7 Spring Break Safety Tips

1. Choose your travel mates wisely: Tip number one is to never travel alone! Just bringing friends isn’t enough, though. You want to surround yourself with people who are trustworthy and who will act responsibly on your adventure! You don’t want to end up bringing a friend who’s just going to ditch you for a cute guy she met two days into the vacation. Rather, look for friends that are loyal, responsible, and who will look out for you to make sure that your whole group stays safe on spring break.

2. Choose a location that offers adventure more than parties:
To stay safe, try to distance yourself from the heavier party scene that is often found at a lot of spring break locations. The reason I say that is this: if you’re going to a party-cruise type of venue, you’re going to be surrounded by students who are pretty much drunk the whole time. That does not lend itself to respecting others, and in my opinion, it’s just wise to separate yourself from that to stay safe.

As well, taking a trip where you can really explore somewhere will help you make amazing memories that you will have the rest of your life. Think about the fun times you could have on a road trip through California with your girlfriends, or visiting Florida with your roommates! Look for spring break activities that will help you create priceless memories with your closest friends.

3. Stay away from illegal activities: I’m going to be very blunt here. If you are under 21 in the States, it is illegal for you to drink. If you are using any sort of drug that is illegal, that’s illegal. It’s illegal for a reason. Please do not do it. As well as a ton of health issues that can arise from using drugs, they are extremely addictive even after only a brief encounter with them and they can really cloud your judgment so you might do things you never would have agreed to in a sober mindset. So please, protect yourself by keeping your mind sharp.

4. Send your contact information to a trusted adult: Let your parents or grandparents or whoever know all of your travel information. This includes the hotel you’re staying at, your room number, hotel phone number, and your entire agenda. That way, if anything goes wrong, they will know where you were supposed to have been and your proposed agenda to help make sure you’re alright. The point is that someone should always know where you are.

5. Take measures to stay healthy: Going to a foreign country for spring break? See if you need to get any vaccines before you visit. Going to be out in the sun all day? Pack some sunscreen. Staying safe isn’t just about protecting yourself from violent acts, you also want to stay safe from diseases and getting sick. Make sure that you’re taking care of yourself on your spring break!

6. Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion: If someone is getting too close for comfort or isn’t respecting your requests for more personal space, don’t be afraid to get someone else involved. Find some staff member or a trusted friend and have them help you leave the situation calmly and quietly or, if they have the means, have them get the other person to leave you alone.

Remember: you never need to put up with harassment. If you’re uncomfortable, say so and nip any problem there may be in the bud.

7. Download DateScan App for Free

DateScan is an app that helps keep you safe while on a date. Let’s be real: a lot of time, if you’re on vacation, you meet really interesting people who you might want to go for dinner with. But you’ve just met them, and safety is always an issue.

The DateScan app has tons of features to help keep you safe on your date. First, it allows you to search your date’s name against national sex offender databases, so it doesn’t matter what state you’re in, it will still tell you what you need to know. As well, (and this is my favourite feature), there is a “fake call” feature where you can set the app to send you a call that looks like it’s coming from your mom or your dad in a set amount of time. That way you can have an excuse to get up and leave if you are feeling uncomfortable, or you can just ignore it if the date is going fine. A third feature that is so great about this app is that if you use the “911” button in the app itself it will figure out what country you are in using data, wifi, etc. and it will call the appropriate number for you. This feature is so important for those of you who are travelling outside of the US for spring break!

A great thing about setting up the DateScan app, too, is that it doesn’t require you to give away all of your personal information. Literally all you need to input during the sign up process is your telephone number. That’s all. As well, all of your data that is used in DateScan is kept safe and is not shared with anyone, making sure that you are protected. It’s a great resource to help you stay safe on your spring break or in daily college life.
Those are my best tips to stay safe over spring break, or really any time you’re on vacation. Spring break is a ton of fun–make sure you’re having safe fun!