Friday, February 21, 2014

Boost Your Travel Common Sense As You Study Abroad


Common sense in travel is essential to stay safe as you study abroad. A USA Today article alarmingly reports many travelers today don’t take basic steps to ensure the safety of themselves or their possessions as they go abroad. Some leave their hotel doors ajar when they go to dinner, some leave electronics or cell phones unattended on chairs and tables at pools or beaches and others have trouble reading airport signs, the article reported. Many are unaware of their travel insurance policies, what the emergency telephone number is in their designated country, currency conversions, and basic security.

Although traveling at times can be overwhelming, all travelers must take extra precautions to stay safe. Using your common sense as you travel is key!


Here are some tips to help keep you safe as you study abroad:

  • Research your study abroad program and country!

Although this may seem obvious, many students don’t research their study abroad program before flying out to their designated country! Researching your program can give you basic information that will help you once you get there and can help you avoid any dangerous situations. Find out what housing options you may have, what roommates you’ll be living with, if there are fire alarms in your apartment or housing complex and what campus security is like.

Research your country - you need find out what the emergency telephone number is in your designated country in case of emergency. You should learn about the culture, how to dress and act appropriately and estimated currency conversions so you can plan out your finances. Is there a U.S. Embassy in your country? Do you have travel insurance yet? Where would you find the nearest hospital? Police department? Is it safe to take cabs on the street, or can you safely walk at night? These starting points can help you prepare for your immersion into a new culture.


The STEP program allows the State Department to assist you in case of an emergency. They can help you if your passport is stolen or lost, in case of natural disasters and in contacting you in case of national crisis. STEP will provide you country-specific information, fact sheets, travel alerts and travel warnings. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of this amazing program? We promise you won’t regret it.

  • Get travel insurance!

Buy StuCard travel insurance - for about $1 a day with toll free help 24x7! StuCard’s multi-trip travel insurance is underwritten by Travel Guard, the premier travel insurance company in the U.S. with over 25 years of experience and 6 million travelers every year. It covers any person traveling for a trip organized by an educational institution or club.

  • Get the ASAAP checklist and ASAAP SOS apps!

Download our ASAAP checklist to fully prepare for your trip before  you depart. The checklist covers over 50 safety checkpoints every student sound fulfill before traveling overseas. The checklist requires students to provide emergency phone numbers, emergency contacts and U.S. Embassy contact information for their country. Other checkpoints include instructions on how to dial the U.S. while abroad, the country’s emergency number and State Department travel warnings. Housing checkpoints include residential locks, fire safety, number of roommates, security and location of housing to police stations, hospitals and other safety points. Other checkpoints cover travel clinics, immunizations, travel insurance, monthly budgets and more.

Check out our new ASAPP SOS app. It's  free, available from the Apple Store and Google Play! You can choose your destination country in the app’s settings, and can notify local emergency services or authorities depending on the geographic locale after an SOS alert is triggered. The SOS app also has a “follow me” feature which enables the student to self-select emergency contacts. This feature is perfect for students traveling in foreign countries to let their loved ones know where they are. In an emergency, the student simply presses the SOS shield on the app to send a panic alert containing a link to their GPS location to select emergency contacts via text message and email. These can optionally be posted to Facebook and Twitter. Once the SOS is activated, the student is automatically prompted to call the authorities with the correct three-digit number.




These tips will help you boost your common sense as you study abroad in new countries and cultures! We promise you won’t regret it. Travel smart and stay safe.

No comments:

Post a Comment