Do's and Don'ts When You Travel

A checklist of common-sense precautionary measures to take your vacation stay safe and trouble free

Don'ts:

1. Don't carry large sums of money, nor trade cash at questionable looking spots or with people in the city. 
2. Don't look like a tourist by dressing like one, seeming lost or counseling a map in the public. 
3. Don't walk with a bag slung freely over one shoulder, and keep your bag on the opposite side of you from the street to hinder a thief on a bike from grabbing it. 
4. Don't carry a backpack that looks like luggage. 
5. Don't visit dangerous areas, or walk in unfamiliar, isolated or faintly lit areas, particularly during the evening.
6. Don't leave profitable things in public visibility; that includes your passport  as much as your iPhone. 
7. Don't drive an conspicuous rental car, the more nondescript the better; keep maps and travel handouts beyond anyone's ability to see in the glove compartment. 
8. Don't stop anyplace however a sufficiently bright place, don't leave assets in sight, and don't get wanderers. 
9. Don't keep your vehicle and house or hotel keys on a similar key ring. 
10. Don't store money, jewelry, medicine or different valuables in your luggage, and never leave your luggage unattended, even for a brief moment.

Do's:

1. Do be aware of your environment, and look for suspicious people or vehicles. 
2. Do utilize money substitutes, for example, travelers checks or Visas, and just convey as much cash as you promptly require. 
3. Do lock up valuables you are not taking with you in a safe in your room or use your hotel's safe-deposit box services to store them; and lock the windows and doors your hotel room while going out. 
4. Do make a note of your passport number; in the event that it winds up lost or stolen, knowing the number will accelerate getting a substitution. 
5. Do make a note of your charge card numbers and the telephone number to bring on the off chance that you have to report it stolen and drop it. 
6. Do dress fittingly for your surroundings as much as you can; looking more like a local makes you to a less of a mark than looking like a visitor. 
7. Do put a band around your baggage as a safeguard against pilferage while in travel; bag locks are no barrier to an expert thief. 
8. Do travel with friends while touring or shopping; there is safety in numbers. 
9. Do keep vehicle doors locked and windows moved up when driving. 
10. Do be alert for organized diversions, for example, somebody chancing upon you, spilling a drink on you, dropping something before you or causing a loud commotion; an assistant can take your assets and leave while you are quickly diverted.