Crime is a reality of life even on your trip abroad.  Many travelers who are caught up in the moment of an overseas adventure or vacation, let down their guard.  Savvy travelers know that, from the moment the plane touches down, they need to be more vigilant about their personal safety and belongings.  You may be far away from your familiar safety zone.  You need to have both eyes open.

• Avoid wandering through unfamiliar territory alone.
• Never accept an invitation from a person you don’t know who offers you hospitality, a personal tour of the area, a drink, etc.  Be cautious about communicating personal information to friendly strangers.
• Don’t dress flashy.  This is a neon sign that you are a potential victim.
• Travel in legitimate taxis and agree on the fare in advance.  If you demonstrate that you are totally clueless about local currency, then look for dollar signs in the cabbie’s eyes.
• Be wary of pre-paying for local events from hawkers on the street, or even standing at the event location.  The ‘discount’ may end up being a donation into the scammer’s pocket.
• Are your pocket contents vulnerable?  Quick hands in crowded places can find out.  Keep your wallet and camera secure.  It’s wise not to keep large sums of $$$ in one pocket or in one place.
• Consider travel insurance that covers loss of money and personal property.  If you have trip cancellation insurance, does the policy cover wallet and credit card loss?
• Keep a photocopy of important travel documents, credit card numbers and airline ticket information in a safe place.
• Make sure that someone knows your daily itinerary.
• Have a cell phone with you at all times.
• Have phone numbers and contact information for law enforcement and the local U.S. diplomatic offices.
• Stay alert and follow your instincts.  If something doesn’t feel right, then don’t do it or don’t go there.  

• Avoid wandering through unfamiliar territory alone.
• Never accept an invitation from a person you don’t know who offers you hospitality, a personal tour of the area, a drink, etc.  Be cautious about communicating personal information to friendly strangers.
• Don’t dress flashy.  This is a neon sign that you are a potential victim.
• Travel in legitimate taxis and agree on the fare in advance.  If you demonstrate that you are totally clueless about local currency, then look for dollar signs in the cabbie’s eyes.
• Be wary of pre-paying for local events from hawkers on the street, or even standing at the event location.  The ‘discount’ may end up being a donation into the scammer’s pocket.
• Are your pocket contents vulnerable?  Quick hands in crowded places can find out.  Keep your wallet and camera secure.  It’s wise not to keep large sums of $$$ in one pocket or in one place.
• Consider travel insurance that covers loss of money and personal property.  If you have trip cancellation insurance, does the policy cover wallet and credit card loss?
• Keep a photocopy of important travel documents, credit card numbers and airline ticket information in a safe place.
• Make sure that someone knows your daily itinerary.
• Have a cell phone with you at all times.
• Have phone numbers and contact information for law enforcement and the local U.S. diplomatic offices.
• Stay alert and follow your instincts.  If something doesn’t feel right, then don’t do it or don’t go there.  

We at AG Traveler are big fans of hostels. When done right, they can be a convenient, safe and reasonably-priced accommodation when you're traveling.

So we are thrilled to see that Hostelworld.com had such a successful response to their 2011 Hoscar Awards(Hostelworld.com Customer Annual Ratings). According to the website, one million customers reviewed more than 25,000 hostels in more than 6,000 different locations.

The awards were for several categories, including best large and small hostel, top 3 per continent and best in each country.

Check it out here.

Hint: If you're visiting Lisbon, you have a lot of good choices.

But, as always, we encourage you to do your own research and make your own choice. Positive user reviews are an excellent gauge but that still doesn't necessarily mean it's right for you.

Happy travels and be safe!

We at AGTraveler all hope that you are enjoying the redesign of our beloved site and our stream of new content. We have received some great feedback and have even more changes coming down the pike.

One thing that has stayed the same is our emphasis on personal safety. Any visitors to our site now know that we are pretty fanatical about this issue, and for legitimate reasons. I took some of our own advice this past weekend and hope to shine some light on why we are so committed to helping all goddesses protect themselves.

After much persistent (but loving) encouragement from our fearless leader Arden, I finally took a self-defense class with IMPACT Chicago. I stalled in taking the class because it was quite expensive and because--well--I didn't really feel like it.

Finally, my fears of being a single woman who lives alone drove me to sign up for the class at the last minute, and I went through the two grueling weekends of fighting, yelling, crying, laughing, cheering and everything in between.

As a sidenote, this post is to advocate self-defense but it's also about trusting your closest friends. Arden told me this experience was life changing, but lots of people say that about a lot of things so I didn't totally buy into it. She wasn't kidding about this one.

Self-defense is only partly about fighting techniques and strategies, which some of you may already know through your own endeavors. It is physical as well as deeply psychological and emotional. For me and my classmates, the class forced us to confront our deepest fears and to believe that we do have the strength to overcome them and defend ourselves. No easy task.

After the class, my friends and I talked about how the experienced changed us and gave us perspective. We realized how much we women are taught from the get go that we are the weaker sex and cannot/should not assert ourselves. Forget fighting. Too often, we learn that we shouldn't even raise our voices because people might think we are rude--or worse--too emotional and sensitive.

Let's not be naive. Sadly, we women may always be vulnerable to men in ways we simply cannot control. Yet, we found out that certain things that make us susceptible are nurture versus nature, and it isn't a foregone conclusion that we cannot do anything if we were attacked.

If for no other reason, that is why we recommend all women should take a self-defense class, whether or not you plan a trip abroad anytime soon: you learn skills so you can go through life knowing that you are not helpless. Keep in mind that learning self-defense absolutely does not mean you should take more liberties with your safety. Walking down dark alleys or streets, traveling alone, hitchhiking and leaving your drink alone with a stranger are still horrible ideas. But whatever your reasons for taking such a class, you will come out of it realizing that you are much stronger than you give yourself credit for being. And that's exactly what AGTraveler is all about: empowering women to travel the world.

I'm already on my friends' cases to take the next class in July. If this has resonated with you at all, we encourage you to visit Girls Fight Back and find a class near you. We tell you many times to spend extra money to take a cab, buy another drink or stay in a better hotel, just to be safe. This is no exception.

Stay safe, goddesses!

Starting a relationship while you're traveling overseas can be extremely complicated. Whether or not your new companion is from your country, the thrill of a new relationship as you experience new places can make for an exciting romance. But being away from home is the last place you want to find yourself if a relationship goes sour, and not just because it spoils your mood.

We bring this up because many women are trapped overseas in abusive relationships or marriages. As though the abuse isn't bad enough, being in a foreign country can severely inhibit a woman's ability to seek protection from the law. That is exactly what happened to Paula Lucas, who founded the Americans Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center after she and her three sons escaped her abusive ex-husband in Abu Dhabi 11 years ago.

She told her story on the Chicago Public Radio Show Here & Now as part of the story "American Women Work to Help Each Other While Living Overseas."

While the women behind AG Traveler are American, we know that women of all nationalities are victims of domestic violence worldwide. Hot Peach Pages provides a terrific global resource to locate crisis centers, hotlines, shelters, refuges, and women's organizations, plus domestic violence information in more than 80 languages.

We at AG Traveler are not trying to scare you or make you paranoid. Nor are we advising you to avoid dating while you're traveling. But just as you have to be wary of bad relationships while you're at home, you have to be equally careful when you're abroad. As Paula Lucas' case indicates, it is not difficult to see how you can be especially vulnerable to an abusive partner if you do not have the law or your own government there to help. We encourage all of you to familiarize yourselves with Paula's organization, Hot Peach Pages, Domestic Violence International Resources or any other information that can help if something similar happens to you or to someone you know.

Stay safe, goddesses, and be smart about who you get involved with.

International Toll-Free Crisis Line: 866-USWOMEN (8796636)

There are as many reasons to purchase trip protection insurance as there are travelers, but most of them fit into four categories:

1. INVESTMENT PROTECTION
Traveling is expensive, even today when the U.S. dollar is enjoying a small comeback. You can protect your investment in a tour, cruise, apartment/home rental, safari or other prepaid, non-refundable travel product by purchasing a comprehensive travel insurance plan that includes cancellation and interruption benefits. If you must cancel your trip for a covered reason (usually health related) you can request reimbursement for 100% of your Trip Cost. Likewise, if you must interrupt your trip for a covered reason, you can enter a claim for the unused portion of your trip!

2. FLEXIBILITY
If you paid for your trip via cash, check or credit card and you must cancel, you're going to want to be reimbursed the same way. Many tour and cruise companies reimburse you with "vouchers" for a future tour, cruise, or safari. You're locked in, and if you don't use the voucher within a certain number of months, your investment is forfeited. Always read the fine print and understand the cancellation schedule and penalties! Travel insurance always reimburses in cash, providing you with the flexibility to travel with whomever you please.

3. VALUE
Travel insurance costs only a small fraction of the cost of your trip, yet the benefits it can provide are enormous. And even if you're flying on mileage and staying with your Aunt Bertha, you can enjoy all of the benefits of a good plan, without cancellation/interruption coverage.

4. PEACE OF MIND FOR A CAREFREE VACATION
Your plan includes a 24/7 toll-free customer service phone number you can call with any type of travel-related question, beginning at the time of enrollment. If you should have a problem while traveling, your customer service rep will act as case manager, help you determine and arrange the exact care you need, communicate with your local doctor, personal doctor at home, your family and lots more.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED, AND BE PREPARED WITH TRAVEL INSURANCE!


Terry Seligman
AGTraveler Writer, Travel Insurance Broker

We at AG Traveler make it a priority to educate our readers about safe travel abroad. Our general tips apply no matter when and where you travel, but new issues pop up requiring a heightened level of awareness and caution.
If your spring break plans take you to Mexico, be aware that the U.S. Department of State has issued a travel alert until August 2009 because of increasing violence near the U.S./Mexico border.You can read the entire alert with specific details here: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3028.html

Think carefully about traveling to over-the-border areas such as Tijuana, Baja California and Ciudad Juarez. News about tourists victimized by violent crime is prevalent enough to take seriously. Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into and take all the necessary precautions.The alert provides a helpful list of local embassies, so we’d recommend keeping these numbers handy wherever you are.

Popular spring break destinations such as Cancún, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán were not mentioned in the report and are pretty far south of the “danger” areas. But you must still be careful. Remember: the buddy system, stay in well-lit areas, trust your instincts, and so on. To read more about travel safety, click here.

As always, safe traveling = happy traveling!