Getting around safely in a foreign city

Most layovers are uneventful. You land, ride to the hotel, find something to eat, sleep and go back to the airport. The trouble, when there is any, tends to come from a few predictable places: the wrong taxi, a crowded train, an ATM on a quiet street, a drink left alone, a knock on the hotel door. This article walks through those places in the order you meet them, with the advice the US State Department, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Government of Canada give their own citizens, and a few habits crews pick up over the years.

Start with the official advice, not the headline

Three governments publish travel advice for almost every country, and they read the same places a little differently, so it pays to look at more than one.

The US State Department rates each country on four levels: Level 1, Exercise Normal Precautions ("the lowest advisory level for safety and security risk"); Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution ("be aware of heightened risks to safety and security"); Level 3, Reconsider Travel ("avoid travel due to serious risks to safety and security"); and Level 4, Do Not Travel, "the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks." Each advisory also carries letters that say why: C for crime, T for terrorism, U for civil unrest, H for health, N for natural disaster, E for a time-limited event such as an election, and O for other risks.

Canada uses four levels of its own: take normal security precautions, exercise a high degree of caution, avoid non-essential travel, and avoid all travel.

The UK's FCDO doesn't use numbered levels. It advises against all travel, or all but essential travel, to a country or to parts of it, and it posts security updates when something changes: protests, strikes, unrest.

Two habits make this advice more useful. Read the country page, not just the level: the reason for a Level 2 is spelled out below it. And look at the regions: an advisory often rates specific states, provinces or areas higher than the rest of the country, and your hotel may be in one of them or nowhere near one.

LogAloft reads all three governments' advice for every layover, every 6 hours, and shows it in the Country window of each layover in Coming up. A US Level 3 or 4, a UK or Canadian warning that covers your layover city, or a recent security update turns the chip amber or red, with the reason and a link to the source. Strikes, public holidays, big parades and protests reported in the news for your dates show there too. The Coming up guide explains exactly what counts as an alert, and why "no serious alerts" doesn't mean "no risk."

Getting from A to B

Crew transport

The hotel van or car your company arranges is usually the safest way between the airport and the hotel: the driver is known to the company, the pickup is on your schedule, and someone notices if you don't arrive. Make sure it's really your ride. Check the company name on the sign or the vehicle, and if a driver you don't recognize offers to take "the crew" somewhere, confirm with the hotel or crew scheduling before you put your bags in.

Official taxis

The UK's advice for Spain is typical of what governments say almost everywhere: "Only use official registered or licensed taxis, or reputable transport companies you recognise." In Spain there's a second reason: passengers caught using unlicensed taxi services can be fined up to 600 euros.

Where crime is higher, the advice gets more specific. For Mexico, the FCDO warns that "unlicensed taxi drivers have robbed and assaulted passengers, including in Mexico City." Its advice: at airports, only use authorized pre-paid airport taxi services; in town, use the better-regulated sitio taxis from authorized ranks, or ask your hotel to order one. The pattern holds in many cities: the taxi rank inside the terminal or the hotel's own call is safer than the driver who approaches you in arrivals.

Ride-hailing apps

The State Department suggests considering app-based rides because they record your trip. That record is the point: the app knows the driver, the car and the route. Before you get in, match the license plate, the car and the driver's photo with what the app shows, and ask the driver who they're picking up rather than saying your own name. Share the trip with a colleague when the app lets you. Apps are not legal everywhere, and in some cities licensed taxi drivers protest them; the FCDO notes that protests over Uber have blocked roads near Cancún's hotels.

Public transport

Metros and trains are often the fastest way into town and usually safe, but crowds are where pickpockets work. The State Department advises avoiding the most crowded sections of trains and buses, where unwanted contact and pickpocketing happen. Keep your phone in a front pocket or a zipped bag, wear a backpack on your front in a packed car, and stay away from the doors, where a thief can grab and step off as they close.

The scams that target visitors

The names change from city to city, but a few tricks travel well.

• Distraction teams. "Thieves use distraction techniques and often work in teams," says the FCDO's advice for Spain. Someone spills something on you, asks for directions with a map, drops coins or starts an argument, and a second person takes your phone or wallet. If a stranger is suddenly very close and very busy, put a hand on your valuables and step away.
• Fake police. In Spain, "thieves posing as police officers may ask to see your wallet, claiming they need to see it for identification." According to the FCDO, genuine police officers will ask to see ID but will not ask for wallets or purses. Offer to go to the nearest police station instead.
• Card skimming. A skimmer copies your card at an ATM or a payment terminal, and a tiny camera or a fake keypad records your PIN. The US Federal Trade Commission's advice: cover the keypad with your hand when you enter your PIN, wiggle the card reader and use another machine if it moves. The FCDO adds, for Mexico, that it's generally safer to use ATMs in daylight inside shops or malls. Tapping your card or phone keeps the card in your hand.
• Express kidnapping. In some cities, criminals hold someone for a few hours and force them to withdraw cash from ATMs. The FCDO warns about it in urban Mexico. Avoiding unlicensed taxis and street ATMs at night removes most of the risk.
• Phone scams. A common one in Mexico, the FCDO notes, involves criminals posing as a kidnapped family member. If a call like that comes in, hang up and call the person directly.
• Drink spiking. The FCDO warns about "date rape" drugs, including GHB, in Spain, and the advice applies anywhere: "Buy your own drinks and always keep them in sight." The State Department adds: cover your drink with your hand if you can, and don't accept drinks from strangers.

Neighborhoods and walking at night

The front desk knows which streets are fine at 22:00 and which aren't, and so do colleagues who've stayed there before. Ask before you go out, not after. LogAloft's Crew notes on each layover hotel collect what other crews say about walking around at night, along with the van, the noise and food before an early pickup. And the Where to eat card maps places within about 12 minutes' walk of the hotel, with rings at 5 and 10 minutes, so dinner doesn't turn into a long walk back through streets you don't know.

A few more habits help:

• Tell someone where you're going. Canada's advice is to share your plans with family or friends, whether they're with you or back home. On a layover, that's often another crew member.
• Walk like you know where you're going. Look at the map before you leave the restaurant, not on the corner.
• Keep your phone charged, and carry the hotel's name and address in the local language, on paper or saved offline.
• Know the way back before the bars close, and stay with the group if you went out as one.

Money, phones and emergency numbers

Money. "Do not carry all your valuables in one place," says the FCDO. Carry one card and a little cash for the day, and leave a second card and the rest of the cash in the room safe. Limit the number of cards you carry at all in higher-crime places, as the FCDO advises for Mexico.

Data. A local eSIM, or your carrier's roaming plan, means the ride-hailing app, maps and your company's crew app work the moment you land. Many phones can hold an eSIM alongside your home line. LogAloft's Country window links to an eSIM for the country when there is one. Download offline maps of the city before you leave home Wi-Fi, so you can find the hotel with no signal.

Emergency numbers. In the European Union, 112 reaches the police, an ambulance or the fire brigade free of charge, from a mobile or a landline. According to the European Commission, it also works in some countries outside the EU and on GSM mobile networks worldwide, and operators in many countries can answer in English or French. Elsewhere, look up the local number before you need it and save it with the hotel's number. US citizens who can't reach their embassy in an emergency can call the State Department at 1-888-407-4747 from the US and Canada, or +1-202-501-4444 from abroad.

The hotel room

Crew hotels are generally well run, but a few things are worth doing every time.

• Keep your room number to yourself. Canada's advice for women travelers, which applies to anyone: keep your room number and location private and confirm the identity of any visitors. If someone knocks claiming to be maintenance, call the front desk before you open the door. A rubber door wedge or a small door alarm, both suggested by the same Canadian guidance, weigh almost nothing.
• Register discreetly. The State Department suggests registering with your first initial and no title, and not telling strangers where you're staying.
• Use every lock. The deadbolt and the latch, every time you're in the room.
• Know the way out. The National Fire Protection Association's checklist takes a minute at check-in: find the exits and count the number of doors between your room and the exit, make sure the exits are unlocked, ask what the fire alarm sounds like, and keep your room key by the bed. If the alarm sounds, leave right away, closing doors behind you, use the stairs and never the elevator, and get low under smoke. If you can't get out: shut off fans and air conditioning, stuff wet towels around the door, call the fire department with your location, and wait at the window signaling with a light or a light-colored cloth.

Crew-specific habits

• The uniform. It makes you easy to spot as a visitor with a schedule and a hotel nearby. Follow your company's policy on wearing it outside the airport and the hotel; many crews change before going out and keep the crew ID badge out of sight in public.
• Bags and tags. Crew tags and company stickers tell anyone at the curb that the bag belongs to someone who'll be gone in 24 hours. Keep the name tag closed.

Women travelers and LGBTQ+ travelers

Governments now publish specific advice for both, and it's worth reading before a layover in a new country.

For women, the State Department notes that dress norms vary, and "tight-fitting clothes, sleeveless shirts, or shorts, for example, may not be acceptable" in some places; each country page has a Local Laws and Customs section. Arrange airport transport in advance with a licensed company, or use an app that records the ride. Avoid the most crowded parts of trains and buses. If you're sexually assaulted, the State Department advises getting medical care as soon as possible, within 72 hours to prevent HIV and get emergency contraception, and contacting the US embassy or consulate, which can help find care. Canada adds: research clothing norms for the destination, watch your drink as it's prepared and served, and share your plans.

For LGBTQ+ travelers, the FCDO's guidance is direct: always find out about the local laws and social attitudes, because around 70 countries criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, and at least 15 criminalize diverse gender expression or identity. It warns that "entrapment campaigns may target LGBT+ people, including through popular dating apps," so take sensible precautions when meeting people you don't know well. In some places, public displays of affection draw unwanted attention, and transgender and gender-diverse travelers sometimes face delays at borders when their appearance differs from the sex in their passport. Even where same-sex relations are legal, attitudes can lag: the FCDO says that in Mexico they are "generally tolerated, rather than accepted."

If you're robbed

Your safety comes first. Property can be replaced. The FCDO's advice on carjackings in Mexico is blunt: stay calm and hand over your valuables, because resisting "can put you at significant risk of harm." Then:

1. Get somewhere safe and call the police on the local emergency number if you're hurt or in danger.
2. Cancel cards from the bank's app or by phone. Keep the numbers for lost cards somewhere other than your wallet.
3. File a police report. Insurers and banks usually ask for one, and it helps when you replace a passport, though the State Department says it isn't required for that.
4. Tell your company. Crew scheduling needs to know if you can't operate, and if your crew ID, license or passport was taken. Our article on a lost passport, license or crew ID on a layover has the steps for each.
5. Report a stolen passport to the State Department right away, so nobody else can use it, and contact the embassy or consulate for an emergency passport.

If you're arrested

Ask the authorities to notify your embassy or consulate. For US citizens, the State Department lists what the embassy can do: provide a list of local attorneys who speak English, visit you regularly, ask local officials to provide adequate medical care and, on request, allow visits from clergy of your faith. It also lists what it can't: get you out of detention, tell a court you're guilty or innocent, give legal advice or represent you, or pay legal, medical or other fees. You're subject to local law, and local procedures can be very different from home. Let your company know through whoever can reach them, and if you're a union member, the union may have legal help for members abroad.

Enroll in STEP

US citizens can enroll trips in the State Department's free Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. STEP sends you alerts from US embassies and consulates about security, demonstrations, health, weather and natural disasters, and it lets the embassy contact you or your emergency contact in an emergency. A guest subscription needs no login. For crews with a different city every few days, enrolling the countries you fly to most often is a reasonable compromise. The UK's FCDO offers email alerts for its travel advice too, country by country.

How LogAloft helps

Each layover in Coming up brings together what this article tells you to check, and the trip briefing prints it on one page with the hotel, the pickup and your rest plan. It doesn't replace the official advice or your company's security briefings; it puts them in front of you before you land.

Sources

1. Safety and Security Information: travel advisory levels and risk indicators, U.S. Department of State
2. Travel Advice and Advisories: Explained, Government of Canada
3. Foreign travel advice, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (GOV.UK)
4. Spain: Safety and security, FCDO travel advice
5. Mexico: Safety and security, FCDO travel advice
6. Women travelers, U.S. Department of State
7. Advice for women travellers, Government of Canada
8. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender: foreign travel advice, FCDO
9. Avoid skimmers at the pump (Tressler), Federal Trade Commission, on MilitaryConsumer.gov
10. 112, the European emergency number, European Commission
11. Crisis response: emergency contacts, U.S. Department of State
12. Hotel & Motel Safety, National Fire Protection Association, 2019
13. Arrest or detention of a U.S. citizen abroad, U.S. Department of State
14. Lost or stolen passport abroad, U.S. Department of State
15. Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), U.S. Department of State