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How to Stay Safe in an Unfamiliar City

8 min read  ·  CityNav Travel Guides

Getting lost, being targeted by a scam, or finding yourself in an unfamiliar neighbourhood after dark are among the most stressful experiences a tourist can have. Most of them are avoidable with a little preparation. This guide covers the practical steps that make urban travel safer — drawn from the scenarios that most commonly go wrong for tourists in major cities worldwide.

Before you travel: the five things to set up

1. Save emergency numbers. 999 is the UK. 911 is the US and Canada. 112 works across the EU and in many countries worldwide. 110 is police in Japan, 119 is ambulance. Save the number for your destination country's police and ambulance in your contacts before you land.
2. Share your itinerary. Send your accommodation addresses, flight details and daily plans to someone at home. If you go quiet for longer than expected, they know where to start looking.
3. Set up an emergency contact in a navigation app. CityNav's SOS feature lets you pre-register up to three contacts. One tap sends them your live GPS coordinates via SMS — no call required, no data connection needed beyond the message itself.
4. Know your accommodation address in the local language. Save a screenshot of your hotel address in the local script (Japanese, Arabic, Thai) so you can show it to a taxi driver or local if you become disoriented.
5. Enable offline maps. Mobile data often fails precisely when you need it most — in underground stations, in rural areas, or when roaming charges kick in unexpectedly. Download offline maps for every city you plan to visit before you leave your accommodation each day.

The most common tourist scams — and how to avoid them

The "friendly local" who insists on showing you somewhere. Common in Paris, Barcelona, Istanbul and many Asian cities. An unusually helpful stranger steers you to a restaurant, bar or market where they receive commission and you pay three times the going rate. Politely decline any unrequested offer to accompany you, no matter how friendly the approach.

The "found" ring. Someone appears to pick up a gold ring from the ground near you and offers it to you "for luck," then aggressively requests money. Common around the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Cœur in Paris. Walk away without engaging.

Fake taxi drivers at airports. Unlicensed drivers approach arriving passengers before the official taxi rank. They charge ten times the metered rate. Always use official taxi ranks (look for marked queue areas) or pre-book via the airport's official app. Better yet, use public transit from the airport whenever possible.

Distraction theft. One person drops something, spills something or creates a scene while an accomplice reaches into your bag or pocket. Keep bags zippered and in front of you on public transport and in crowded markets.

ATM skimming and card cloning. Use ATMs inside bank branches, not standalone machines on tourist streets. Cover the keypad when entering your PIN. Contactless payments are safer than inserting your card.

What to do if you get lost

Getting lost is normal. Panicking is the only mistake. Here is a calm, step-by-step approach:

1. Stop walking. Moving while disoriented takes you further from where you need to be. Find a café, shop or bench and pause.
2. Establish your cardinal direction. Check your phone compass or look for the sun (east in the morning, west in the evening, south at midday in the northern hemisphere). This reorients you before you look at a map.
3. Open your offline map. An app like CityNav with offline transit data shows your GPS position even without mobile data. Find the nearest transit station.
4. Ask a shop worker, not a stranger on the street. A shopkeeper has a reason to help you and a fixed location. Someone approaching you unsolicited on the street may have other motives.
5. Use a taxi as a last resort. If you are genuinely disoriented and it is getting late, a legitimate taxi is worth the cost. Show the driver your hotel address in the local language (the screenshot you saved before you left).

Staying safe in unfamiliar neighbourhoods at night

Most major tourist cities are safe at night in their central areas, but transitions between tourist zones and residential areas can be abrupt. A 10-minute walk from a well-lit restaurant district can take you through somewhere considerably less comfortable.

Practical rules: walk with purpose and look like you know where you are going, even if you are checking your phone. Walk in well-lit streets where other people are present. If you feel uncomfortable about a route, take the longer well-lit alternative. Trust your instincts — they are usually right.

If you are out late and unsure about the journey home, a licensed taxi or ride-hailing app is always a reasonable choice. Know in advance which ride-hailing apps operate in the city you are visiting — Uber, Bolt, Grab, Ola and local equivalents vary by country.

Using technology safely

Your phone is simultaneously your most useful tool and the thing most likely to be stolen. Keep it in a front pocket or inside your bag, not in your back pocket or in the outer mesh of a backpack. When using it for directions, look up your next few steps, then put it away — don't walk with it held in front of you.

Enable Find My Device (iOS: Find My; Android: Find My Device) before you travel so you can locate or remotely wipe your phone if it is taken. Enable a strong screen lock. Keep a note of your phone's IMEI number (dial *#06# on any phone) so you can report it to your network if stolen.