t carry much money on you, and always keep an extra fifteen or twenty dollars in an easy to access place, just in case you are robbed. It’s better to have some money when you are robbed than not to have any. It could save you from a beating.

Travel Safety Tips for Seniors – Conclusion

A little common sense goes a long way. If you think about how you stay safe where you live in the United States, you should use some of those same precautions when you travel.

These travel safety tips for seniors should help to keep you safe. I’ve been traveling for more than 35 years, and although I’ve had some items stolen from my checked luggage during a flight, I have never been robbed. Not in Jakarta, Mumbai, Mexico City, Casablanca, Lagos, Bogota, or any parts of the world.

Always think about safety first, and you can avoid many problems when you travel.