How to Stay Safe
When Visiting London
In general, London is a relatively safe city. However, with any larger major city, you must remain cautious. When setting out on a new adventure, you want to ensure that everything goes off without a hitch, and staying safe is one of them. Let’s look at some ways you can remain safe while enjoying your exploration of London. Although London is considered a safe city overall, lot of well known celebrities and wealthy people will use a bodyguard service when visiting London to ensure an extra layer of security.
Keep Your Personal Belongings Close
A big problem in London and other larger European cities is pickpockets. This is a real problem for distracted tourists. If you insist on carrying a bag, be sure always to have your hand on the bag. Also, when using public transportation, be extra cautious during the loading and unloading times. This is the perfect time for a thief to grab your belongings and run without getting caught. There is special gear you can purchase to help keep important items, such as your passport, close to ensure that it is not easily accessible to pickpockets. It might be a great idea to look into these.
Choose a Well Lit Area to Stay
When you are visiting London, there are times that you will want to stay out past dark. When choosing your hotel, you want to choose one that is in or near central London for the best-lit streets. The areas of Westminster, Knotting Hill, South Kensington, King’s Cross, and Russell Square are great choices. Areas outside of central London, such as Peckham, Lewisham, and Elephant Castle, tend to have higher crime rates at night and should be avoided.
Avoid Having All Valuables in One Spot
While you do everything to avoid getting pickpocket, it still can happen. We forget and throw our phone in our back pocket or lax our alertness for one second, and something gets swiped. While that can be devastating, if you have everything all together in a bag or purse, it can really ruin your vacation. Take the time to spread things out. Don’t have your credit cards on your phone, so they get away with both your phone and your cards, for example. If at all possible, avoid carrying handbags, as they are easy to snatch. But, if you must, be sure you have a crossbody design that is harder to grab and run away with.
Avoid Wearing Highend Clothing or Jewelry
As a tourist, you want to blend in with the people on the streets and not draw attention to yourself. This might be difficult if you are at some of the big tourist spots but try your best. One thing that you can do is leave the high-end clothing at home, along with any expensive jewellery. While there are many events in London where you might want to wear this sort of attire, that doesn’t mean you need to wear the expensive bracelet on the way to the event. Please leave it in a safe pocket, where it won’t draw the attention of thieves. Furthermore, when touring the city, be sure that you dress to look as poor as possible. This will help you blend in with the locals, as you can be certain thieves are looking for those high-end phones and name brands. We hope you have enjoyed these safety tips from our website.