If your next adventure is global (jel) you’ll want to make sure you stay as safe as possible.
Backpacking means you’ll undoubtedly be living in cheap hostels, taking budget transport at all times of day and night, and carrying around all your possessions at once. You will get to learn all the travel hacks on your own while backpacking. Backpacking is a special skill, you are not an ordinary traveller. While backpacking you need to extra cautious about spending money.
Here are a few things you can do to take care of your personal safety and belongings in hostels.
1. Do your research. Look at reviews on sites like Trip Advisor but don’t let just one bad review put you off. Some people just like to complain.
2. Ask other travellers you meet along the way about where they’ve stayed, and which hostels they’d recommend.
3. Stay with friends you’re travelling with, or have met on your journey and grown to trust. There’s safety in numbers.
4. Trust your instincts. If other people in your dorm make you feel uncomfortable or frightened, either ask hostel staff if there’s another room you can move to, or look for another hostel.
5. Nearly all hostels now have luggage storage rooms and personal lockers where travellers can store valuables. So use them.
6. If lockers or storage aren’t available, always keep valuables on you, either in a soft, flat bag around your neck or under your pillow while you sleep.
7. Look for a hostel that has a 24-hour reception and security guards.
8. Find out where the nearest embassy is – they may be able to help if you have any problems.
9. If you’re a woman and prefer to share with other women, most hotels actually offer female-only dorms and floors. You just need to ask.
10. Or if you’re unhappy about the idea of sharing, look for a hostel with private rooms – they do exist.
11. Choose a hostel that has a strict no-drugs policy and won’t tolerate excessive drunken behaviour.