In a recent TripIt survey, more than half of Americans ranked personal safety and well-being as their top priority when booking a trip. And during times of heightened tensions around the world, being informed about your destinations—including their levels of safety—can help you enjoy your trip as planned.
Americans have myriad resources available to help them to stay safe when traveling abroad; registering for the U.S. Department of State’s STEP program is one of them. If you’re unfamiliar with the program and its benefits, I’ve outlined both below—as well as shared my own experience with STEP on a recent international trip.
What is STEP?
The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP, is a free service for Americans (U.S. citizens and nationals) to register a trip or move abroad with the local U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Americans can enroll in the program by creating an account on the U.S. Department of State’s dedicated website and completing a profile. During enrollment, you’ll provide the details of your trip(s), including the address(es) of where you’ll be staying while abroad.
Once you’ve registered, you can log in to add upcoming travel plans and keep your profile (e.g., contact information) up to date.
Why should American travelers enroll in STEP?
Enrolling in STEP offers travelers two primary benefits: (1) local U.S. Embassy and Consular personnel know where to find you if an emergency situation arises, and (2) you receive pertinent alerts, such as demonstration and security alerts, updates to travel advisory levels, and flight departure/evacuation information.
On my recent trip to Türkiye, I experienced receiving some of these alerts for the first time. Since I had added the details of my trip to my STEP account, I received notifications (both ahead of and during my trip) about demonstrations that would be taking place throughout the country, when they’d be taking place, as well as guidance for how to stay safe in light of these events. If I needed assistance, I knew where to find the nearest U.S. Embassy and Consulate locations as they were listed in the body of the emails.
Tip: TripIt Pro’s International Travel Tools feature displays embassy information, as well as other country-specific information for travelers headed abroad.
During my trip, I also received the Department of State’s Worldwide Caution alert advising U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution—regardless of their current location. (More on what this means for travelers here.)
Receiving these alerts heightened my vigilance—especially as a solo traveler—and helped me make informed decisions during my trip.
What else can travelers do to stay safe while traveling?
Registering for STEP is just one tool in your safety toolkit. Below are some additional tips and resources you can use to stay safe while traveling.
1. Consult TripIt’s Neighborhood Safety Scores
TripIt’s Neighborhood Safety Scores, powered by GeoSure, will show you the level of safety for the neighborhoods you’re visiting. You can access hyperlocal safety ratings for myriad categories along any point within your TripIt itinerary for more than 65,000 cities and neighborhoods, including scores for overall safety, health and medical, physical harm, women’s safety, political freedoms, theft, and LGBTQ safety.
You can also set a personal risk level within the Neighborhood Safety Scores feature. When you set your personal risk level, TripIt will flag any plan with a safety score that’s above your threshold. For instance, if you’ve booked a dinner reservation in an unknown neighborhood, you can check the TripIt app to see if that area is above your risk level at night. Armed with this information, you might opt to take a cab there instead of walking.
"Do your homework,” said Michael Becker, CEO of GeoSure. “Know the safety of where your hotel is located and its immediate vicinity; know where—and how safe—the meeting locations in your TripIt itinerary are. Whether it’s work meetings, dinners, concerts or events, or something else—know the area and what safety looks like at those locations.”
2. Share your travel plans with someone back home
“I always give someone back home like my mom or a good friend our itinerary in case of an emergency so they know where to reach us, where we should be, and when we are expected to be home,” said Kamree Price, family travel expert and founder of Our Family Passport.
Kendyl Grender, budget-travel hacking coach, also makes sure to share her travel plans with her parents—just in case.
And one time, that capability was particularly useful: “I was in Germany in March 2020—the early days of COVID—and my mom couldn’t get ahold of me. But thanks to TripIt, she could see on my itinerary where I was staying, and was able to call the inn directly to get in touch with me.”
3. Trust your instincts
"Listen to your gut,” said Peter Shankman, founder, author, and serial entrepreneur. “More than anything else—more than personal protection devices, more than security cameras—the simple act of listening to your gut will save you time and time again. Always trust your instincts."
Check out more traveler safety resources, including safety tips from travel experts, the safest cities for women travelers and LGBTQ+ travelers, as well as tips for traveling solo.
