After creating many Muslim Travel Guides, I felt like it would be best if I consolidated all the Muslim travel safety tips that I have learned and experienced over the many years of travel into one detailed post.
I hope this will be a living document that I will update whenever I come across valuable information. A lot of these tips are common sense, however, sometimes common sense doesn’t always prevail. If you have a safety tip that you think will valuable for readers of Muslim Hopper, please let me know in the comments or drop me a message on Instagram.
Generally speaking, the world is a safe place. People are kind, helpful and at the very least tolerant. However, it never hurts to take general safety precautions to avoid unsafe and dangerous situations.
Quick Links
General Safety Tips
- Do in depth research before travelling to new destinations.
- Avoid quiet and secluded areas, especially at night.
- Don’t stay out too late. I usually try to be back at the hotel by 10pm.
- Have a phone and get a local sim card. It’s cheap and can add an extra layer of safety and security to your travel.
- Always have emergency numbers stored in your phone before you enter the country. Ex. Police, ambulance, etc.
- Traveling in groups is always safer than traveling solo.
- I highly recommend women travel in groups, wherever and whenever possible. Especially if you are “visibly Muslim”.
- Don’t act like an outsider. Try to blend in with the crowd. I know it’s harder said than done but try your best.
Prayer [Salah]
Please use common sense here. Avoid praying in busy, high traffic public areas.
If it is time to pray, find a Masjid close by. More often than not, you will find a Masjid, musallah, multi faith room or something similar close by. Many times malls have a dedicated prayer rooms.
In my many years of travel, I always plan my day around prayer. This means
- Leave the hotel after praying or arrive back to the hotel before my next prayer.
- Combine prayers if you know you won’t be able to pray each prayer at its proper time. Avoid combining prayer when you don’t need to. However, you should shorten your prayer.
- Try to find a Masjid or some sort of prayer room close by.
- Pray in secluded private corners in busy areas. For ex. a quiet corner in mall or by a tree in a park.
- If I am travelling with someone else and I feel really uncomfortable or unsafe praying, then instead of praying in congregation, we will take turns praying.
- If you are travelling with other people, take turns praying so the other can watch over you.
Things to avoid
- Praying in high traffic and busy areas.
- Calling the adhan out loud in public
- Blocking someone’s way
- Sitting and praying. [Standing in prayer is a pillar of the prayer]
- Missing prayers. There is NO excuse to miss prayer.
Accommodation
Before booking accommodation do your research and find out which areas of a city may be unsafe. It is true that you will find cheaper accommodation in older, nonaffluent areas. Do your research before booking.
Before you book the accommodation also make sure to read reviews. Generally, if the hotel has 100+ reviews and the overall rating is above 3.5 stars, you should be fine. But if you’re booking anything lower than. 3.5 stars, dig a bit deeper.
Scams
Every country has their set of ingenious scams. Especially in countries where tourism is big. In order to avoid unpleasant and unsafe travel experiences, it is important to not be fooled by these scammers.
Do you your research before leaving for your destination. Google “[Country/City Name tourist scams]”. You will find all sorts of scams that other tourists have experienced and it can be extremely valuable to know this beforehand.
Other Tips
- Avoid eye contact
- Confidently and loudly say “No”.
- Do not ever hold anything a person might give you. If you hold it, they will pressure you into paying for it.
Transportation
The safest option for me has always been using a ride-sharing app. Where ever you are, get a local data plan and download Grab, Uber, Lyft, GoJek, etc. The drivers have always been nice. They are all locals trying to making an income and they will treat you right.
When ride-sharing is not possible and your only option is a taxi, make sure to ask a local to give you a rough estimate on how much a taxi should cost. Then negotiate close to that price. Taxies are generally safe, the only issue is sometimes they scam tourists by overcharging.
Have I missed something? Let me know in the comments below or send me a DM on Instagram @TheMuslimHopper.