Staying Safe While Vacationing in St. Thomas

Each year, millions of people take a vacation.  Many times, that vacation is to a foreign country.  As the popularity of foreign travel increases, does the concern associated with personal safety.  If you are planning on vacationing in St. Thomas, you are in luck. St. Thomas is known as one of the safest places to vacation in all of the Caribbean.  Despite being safe, you are still encouraged to take precautions while vacationing there.  

Whenever you are on vacation, no matter where your vacation destination is, you are encouraged to take safety precautions. These safety precautions may not only help to save your life, but to protect your belongings.  Many of the safety precautions that you are advised to take while vacationing in St. Thomas apply anywhere in the world, even when you are at home.  However, there are also additional precautions that may not be needed with domestic travel.  

The first step in staying safe and protecting your belongings, while vacationing in St. Thomas, is to prepare for your trip well in advance.  If you are traveling to St. Thomas, it is likely that you will need a passport and other proper forms of identification. These forms of identification may include a driver’s license or a birth certificate. If you do not already have a passport, you will need to obtain one. When on vacation, you are urged to carry these documents with you.

In addition to carrying the appropriate forms of identification with you, you will also want to carry along copies.  Before leaving home, you are encouraged to make multiple copies of all of your important documents.  Losing your driver’s license or passport, while vacationing in St. Thomas, is possible.  In the event that you lose or misplace your items, your copies may come in handy.  

Once you arrive in St. Thomas, the best way to keep yourself safe is to familiarize yourself with your surroundings.  If you are vacationing at a beach resort, you will want to walk around and examine each area of the resort.  In addition to physically viewing the area, you may want to request a map of the facility from a resort representative.  Keeping this map with you at all times may prevent you from getting lost.  

Familiarizing yourself with your surroundings is one of the best ways to protect yourself, but it is not the only way. In addition to familiarizing yourself with your beach resort, you will also want to familiarize yourself with the other tourists.  Keeping an eye out for anyone who seems out of place or a person that makes you feel uncomfortable, is a great way to stay safe while on your vacation.  

When traveling around St. Thomas, whether on your resort or another part of the island, you are encouraged not to travel alone.  Traveling alone, especially at night, may increase your risk of falling victim to a crime. In the event that you must travel alone, you are encouraged to inform multiple individuals of where you will be going and when you intend to return.  In the event that you do not return on time, someone will know where to find you.
When vacationing in St. Thomas your personal safety should be a concern, but so should the safety of your belonging. When traveling to St. Thomas you are encouraged to leave your expensive belongings at home.  If you are unable to afford to replace an item that you bringing with you on vacation, you may not want to bring it at all. For the most part, you will not experience any problems. But, in the event that one or more of your personally belongings get lost, you may be responsible for purchasing yourself a replacement.

In addition to your personal belongings, you are also urged to be cautious when carrying a large amount of money in St. Thomas. In most popular vacation destinations, including St. Thomas, a wide range of payment methods are accepted.  Instead of carrying along large sums of cash, you may want consider carrying travelers checks, cahiers checks, or money orders. Each of these items is easier to replace if stolen.  

As you can see, protecting yourself and your belongings while vacationing in St. Thomas is a fairly easy process. With a few simple steps, you could spend your vacation enjoying yourself instead of worrying about what might or might not happen.

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