When you’re at home, you probably have a whole network of people and companies you can lean on for support when something goes wrong. But what about when you head to another country on vacation or a business trip? Then who has your back in travel emergencies?
The key to staying safe while traveling abroad is to anticipate the possible problems that could occur so you can plan for them and prevent them. Here are a few general categories to consider for travelers who don’t want to just wing it on the road.
Go Beyond Basic Travel Coverage
In our opinion, travel insurance is a given when you leave home, not something you should even be debating. The cost of the premium compared to what a luxury cruise or tour costs is minimal, especially if you get an annual plan that averages out over multiple trips.
That’s the “table stakes” purchase though, what will cover you for general disturbances like delayed flights, lost luggage, or treatment for a sprained ankle. What if something really bad happens though?
Over ten million travelers are hospitalized abroad each year. Over two million of those require medical transportation. Most travel insurance medevac benefits will get you to the “nearest adequate” facility, but not necessarily to a hospital at home (“adequate” may not be great). If it’s a complicated problem that will leave you stuck in that hospital for a long stay, or is for something you would simply prefer your own doctor treat you for back home, you’ll need global air medical transport membership.
A Medjet membership puts the option to move to a hospital at home in your pocket. They are the premier air medical transport and security response membership program for travelers. Here’s their promise in a worst-case scenario: “Medjet will arrange medical transportation to a home-country hospital of your choice for inpatient care. All you pay is your membership fee.”
They have short-term options available, but if you travel more than once per year, as most of our readers do, it makes sense to purchase an annual membership for you and any family members and just renew it each year. It’ll cost a lot less than your homeowners insurance—maybe less than one month of that. Considering a single medical flight could easily cost $200,000 over a long distance if you had to pay for it on your own, $99-$315 for a membership is a pretty good deal!
Travel With Reputable Tour Companies
If you’re reading the Luxury Latin America blog, we’re assuming you don’t have a habit of flying on Spirit Air, a company that’s never had a good reputation and is now in bankruptcy for a second time. If they go under, they won’t be the first. Interjet, Silver Air, VivaAir Colombia, and Aeromar are just a few of the regional airlines that disappeared since the beginning of this decade.
Tour company failures are far less public, but they happen on a regular basis too. It’s hard to go by time in business to judge them either. Remember Thomas Cook?
Still, the top luxury tour companies and adventure firms that land on “best of” magazine lists on a regular basis generally do have a long history of pleasing picky travelers. Some of the big ones that have weathered a lot of storms include Backroads, Butterfield and Robinson, Abercrombie and Kent, Geographic Expeditions, and Cox & Kings.
There are a lot of smaller, regional tour companies that are financially solid and have decades of rave reviews too though, plus a few high-end firms that are not part of any mass-market conglomerate. This is especially true for the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon River region, and other sensitive areas that require a lot of local expertise. Do a little digging around and read reviews before plopping down $10K or $20K per person on your vacation.
Vetted Drivers for Pickups and Transfers
Who is picking you up at the airport when you land? Do you trust them? Do they speak your language? Are you sure you’ll have a nice car to start your trip in?
There are some destinations, such as Cancun, where the airport arrival can be the most chaotic and unpleasant part of your vacation. If you’re arriving in a new city on business, the last thing you want to deal with is standing in a taxi line or trying to figure out where the Uber pickup place is.
When possible, hire a company like Blacklane that operates around the world and has a great reputation. Otherwise do a little research to find the best local transportation company to arrange a pickup. Contact the concierge at the hotel you’re staying at for a shortcut: they’ll know who most of their VIP guests are using regularly.
Hotels That Can Handle Adversity
Speaking of concierges, the main difference between a true 5-star hotel and one that just claims to be one is the staff. The best luxury hotels will have a high staff-to-guest ratio and a rigorous hiring and training system based on meritocracy, not who is related to the owner.
If something terrible happens in the city you’re in, like a big protest that gets ugly, a coup attempt, or a disaster of some kind, you want hotel staffers to lean on who can keep you out of trouble. The movies Hotel Rwanda and Hotel Mumbai are dramatizations, but they’re based on real events. Plenty of other guests have gotten caught in “wrong place, wrong time” scenarios after an uprising or a bombing, on nearly every continent. One happened just this week as I write this in Kathmandu, with a Hilton hotel set on fire (along with the Parliament building).
Hotels that are branded with a logo from the likes of Rosewood, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Belmond, or Banyan Tree can get away with charging their exclusive rates because they deliver a high level of service that guests can depend on. We’re not saying a chain hotel is always the best choice, especially in a big city where you have a dozen or more options including independent boutique hotels, but it’s an easy default choice if you’re pressed for time and concerned about safety. The main criticism of the Four Seasons Mexico City is that it looks like a fortress, but for some guests, that’s a feature.
Buying Status for Better Treatment
Some of the status levels at airlines and hotel chains are earned: you get them by spending a lot of money with that company and get rewarded with better treatment. Often there’s a faster way to get that status by simply paying for it though.
If you’re willing to pay a high fee for the right credit card, such as Chase Sapphire Reserve or Amex Platinum, that will get you into lounges that other people can’t access. Or you can get a premium airline card or buy a Priority Pass membership. These won’t get you the true elite status that frequent expensive flights will, but they’re a quick step up and a way to get away from the crowds.
The same goes for hotels and their premium credit cards. Often you can buy your way into lounge access, room upgrades, and better service.
Of course the best way to ensure flexibility in your flight plans is to have a plane at your disposal. Private planes don’t have the same constraints that scheduled commercial airlines do, so they’re far more likely to be able to get out in a hurry if something goes wrong than the big jumbo jets with a whole crew on a set schedule.
Personal Safety Considerations for Travel Emergencies
We won’t go into avoidance of flashy jewelry, thwarting pickpockets, or having backup systems for credit cards and documents since you’ve probably read that advice 100 times. It bears keeping in mind though: don’t get doubly relaxed and slack just because you’re on vacation.
One next-level consideration though if people know you’re wealthy and want to do you harm: personal security can be just another service purchase. Sure, some execs and political figures travel everywhere with their own thick-necked bodyguards, but if you don’t have those or a Secret Service staff at your side, you may want to check into local options. Medjet, mentioned above, also offers a personal security back-up system as well for an additional membership fee. See more about it here.
More advanced personal service agencies are discreet, so they’re typically not building flashy websites and buying Facebook ads. You find them through referrals and asking around, though there are some international agencies that operate in multiple countries, usually hiring ex-military personnel as drivers and guards.
Prepare for the unexpected and try to avoid dangerous situations so you’ll be able to truly relax when you go traveling through Latin America. For most people, the odds of something bad happening are very low, but being ready for whatever the road throws at you can provide a peace of mind that’s priceless in travel emergencies.
