Or worse still, a situation that sees you locking yourself in your hotel room, afraid to go out, or even spending time at the local Police station. Common sense is still the single most important tool for traveling safely when you're in a foreign land, meeting new people, walking down strange roads, eating and drinking new things.

Whatever it is you are doing or wherever you are, when you get that feeling that something doesn't feel right, that is your instinct; learn to listen to it. If you are heading out on the town to discover new bars or taking photos at the local fish market, do you really need to carry your passport, traveler's checks, extra cash, credit cards and plane tickets? Expensive and necessary items like identification tickets for example should be left at the hotel in their safe or the room safe if you have one; it is much easier to recover your vacation if you only lose a few important belongings instead of all of them. One suggestion that can help reduce the risk of losing everything is placing cash and credit cards in different locations like pockets, wallets and bags; a pickpocket who is trying to steal from you will only get a small amount, leaving you with means to get back to the hotel.

Unfortunately, the convenience of having two credit cards on the same account in your own country can be a problem in a foreign land so another travel safely tip is to use two completely separate accounts; this provides a back-up should one be lost or stolen. One simple trick to stop a bag thief is to place the strap over the head and across the chest as opposed to on the shoulder where it is easy to grab.

Don't make it easy for them when you walk around by having bags and other valuable objects attached to straps next to the road where it is a simple matter for thieves on bikes to just grab at or cut the straps with a knife. Everyone has heard the stories of different confidence tricks that have happened to vacationers because they are relaxed and let their guard down but the truth is these people do this sort of thing for a living.

Complacency is a dangerous trait and we have all been guilty of it when we are on vacation, remember this is what they do every day to make money and feed their families. One way to stop some of the pick pocketing is to place a padlock on your backpack as any delay means they will usually try someone else.