How to Prepare For the Worst Travel Emergencies

Preparing for the worst travel emergencies while on a trip abroad.

Wherever you go, there’s always a chance that things might go wrong. This probability increases when you travel abroad. To avoid being helpless, plan your trip accordingly, which is why it’s important to plan your itinerary. This helps you adjust accordingly in case things don’t go your way. But even if you have the most detailed itinerary or extensively read the most informative travel sites, that still won’t prevent unplanned and even unfortunate events from happening.

So that you aren’t totally helpless in case something goes wrong, here are some steps you can take:

• Get travel insurance.
  
  Insurance may seem unnecessary, but considering the amount of trouble you could potentially be in if things go south while on a trip, having travel insurance may actually pay off. There’s a misconception that travel insurance is health insurance for travelers. This couldn’t be further from the truth (most of them don’t even cover check-ups and hospitalization). The truth is travel insurance covers for emergency expenses whether health-related or not, such as lost luggage, canceled flights, and diseases and injuries acquired during the trip.


• Keep a list of emergency contact numbers.
  
  Wherever you go, list down the numbers of the local hospital, police station, the embassy, the hotel you’re staying in, and close friends and family. This is important so that in case you get in an accident, you can find help right away. Store this list on all your gadgets so that you can call them when you need to. You can even take it a step further and write the list on a piece of paper and keep it in your wallet and/or carry on.


• Inform certain people of your plans and destinations.
  
  Letting close friends and family know where you make it easier to track you in case something goes wrong. If you are from the US, you can sign up for STEP (Smart Traveller Enrollment Program)—a free service that helps your family and friends get in touch with you during emergencies. In case worse comes to worst, someone would be able to get in touch with you with the help of this service.


• Boost phone reception.
  
  There are areas that have a weak signal. When you are in areas like these, there are ways to boost reception. One simple trick is to remove your phone's case. It’s possible the case is blocking your phone’s signal. Another option is to get signal boosters—devices that boost the radio waves carrying the data. There’s also femtocells, which are like mini cellphone towers.


• Update your social media.
  
  Sites, like Facebook and Twitter, have features that you can set to let people know your current whereabouts. For example, Facebook has the Safety Check, which lets you mark yourself as safe during a crisis. WhatsApp has a similar feature, namely the I am Alive app.


• Bring a first-aid kit.
  
  Aside from scratches, wounds, and other injuries, you should also consider other medical emergencies, such as food poisoning, allergic reaction, and skin problems. With that said, the first-aid kit should also contain medication for these conditions. You should also consider packing extra bottles of water so that you don’t get dehydrated. A first aid kit can come in handy.

With these precautions in place, you can rest easy and hopefully make the most of your trip. If you are open, you can even spend time with foreign women and possibly finding a foreign girlfriend. You might be one of the few to find love through international dating.