BootsnAll Travel Community

There are many reasons people don't travel, from lack of funds to lack of time. For anyone who'd like to travel, however, it'd be a shame to let fear be the thing that holds you back. Yes, during your traveling life you're likely to get scammed or robbed at least once. You're likely to end up eating something that doesn't agree with you. And you're likely to look silly in a culture you're not familiar with. And yet, ask anyone who's traveled extensively - those are some of the things that make the best stories later on!

Chris over at the Paris Logue has also written a book about fearful travelers, and she's posted some advice for fearful travelers here. Some of it pertains specifically to France, but some of it is just generally good information for anyone who's going beyond their own borders.

quote:

My best advice is to be as sincere and interested in the people you meet as you can be. Sincerity can cut through so much of the charade of social posturing in any country. If your friends can see through to your core, they will forgive a lot.

...

We are often creatures of habit, choosing the same foods, the same routes, and hanging around always with the same friends.

What I suggest to anyone who is waffling on booking a trip overseas (for a variety of reasons), be sure to ask yourself honestly - are your fears about travel- founded or unfounded? Will you always carry a regret for the rest of your life if you’ve never made your ‘trip of a lifetime’? If your motivation is strong and you think that you would enjoy being in another country to experience all the sensations of ‘otherness’, now is the time to book your trip.

To those of you who are well-traveled, what is your best advice to a fearful traveler? And to the rest of you, what's your biggest fear about traveling?

My best friend is a Brazilian living in Sao Paolo, and I am saving up to spend one year traveling in Brazil and South America, and am so excited to get there.

However, I am extremely fearful of the violence in Brazil, as well as being eaten alive my mosquitoes (they always get me), and food poisoning doesn't seem to pleasant either.

But hey, sh*t happens... you hope it doesnt, but it can.

My biggest fear is getting lost somewhere and not being able to find my way back to the Hostel or place that I'm staying...

But I would use the name of a book (I think)..."Feel the fear and do it anyway"...that's always good advice that I would hope to try and follow.

My biggest fear is not wanting to settle down with anyone any time soon, and traveling causes that fear to continue... I dont know why though. Thats about it though, I loved gettin lost, makes the trip that much more interesting.

I have had a ton of anxieties about going to the Philippines, from the usual getting robbed or injured to just loneliness and screwing up family etiquette (I'm from here and it's been difficult knowing how to phrase it to my family that I'd like to travel on my own, although that part has been completely fine).

It's actually been difficult in some ways so far (some of it personal, i.e. not typical traveler anxieties, like having to deal with the feeling of seeing my favorite aunt losing her memory). The areas I've been so far are also not single-female-backpacker friendly, which is exactly what I was afraid of running against when I considered making this trip. That part has not been easy.

But that's all to say this trip has been so rewarding to me as well, this far into it. I am so grateful to be here. I have been pushed outside my comfort zone and will continue to be pushed outside of it. And it's really really been worth it.

So yes, be smart and safe, but call the fear what it is and just go if it's somewhere that's been pulling at you. Do the homework, but GO.

I would classify mine as anxieties more than fears. My actual fears are physical ... I am afraid of heights and did some hiking on bluffs in Saxon Switzerland last autumn that put me in spots where fear overwhelmed me (e.g., nothing to cling to and only my not-so-steadfast sure-footedness to rely upon to stop me from plummeting hundreds of feet to my messy death).

I have anxieties about all the unknown stuff that one faces going somewhere new ... will I be able to communicate ok? Will I commit some awful social faux pas through my ignorance? Will I be scammed? Will I make my train? Will I board the right bus? Will I have enough money?

Now, with a frail and elderly mother, I worry about something happening while I'm away so I don't take long long holidays anymore, though the longest I was ever away from the US was a month.

A large part of my love of travel is facing all that and somehow clearing these hurdles and enjoying myself. In most respects, my normal life is one of complacency and relative ease and routine. I need to pitch myself off that boat once in a while. It makes me more self-confident.

It's easy to say "The fears are all in your head. Forget about them and enjoy yourself." But as Travel4Life points out, some of these fears are justified and very real.

When I arrived in Rio de Janeiro I received a little flyer on how to stay safe there. The list included the usual things like that you should't wear expensive jewelry and so forth, but another item warned that you should never go anywhere alone. I was traveling by myself so that concerned me a bit.

Over the next few days I met four separate individuals or groups who had just been robbed at gunpoint (or at least groups of people claiming to have guns) including a group of 20 people robbed at a football match. Obviously these thieves are targeting tourists and there are some ways to minimize the risk, but at this year's Carnival there have been dozens of murders so it's not like shots are never actually fired.

Hearing about all the robberies scared me into being VERY cautious there, especially at night. I would go back to Rio or Sao Paulo, but the fear of going there is justified and unfortunately one must proceed with caution.

Interesting topic.

I do have some worries when I travel which probably sound kind of extraneous or silly (so I won't even mention them here ) and it's hard for me to come up with some piece of advice which has helped me.

Two that really don't seem to help are when people say "just don't worry" - not helpful - and even the "what's the worst that could happen?" line of thought can be bad if you've got an imagination.

I suppose I'm happy to have heard the "just go" type advice...and maybe I'd combine that with "don't be too hard on yourself if you are afraid", or know when to push your limits and know when to give yourself a break.

I've got one fear.

Missing my baby back home.

I'm leaving for an eight week stint in Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia and that's what I fear the most...the feelings I'll have when I get down there.

<<My biggest fear is getting lost somewhere and not being able to find my way back to the Hostel or place that I'm staying...>>

this is particularily easy to do in venice! i missed my ferry back to the island where i was staying once..not fun.

Getting lost in Venice is one of my favorite things to do in Venice...

Strange looking at this particular subject. I have only one major fear concerning travel and that is not being able to do it. I have been in some hairy situations a time or two while travelling. Including getting caught up in a firefight between tow opposing political forces. But none of those things froghten me. I just would hate to be stuck in one place or country even for the rest of my life.

quote:

Hearing about all the robberies scared me into being VERY cautious there, especially at night. I would go back to Rio or Sao Paulo, but the fear of going there is justified and unfortunately one must proceed with caution.

Everyone is different I suppose. I've never felt anywheres near the fear in SP or Rio that I feel in MANY US cities.
I think Brasil is way over-hyped as far as danger goes.

When my partner and I went RTW a few years ago, we wondered about what would happen if.... while traveling. We took some self defense classes before we left, just to give us a bit of knowledge on how we might get out of a bad situation. Never had to use any of that knowledge, thank goodness. Other than that, we try really hard to not ask for trouble.

By that I mean, following all the common advice: no jewelery, not out late at night, etc. We all have fear of something.....

I hope to climb a small mountain or two during my upcoming trip. I'm a bit concerned about altitude sickness, as I've never been over about 5,000 feet above sea level, unless it's in a plane. I've also never climbed a mountain of any size!

I'm hoping to try these things out in the Himalaya, among other places. I've already been reading up on signs of AS, and so I know it's quite preventable and easily treated if you don't push yourself too hard. Still, being in or between remote villages during a trek sounds sketchy to me.

I'm sure I'll find a way to get over it though, once I'm on the road and adventure is calling!

quite honestly im really only afraid of not enjoying myself while i travel and also not being able to meet people. i really like to meet people. from anywhere. i have other fears but they are fears that most people have in any given situation. my advice to a fearful traveler is ...always bring immodium and jsut use common sense, and for those who dont have common sense.....find someone who does