How to Keep Home and Family Safe on Vacation

Everybody loves a good vacation, but cheap air travel and availability to increasingly exotic destinations has resulted in a sharp rise in reports of robberies and violence against American tourists traveling abroad. When you consider that many people save up for an entire year (or worse max out their credit cards) for that once a year family vacation, the last thing you want is for the trip to be ruined robbery, theft, assault or worse! Is this simply scaremongering? Well lets take just one of the most popular vacation destinations for Americans - the Caribbean, beautiful white sandy beaches, palm trees, crystal clear waters and the world's highest murder rate as a region! So what steps can we take to limit the risks while traveling?

First of all lets look at the safety of your home while you are away, arriving back from a dream vacation to find you have been burgled and/or the victim of identity fraud can really suck the enjoyment out of a trip! Be careful exactly who you tell about your vacation plans, limit to close friends/family only as it is a burglars dream to find out a home will be unoccupied for 2 weeks. Don't put your home address on baggage labels, use company or destination address, as criminals have been known to get addresses from luggage at airports while families are awaiting their flight.

On that same note - never leave your bags unattended for any reason at any time! If the risk of home robbery does not scare you how about unwittingly carrying an explosive device aboard an aircraft, or becoming a "drug mule" without your knowledge? Have you seen "midnight express"?

One of the best ways to keep safe is try to put yourself in the criminals shoes, think what are they looking for in terms of victims and opportunities? Don't dress like a millionaire, even if you are one! Expensive designer clothing, a nice Rolex and expensive ladies jewelry mark you out as a worthwhile target. If you enjoy a beer or three on vacation stay in well lit, upmarket bars and never walk home late at night particularly when "under the influence". Get a taxi back to the hotel from a reputable service - never get into an unmarked taxicab. A drunken American tourist wandering back to his hotel is fantastic attraction for local low life. When going out for the day take sufficient cash for the days trip along with one or two credit cards for emergencies only. I have lost track of the number of tourists I have seen paying for meals or drinks with a wallet so fat they can barely close it! it goes without saying that you should stay in a reputable hotel with good security so why not use it? Keep cash, credit cards and travelers checks in the hotel safe and take what you need on a daily basis.