11 Tips To Help Every Type of Traveler Stay Healthy

It’s tough to stay healthy when traveling, especially when you’re on the road and away from your normal routine. But with a little planning, your traveling life can be (almost) as healthy as your day-to-day. Whether you’re flying solo or with family, follow these health tips while traveling for sneaking a little extra wellness into your days on the road.

TIPS FOR FREQUENT FLYERS

STRETCH IT OUT

The Guardian writer Simon Jenkins believes “we’re over the digital revolution,” and says, “This is the age of experience.” In a moment when records, print books, and knitting are making a comeback, so are traditional cameras. Many photographers—both hobby and professional—are ditching their digital cameras and re-embracing more traditional methods, like film and instant photography. If your airport doesn’t have a yoga room, you can still make do on your flight—even if you’re sandwiched in the back row. Simple moves like rolling your wrists and ankles or engaging your core by sitting up straight and drawing your belly button toward your spine can have huge benefits.

DIM THE LIGHTS

If you’re not one of the lucky people who can sleep anytime, anywhere, then consider investing in some sleep aids. Try a combination eye mask and travel pillow designed to keep your head from bobbing while you snooze in your seat, or pack one of the inflatable options that fold away to practically nothing.

TIPS FOR PARENTS

PACK HEALTHY, NON-MESSY SNACKS

Nothing stops a toddler meltdown faster than a snack, but you don’t want to load your kids up on gas station candy bars. Bring individually packaged snacks like hummus and pretzels or string cheese. These finger foods involve little to no preparation and will fill your kids up with protein so they can make it through a whole day of sightseeing.

PLAN SOME EN-ROUTE EXERCISE

If you have a long day of travel ahead, build in a couple of breaks so your kids can work out some of their energy. Rest stops are great opportunities to engage children in short, fun exercises like jumping jacks. Turn on your smart phone’s stopwatch and challenge them to a series of sprints. If you’re traveling through the airport, take a walk around the terminal—you might even find something fun, like a museum or a concert.

TIPS FOR OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS

PROTECT YOUR SKIN

It’s easy to forget how quickly the sun can damage your skin—less than 10 minutes, in some cases. Download an app that helps you figure out your sunscreen needs for the day and reminds you when it’s time to reapply. Insect repellent, clothing that offers proper coverage and sunglasses are also a must.

PLAN FOR THE UNEXPECTED

You never know when you’re going to face a minor injury in the outdoors, so keep a small first-aid kit handy. You can find plenty of them online, or you can stock your own with supplies like gauze pads and antiseptic wipes.

TIPS FOR COUPLES

GIVE IN TO PEER PRESSURE

Sometimes a little competition can motivate you to stay healthy. Before you leave, do some research to find a list of fitness classes available at your destination. Some studios even offer activities like partner yoga. Then sign up; you’ll hold each other accountable and lock in some together time.

REMEMBER TO RELAX

Being healthy isn’t all about exercise—it’s also about taking care of your body and knowing when you need a break. Sign up for a couple’s massage to help knead away the stress of a full day of traveling.

TIPS FOR EVERYONE

HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE

There’s no faster way to feeling off your game than dehydration. Not only is it dangerous, but also almost always completely preventable. Carry along an insulated water bottle, which will keep your drink at the perfect temperature all day. This reusable, collapsible one is ideal for travelers with space concerns.

CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN

Germs are everywhere. We repeat: everywhere. But there’s no need to be overly alarmed, just aware. Stay healthy and protect yourself by washing your hands frequently. Toss a pack of anti-bacterial wipes into your carry-on. They’re perfect for wiping down tray tables and cleaning your hands after grabbing the subway railing.

SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP

When your schedule is thrown into disarray, sleep is one of the first things to suffer, particularly if you’re traveling with children. Try your best to get on a sleep schedule that you can stick to for your entire trip. If you’re changing time zones, use an app like Jet Lag Rooster to create a sleep plan that will shift your schedule to make the transition as painless as possible.

Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico
2205 N Date St
Truth or Consequences NM 87901
575-894-1660
Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico

How To Travel As A Couple

Taking a trip together is something that’s on almost every couple’s to-do list, as things get more serious. It can be a wonderful way to get to know someone better and deepen your bond. But let’s be honest: Travel can also be stressful and unpredictable&emdash;not exactly a recipe for romance. Before you go away on your first-time couples travel, make sure you’ve prepared properly by following these tips.

START SMALL

While it might be tempting to make your first vacation together a six-week European extravaganza, it’s best to start small so that you can learn about your individual traveling styles. Pick a location that’s within driving distance (not an expensive flight), and spend a weekend away. You’ll get the excitement of seeing somewhere new without the potential financial fallout if things go awry.

ACCEPT THE STRESS

When you’re together 24/7 in an unfamiliar place, it’s not a matter of if but when things will get tense. When you two find yourselves at odds, take a moment to cool down and run through this checklist of questions: Have you eaten recently? Have you gotten enough sleep? Have you had enough water? (It’s very easy to get dehydrated while traveling!) Have you taken any rest breaks?. Chances are, your fight is due to external stressors. Be aware of this and try to recognize it’s time to take a break. Be open to giving one another some space, even if just for a few minutes. The argument will probably be a thing of the past.

DON'T SPEAK...

...at least, not all the time. When you’ve been with someone every waking moment, sometimes you run out of things to talk about. This can make meals feel awkward. Bringing a deck of cards or a travel-size game can take some of the conversational pressure off. Just make sure it’s one that can easily fit on a cafe table!

MONEY TALKS

Money can be a touchy subject at the best of times, but it can get particularly thorny during couples travel, when almost everything you want to do has a price tag. It’s easy to make a casual agreement to split everything, but it’s much harder to actually follow through on it. One solution is to create a communal “pot” from which you pay all of your expenses. You each contribute a predetermined amount (whether it’s split evenly or based on other factors like income level) and then use the pot to cover your bills. When the pot runs out, repeat the process. There are also plenty of apps like Venmo, Square Cash and Zelle if you can do some fast math and transfer your portion on the spot.

DIVIDE AND CONQURE

This applies to both the planning and execution of your trip. Before you leave, determine what each person’s priorities are: Unique culinary experiences? In-depth historical tours? People-watching? Then make sure to include a good balance of activities chosen by each partner. This will help you each feel valued—and also get both of you out of your comfort zones! Each person is responsible for researching and planning the parts of the trip that are important to them. But don’t be afraid to branch out on your own either. Maybe one morning you’d rather hike and your partner would rather hang out in the park—that’s fine! Doing separate activities means that you’ll have plenty to talk about when you meet up later in the day—and provides another solution to the potential conversational drought that can arise.

Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico
2205 N Date St
Truth or Consequences NM 87901
575-894-1660
Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico

Expert Guide to Solo Travel

 

The first time Kay Bolden traveled solo, it wasn’t her first choice. She wanted to do a three-day canoe trip in West Virginia with her friends. But they all thought it was a crazy idea, so she decided to go it alone. She loved it. Afterward, Bolden was hooked. “If I can do that,” she thought, “I can go wherever I want to go—and I can go by myself.”

Bolden tried a few small solo trips before traveling to Portugal to walk the Camino Portugués, a three-week hike along the coast of Portugal. "I was 55 years old, had never done any distance hiking, was not in any kind of shape for doing it, but I was determined to go," Bolden says. Eight years later, she blogs about her countless solo trips on her website and offers tried-and-true tips on how to master the art of travelling alone.

Get Acclimate to Solitude

Bolden is retired now, but her nonprofit career was hectic—lots of people, lots of talking. Being able to unplug and hike a trail by herself has a calming, almost spiritual effect, and when she returns from traveling alone, she finds herself grounded and feeling confident. “It really helps me hear myself think, clarify what I want to do,” she says.

But all solo travel starts with an adjustment period. At first, not talking to anyone—aside from casual greetings and small talk—feels pretty lonely. “Every time you go, you have to spend that time just kind of listening to yourself,” Bolden says. “I also journal constantly.”

Learn How To Dine Solo

“If you're in big cities, it's not that big of a deal,” says Bolden. “If I know I have to go out at nighttime to eat or whatever, I'll try to do it early.” Instead of sitting at a table by herself, she tries to sit at the bar so she can make casual conversation.

Bolden also tries to be prepared, in case she doesn't feel like going into a restaurant. If she's hiking and passes through a little town, she'll stock up at the market. “If I'm exhausted and I don't feel like going out; I don't feel like getting dressed, I've got fruit, I've got cheese, I've got a bottle of wine somewhere,” she says. “I'll be OK.”

Rely on Yourself
 

When you do single travel, you have no choice but to solve your own problems, Bolden says. She recalls walking the Camino Portugués and feeling paralyzed with fear, unable to step onto a high bridge spanning the border into Spain.

“I was looking at this bridge that is just massive and so high and it had all this traffic on it. Other people were just walking back and forth like it was no big deal,” she says. After about two hours, she took the first step. “By the time I got to the other side, I was just a crying mess. What are you going to do? You came all this way to walk this path, and what are you going to do? Are you going to get in a car and go to the airport and fly home? Are you? No, I wasn't.”

That same day, she got lost in the woods. It was dark, and her phone was dead—the classic terrible day. She had to figure out where she took a wrong turn. You don't have any choice, Bolden notes, so you solve your own problems. “That's a good lesson that you bring back to your regular life. It works that muscle, that ‘yes, I can’ muscle,” Bolden says. "If you don't put yourself in a situation where you don't have to take any risks, where everything is always safe and the way you want it, there's a whole lot of stuff you're missing.”

Seek the Local Perspective

Not only does Bolden travel solo, but she often travels to places where she does not speak the language. But she doesn't let that stop her from getting the most out of her travels, even if it means asking Spanish farmers about their amazing crops with the help of Google Translate. “It's just a matter of being able to make that first step, to talk to people and to spend your time in the community [and] not as a tourist apart from the community,” she says.

Bolden rarely takes bus tours, preferring local transportation. She gets to know a place by getting lost a few times, wandering around and eating street food. She doesn't expect to make a bunch of new friends, but she does expect to feel what it's like to actually live in a place—at least for a little while.

Pay Attention, Use Common Sense

Before she retired, Bolden worked with young people in gangs. She learned to be aware of her surroundings at all times and to notice when people weren’t acting normally. Now, Bolden isn't afraid when she travels solo. She keeps her money and valuables tucked away, and she doesn't volunteer too much personal information—but she also has a whole lot of fearless fun. “You can't predict that stuff,” Bolden says. “Don't let that stop you from seeing what you want to see and doing what you want to do.”

Take the First Step

 What advice does Bolden have for people who want to try solo travel? “Do it! Do it! Get out there. If you're nervous, and especially if you're a woman who's traveling alone and it's your first time and you're nervous about it, then find a group [or travel buddy],” she says. “Or do a short trip first, just a weekend trip by yourself. Pick something you really want to do. If you want to go hiking, then do that. If you want to go shopping, then go to the best city there is for shopping. If you want to eat pastries, then go to Paris . Whatever it is you want to do, go do it.”

Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico
2205 N Date St
Truth or Consequences NM 87901
575-894-1660
Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico

Choosing a Travel Buddy

Whether you’re traveling on business or for fun, one thing remains true: it’s much better with a sidekick. But how do you find that perfect mate—someone who keeps your pace, appreciates your interests, shares your love of early morning hikes? We sought out travel bloggers, businesspeople and frequent travelers across the country to help us uncover how to find a travel buddy—and identify the qualities that make for a good companion.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

“The most important thing about choosing who will share in your new adventure is this: they have to be flexible,” says PBS host Jessica Nunemaker. “Things happen. Plans fall through. It rains. It snows. It’s too hot. It’s too cold. Or, you may find something better than what you had originally intended and have to adjust your schedule.”

Nunemaker, who writes about travels in her home state of Indiana at littleindiana.com, and travel in general at travelisablog.com, believes that the best travel buddy is up for anything and won’t hold you back. “The traveling ideal is on time and respectful and thrives on adventure and the unknown,” she says. “No matter what mishaps head your way, find travel partners with who can handle a bit of deviation from the plan without crumbling to pieces and throwing a tantrum.”

STOP AND SMELL THE TWINKIES

Timothy Reinhardt travels widely throughout the U.S. as a senior consultant and site manager with RMC Pharmaceutical Solutions. “Once, [while trying to travel to] the New York metropolitan area, our flight was delayed multiple times,” he remembers. “While sitting in the Chicago airport, instead of joining in the swelling chorus of complaint, my travel companion noticed our hotel [would be] located next to Citi Field. He purchased tickets for a night of relaxation to counteract the frustrating day trapped in the airport.”

Reinhardt says the next morning, they drove to the vendor with bright smiles, energized to work. “Unlike my buddy, many business travelers rush from the plane to the rental car to the hotel without ever taking time to experience the unique destinations. My travel companion broke the traditional corporate mold and helped me enjoy experiences such as Broadway shows and deep-fried Twinkies at the Kansas State Fair.”

EMBRACE YOUR DIFFERENCES

“As a woman who enjoys traveling solo, I never gave much thought to find a travel buddy—until I met Cecelia,” says Kay Bolden, who writes about travel, nature and finding spirituality in unlikely places at kaybolden.com.

Bolden met her soon-to-be-favorite travel companion when they were stranded by bad weather in the Toronto airport. “We were both struggling to get comfortable for a floor nap,” Bolden says. “She was my exact opposite: tall, quiet and neatly dressed. She loves posh boutiques and snazzy restaurants; I love forest trails, locally brewed beer and thrifty guesthouses. We have nothing in common except our fascination with new places and our search for the perfect cappuccino.”

According to Bolden, none of that matters. “The best road buddy doesn’t have to share your interests—just your travel philosophy. Cecelia knows she’s welcome to hike with me, and I know I’m welcome to join her for caviar brunch. But we’re perfectly happy to separate for the day and meet back up for dessert,” she says. “We are starting to rub off on each other, too. Last year, she persuaded me to spend an entire day in an upscale Italian spa. She doesn’t know it yet, but this year she’ll be eating haggis in the Scottish highlands!”

FIND YOUR PACE

Frank Hyman of the travel blog frankhyman.com suggests finding a travel companion with physical stamina. For example, his wife is a fitness buff who loves to hit the gym for Zumba and yoga. When the two of them were pressed for time to make a connecting flight, that good health paid off. “Our flight to the Copenhagen airport was very late for our connection,” he says. “So we hefted our bags and flat-out ran to the opposite end of that very beautiful airport hoping to make it.”

Hyman and his wife were among the last people to get on the plane and they noticed three things. “One, it was just a third full; two, almost everyone who made the flight was breathing as hard as we were; and three, everyone was stylishly dressed,” he says. “So I think we were the only Americans to make that connection.”

Zumba and yoga aren’t for everyone, though. Leigh Hines, who runs the lifestyle/travel blog hinessightblog.com, says she and her husband are what some would refer to as “lazy travelers.”

“We like to be at the same pace, and it works well for us. We like to drink coffee in our hotel room for a good hour after we wake. He reads the news, and I tend to my social media. Neither one of us cares to get out and about in a city as soon as we rise in the morning. We also do not like to be crazy busy. We enjoy soaking up the atmosphere of a destination, whether that be at a local cafe or a museum.”

Through her blog, Hines aims to inspire parents to pack their bags for family travel. “We also did not really change our ways once we had children, either,” she says. “They’ve become lazy travelers, too, and enjoy the downtime of a hotel room.”

Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico
2205 N Date St
Truth or Consequences NM 87901
575-894-1660
Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico

7 Bad Travel Habits and How to Quit Them

 

Written by Jamie Ditaranto for Smarter Travel



When you travel a lot, it’s natural to develop habits that work for you. For me, the few days before a trip tend always to follow the same pattern: I review my itinerary, make a mental list of what I want to pack, plan accordingly, and make my bed before I leave the house. Unfortunately, I’ve also developed a few bad travel habits along the way.

Bad Travel Habits and How to Quit Them

One habit that’s proven particularly hard to break is getting comfortable with splurging on cabs when I’ll be out all day. Because I try to walk everywhere to save money, my feet are the ones paying the price at the end of the day.

We’ve all got our bad travel habits, but the good news is that you can break them with a little bit of effort. Whether you’re a workaholic walker like me or a packing procrastinator, here are some ways to break even your most persistent travel habits.

Not Learning Basic Vocabulary

If you frequently land in a new country and realize you never learned how to say hello or thank you, you’re probably with familiar with how silly it makes you feel. Learning new languages is difficult and might not seem worth it if you’re passing through many different countries or staying for a short amount of time, but knowing the basics can make all the difference when it comes to how comfortable you feel and how well you connect with local people.

Solution: Of course, there are plenty of language apps and tutorials you can use to learn a language, but there’s an easier solution if you don’t think you’ll have time to practice. Instead, make it a point to look up the basic words of the new language at least once before your trip and write them down. Keep them somewhere handy, like saved on a note on your phone, and when you get there, you’ll have them at your fingertips.

Booking at the Last Minute

You can tell yourself that you’re waiting for the prices to drop, but the longer you wait, the fewer options you’ll have. Whether you’re booking flights, accommodation, or a tour, you’re better off booking well in advance and having everything organized before your trip.

Solution: If you still want to hold out for low rates, set a “book by” date for yourself at least a week or two before you leave for your trip. Consider it a self-imposed deadline and do whatever you need to do to hold yourself accountable. I like to schedule my personal deadlines into my calendar to make them feel more official.

Not Giving Yourself Enough Time to Pack

If you’ve got packing problems, it’s likely you’re a repeat-procrastinator. This is one of the most common travel habits and it can be tough to break when life is busy. If packing lists have no effect on you, there’s one thing you can do that you probably have to do anyway.

Solution: A few days before you leave, do your laundry. Instead of putting your clothes away in your closet, pack the fresh clothes right into your suitcase. Not only will this ensure that the clothes you wear most often are fresh and clean, but it will also help you get a start on planning your outfits before and during your trip. After you put in your first load, pull out your luggage, and start researching the essential items for your destination.

Packing More Than You Need

If you’re a chronic over-packer, you’ve probably had your fair share of struggles with the check-in luggage scale and bags that just won’t close. You might think you need to take advantage of your airline’s full luggage allowance, but the truth is you shouldn’t be filling up your luggage just because you can.

Solution: Use a smaller suitcase. Take into account how long you’ll be traveling and how many of your outfits can be reused, and then find the appropriate-sized luggage for the length of your trip. You’d be surprised how little you’ll need—and if you’re flying basic economy, you can even pack for a whole weekend in your personal item.

Not Splurging When You Should

This one varies from traveler to traveler, but everyone has that one thing they hate to spend money on. Personally, I’m very stubborn when it comes to paying for cabs or public transportation and often choose walking instead. The downside of this is that I’m often too tired to enjoy a night out or I suffer from aching feet. For others, being too stubborn to spend might mean booking accommodation far from the center of town or missing out on a special food because it’s a little pricey.

Solution: Give yourself a budget to splurge. This small act of premeditation can make a huge difference in your travel experience. Knowing you’ll have a little money set aside to live a little will help you feel more comfortable spending spontaneously. Remember, this should be a set budget totally separate from your emergency fund to remove any guilt you might have.

Not Learning the Exchange Rate Ahead of Time

If this is one of your bad travel habits, you’ve probably found yourself wondering over and over again if you’re paying a fair price whenever you’re confronted with a new currency.

Solution: Keep a currency exchange app on your phone. Take out all the uncertainty at the cash register by keeping a reference ready. What’s great about the apps is that they are constantly updating, which means you’ll always know the most recent rate.

Overbooking Yourself

Ever feel like you need a vacation after your vacation? It’s probably because you’re signing on for too much. When you’ve only got a set number of days somewhere, it’s tempting to try and do it all, but that’s no reason to treat your vacation like one long to-do list.

Solution: Make peace with not being able to see everything. And if you can’t do that, make a list, identify your priorities, and book only those priorities. Leave everything else up to the moment. Trust me: That cooking class probably won’t seem like such a good idea after you’ve actually completed the three-hour walking tour.

Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico
2205 N Date St
Truth or Consequences NM 87901
575-894-1660
Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico

Happy Halloween!

 

 Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico
2205 N Date St
Truth or Consequences NM 87901
575-894-1660
Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico

11 Ways to Prevent Identity Theft While Traveling

 

Written by Ed Hewitt for Smarter Traveler

If you carry some essential documents with you when you are not traveling—the average wallet or purse might include a Social Security card, bank statements, medical documents, checkbook and the like—remove them before you leave home. Essentially, when it comes to documentation, you want to “unpack” before traveling.

This can also be done again once you’re on the road. If you’re going to a location that is known for pickpocketing or is going to be packed with people, or at which you will be distracted (big concerts, crowded squares, nightclubs, etc.), you can pare down the contents of your wallet even further before venturing out from your hotel room. You can put these in your hotel safe (but use caution), behind the hotel’s front desk or in a money belt concealed on your person.

Guard Your Documents
This is one of the tips you will encounter in most travel safety articles, so I won’t go into it at length here—but suffice to say that if you leave any sensitive documents lying around in your hotel room while you are out, you are a lot more likely to experience identity theft than if you have them in a money belt, document protector, even an RFID-blocking wallet.

Be Very Careful About Shared and Insecure Internet Connections

This is one thing that I have found very difficult to do—when traveling, it’s hard to find connections other than public ones at hotels, cafes, airports, you name it. To see the warning “this connection is unsecured and others may see your information” is almost a staple of the travel experience. The risk applies to anything you type into your keyboard while connected, such as email passwords and website logins.

The best approach, in this case, is to be very careful when using these connections; logging into your bank account, work email or other sensitive accounts should be avoided if at all possible. If you have no alternative, choose what you type over these open connections very carefully.

If you’re traveling with your own laptop and using free Wi-Fi, it is important to make sure your connections are secure. Some websites let you log in over open networks; always try to use HTTPS://www.website.com instead of HTTP://www.website.com (the S stands for “secure” and indicates that the data is encrypted for more protection). You can also get a plug-in for your browser like HTTPS Everywhere (Firefox, Chrome, and Opera only), which will do this automatically. Another possible solution is SurfEasy VPN, which helps encrypt your data when you’re using a public connection from your own computer.

If you want more security when using someone else’s machine, such as at an Internet cafe, hotel lobby computer or another public terminal, you can try a pay service like Authentic8. Authentic8 runs the browser in a “silo” in the cloud, where all connections and data are kept secure. The service gives you a display on the local computer and prevents things like keyloggers from accessing your passwords.

Delete All Cookies and Browsing History on Public Terminals
If you find you must use a public computer, the last thing you should do before you walk away is delete all cookies and browsing history before you log off. Many computers can cache quite a bit of significant information, and some websites are even set up to keep you logged in when you close the browser unless you specifically log off (such as Facebook and LinkedIn). Many public terminals will delete this type of data automatically, but doing it yourself offers much better peace of mind.

Use a Dedicated Travel E-mail Address

When I see messages arrive from overseas via work email accounts, I shake my head every time. If someone gets access to your work email account, the amount of damage they could do to your livelihood is inestimable. Certainly, there are times when you need to log in to your work account, but you will want to use caution in the extreme at those times.

My suggestion, in this case, is to use a personal email address when possible while traveling, one at which you store no sensitive information and at which a fake log-in won’t be cataclysmic, and communicate from that email address exclusively. On occasion you will see addresses like johndoetravelemail@gmail.com; this travel-exclusive email approach can work very well.

Use Only Bank ATMs
A recent trend among identity thieves has been to install card readers in an ATM by which they can access your card number and PIN. This happens most often at non-bank, “generic” ATMs (in hotels, convenience stores, etc.), which have less oversight and are therefore more vulnerable than bank-run and hosted ATMs. Stick with the ones at banks; these can still be compromised, but tend to be targeted by thieves much less often.

Check Your Credit Card Statements on Occasion

Even at times when you are confident in the security of your connection—perhaps in a friend’s home, or when connecting using a smartphone app over a regular cell 3G or 4G connection (which tend to be more secure than public Wi-Fi)—check your credit card statement for suspicious activity.

Identity thieves like picking travelers as victims, as they rely to some extent on the delay in being found out that is inherent to travel; most travelers don’t check bank and credit card information until well after they have returned home, giving thieves a solid head start. As a rule, the sooner you can shut down an identity thief, the better, so consider checking in now and then to make sure things look normal.

Keep Your Cell Phone Secure

We think a lot about how vulnerable our computers are, but cell phones are potentially even more so: you have them on you at all times, they’re almost always turned on and logged in, they typically have apps on them that give access to personal information, and folks leave them lying around quite a bit. If there is anything you might lose or have stolen, it is a small, compact smartphone. Some things you can do to protect yourself:

– Set a password on the phone so someone who finds or steals it can’t use it.

– Before traveling, consider deleting any especially sensitive apps, such as banking apps, social networks, etc. They are easy to reinstall when you get home.

– Specifically, log out of all apps before going out and about. As above with some websites, many apps keep you logged in by default (Facebook, Twitter, Angry Birds, you name it).

– Remain wary of suspicious emails and websites. Studies indicate folks are much more likely to click on malware links on their cell phone than on their computer.

– All of the foregoing cautions about public Wi-Fi spots go for your cell phone as well.

Protect Your Children Too

A frightening development in identity theft crimes is the use of a child’s name and identity to open bank accounts and credit cards, apply for government benefits, and more. In most cases, criminals use a child’s Social Security number to get started.

When traveling, document requirements vary widely for children—sometimes you need ID, sometimes you don’t, sometimes you can fudge it either way—but many parents travel with some form of identification just in case. Often, these are very sensitive documents like birth certificates and Social Security cards.

My advice is to get a passport for your child, and travel with that instead of any other forms of identification. Then protect your child’s passport in the same way you would your own.

If anyone requests your child’s Social Security number for any reason, ask if they can accept another form of ID, or simply refuse to surrender the number. If you suspect your child’s identity may have been compromised, in most cases a credit check is the quickest way to find out; your child should have no substantive credit rating whatsoever. For more on the topic, see the FTC’s information on Child Identity Theft.

Change Passwords and PINs

You may want to change your passwords after a trip; identity thieves are thought to be very patient criminals, and often wait until you are less likely to pay attention after a few weeks at home.

If you really like your password or PIN, one approach might be to change them right before you leave, use a new password while traveling and then change them back to your preferred passwords when you get home.

Follow up After Your Trip

When you get home, check bank activity, credit card activity, and even medical insurance claim activity to see if there is anything you do not recognize. These are often the first places you’ll see indications of identity theft. Some thieves will purposely use your information in situations where the paper and digital trail will only appear slowly—establishments that submit charges and claims manually (or at least not in real time)—so it’s a good idea to check again after a couple of weeks to make sure nothing has shown up in the meantime.

Hopefully, these tips help you avoid trickery like the video below—safe travels!

Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico
2205 N Date St
Truth or Consequences NM 87901
575-894-1660
Comfort Inn and Suites - New Mexico