Travel Safety Tips & Tools

From one traveler to another, I’m sharing a list of resources so you can be safer and explore the world with confidence.

Travel brings unforgettable experiences—but it can also bring uncertainty. That’s why I want to provide you with the travel safety tips and tools to help make you safer, including practical advice and easy-to-learn self-defense techniques so you can go out and explore the world with confidence.

Here you’ll find:

✔️ Street-smart safety tips
✔️ Simple self-defense techniques
✔️ How to avoid & handle risky situations

💪 Why I Learned Empowerment Self-Defense

More than 12 years ago, I set out on a 2-year, 62-country adventure volunteering with humanitarian organizations. Think: jungle hikes in Honduras, bus rides through Zambia, road trips deep into Middle Eastern deserts.

Before I left, I signed up for a 3-day empowerment self-defense (ESD) class. It turned out to be one of the most impactful experiences of my life.

I think about what I learned every single day.

Since then, I’ve donated to and volunteered with ESD organizations worldwide, consulted with ESD Global, and partnered with the founder of ESD to build a free online training app. And I just became a certified ESD Trainer. I am a true believer!

🌎 We travelers are more vulnerable

When we travel, we step outside our routines, our networks, and our comfort zones. We are often alone, in unfamiliar places, with no one nearby who knows us. This sense of discovery is part of the allure of travel. But it also exposes us to risk.

Globally, 30% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence.
In the United States, one rape occurs every 2 minutes. (Source: World Health Organization)

I’ve had incidents on five continents. The reality is that no destination is immune, but knowing how to protect yourself will make you safer. And that’s what Empowerment Self-Defense provides—the confidence that you’ll know what to do in dangerous situation.

It works because ESD is a research-backed approach to personal safety that goes far beyond physical moves. In fact, 75% of all assaults can be avoided or de-escalated. Two tools alone—your voice and your ability to run—will protect you in most situations.

🛡️ Safety resources and tools

Whether you’re preparing for a trip, building your skill set, or healing from a difficult experience, this is the place to start. Here are three tools that you can use right down:

📱 MyPwr App: Free ESD training on your phone, including physical skills, grounding exercises, boundary setting, and a resource library. Apple Store | Google Play

🎓 Find ESD Classes: Locate a certified ESD Trainer to attend an in-person class or invite them to come to your school, workplace, friend group.

💞 Survivor Resources: Here’s where you can report a Sexual Assault and find mental health support in the United States, Canada, and globally.

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Think of one person—a solo traveler, a travel buddy, a daughter heading abroad and share this page. It could change everything.

The world is a beautiful place. Let’s go explore it safely and with confidence.

xo, Erin

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