Book Review – Travel Safety

Craig Bidois is the Director of Fearfree Security, a consulting company specializing in International safety and security. He has teamed up with Craig Martin, one half of the Indie Travel Podcast team, to produce an eBook, Travel Safety, that outlines travel security issues and their resolutions. I found this book extremely insightful and definitely worth the $10 price tag. The book is organized well, taking topics one at a time and covering all the details. Between the instructional paragraphs, there are several real-life stories from either one or the other author that are indicated with the author’s initials. I found this transition from recommendation to observations very informative and they used the accounts to reinforce the suggested policy.

Topics covered included what travel documents to carry, whether to bring cash and how to use the ATM machines, and whether to get travel insurance. They discussed how to prevent pickpockets, what to do to enhance hotel security, and how to be safe while using various modes of transportation. They also brought up something I’d never heard of, virtual kidnapping, which extorts money from families and work even though the kidnapping has never taken place. There is also a terrific chapter on actual kidnapping that gives clear instructions to a victim that can easily be remembered. If I ever live through a kidnapping, I just may owe my life to this book.

Perhaps the best section of this book deals with how to survive natural disasters. The authors discuss fires, earthquakes and floods. They give advice on where to go in each case, how to act and what to do to save your life. In the same section, they outline terrorism and rioting, and suggest some simple ways to protect yourself.

I was extremely impressed with this book and it definitely has a home on my travel computer as a handbook for future travels.