Believe it or not - ISRAEL! When my group was there last Fall, the most common statement in the post tour survey (other than their love for the quality of the trip) was that they felt safer in Israel than at home! Israeli's take care of each other, protect anyone who is there, and truly look out for each other - including visitors. There are so many unknowns wherever we go but, at least in Israel, you know you're not on your own if something does happen. I've been there 15 times, including 4 times since June 2024 (middle of wartime) and have never heard a siren, run to a shelter, saw a rocket, missile, or drone, and I feel well cared for there.
Of course we think of our home as the safest place in the world, but for us our safest travel destination is The Algarve. We have felt quite safe in most countries and plan to go back to many of them, but Albuferia is our fallback destination when we want to get away from winter and do not have a particular destination in mind.
Singapore was amazing, the Gardens by the Bay are not to be missed. We walked the city always feeling very safe. Singapore Changi International airport has the world's tallest indoor waterfall and a city in itself. Take the night train through the Singapore zoo, visit the interactive Art Science museum. The people were always friendly and welcoming.
For me, safe usually equals boring. The two "safest" places I have visited are Disney Resorts and Rossmoor, the gated senior community in the San Francisco Bay area where my aunt and sister-in-law live. The only danger at Disney is to your wallet. The safest country which was not boring was, by far, Japan. We felt comfortable walking anywhere at any hour.
We generally like to travel to places which are not dangerous, but not perfectly safe. Last fall we spent two weeks in Beijing and two in Thailand. We took public transportation and ate street food. We never felt threatened, although we were often on very crowded subways. Being larger than the average local helped. We have traveled to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam where the biggest danger was traffic.
We travel to get out of our comfort zone. No resorts where the only contact with locals is with guards and staff. I don't think I have ever stayed in a chain hotel outside of the United States. We're both in our 70's and will celebrate our 45th anniversary this year. We plan to keep traveling as long as we're able.
Singapore - favorite place is the Buddhist Hell Museum. Not on tourist lists but an amazing place. Truly no words to adequately describe it and great for photos.
Tough question to answer because it's been a long time since I have not felt safe in any country other than here, but I would say Iceland. They don't even have an army and guns are highly restricted.
We spent time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia because our daughter was living there. She was living in the 25th floor of a tall building. It had decks all around the outside that were glass. She had three little boys so she asked them to put screens along the glass because she didn’t think it was safe. They did that for her. We spent a lot of time walking around but did not know the language. We pretty much covered the sites in Malaysia. I sat by the swimming pool with Women dressed from head from head to toe in black garments. They told me they were used to the heat in those clothes. Sad. My daughter would be participating in 6 mile road races there and she was accompanied by many women wearing long black clothes and their head was covered hard to imagine isn’t it?
I've made multiple trips to Malaysia (KL, Penang, Malacca) and Singapore, including several weeks of visits at two leading Singapore universities (NUS, SMU). I feel perfectly safe there, though I sometimes think at I will melt from the 24/7 heat and humidity. I think of Japan as the safest place I have regularly visited, and the climate is much more to my liking. Singapore is great if you like shopping and visiting the food stands (hawker stands); air-conditioned movie theaters have the latest films from around the world. But it doesn't take very long to see all of the tourist attractions.
Singapore is what happens when you take three ethnic groups and shepherd them into the 21st century under the canopy of a common tongue and a united vision. The result is tension between past and future, but not among citizens. Singapore is the battle between old and new.
I've wondered about safety, and why some places achieve it and others can't. What really got me thinking about the issue was this traveler napping in public in Hong Kong:
Love Singapore! All the vines and flowers everywhere you look, it's as if you're in a botanical garden (the actual garden is outstanding). The food is also great.
We have felt the safest in Spain and Portugal, walking at night, or traveling by car. We do avoid the large crowds in large cities, due to the pickpockets, which are in every high tourism spots. Our favorite mode of travel while in EU is by train. I wish I could say the same for where we currently live.
Rancho la Puerta in Tecate Mexico. Very large health spa. There are locks on the doors but unneeded. The staff and guests are all polite and happy to be in this special place. No one wears jewelry, carries a billfold or a purse. They supply everything including sunscreen. We do carry our water bottles. Another answer is Switzerland. On a hiking trip to a small town in the Alps, my room mate double locked our door from the inside when we went to sleep. In the morning, we could get the door to budge. The inn keeper was annoyed: No one locks the doors; this is Switzerland. They had to get a locksmith to let us out!
Believe it or not - ISRAEL! When my group was there last Fall, the most common statement in the post tour survey (other than their love for the quality of the trip) was that they felt safer in Israel than at home! Israeli's take care of each other, protect anyone who is there, and truly look out for each other - including visitors. There are so many unknowns wherever we go but, at least in Israel, you know you're not on your own if something does happen. I've been there 15 times, including 4 times since June 2024 (middle of wartime) and have never heard a siren, run to a shelter, saw a rocket, missile, or drone, and I feel well cared for there.
Of course we think of our home as the safest place in the world, but for us our safest travel destination is The Algarve. We have felt quite safe in most countries and plan to go back to many of them, but Albuferia is our fallback destination when we want to get away from winter and do not have a particular destination in mind.
Singapore was amazing, the Gardens by the Bay are not to be missed. We walked the city always feeling very safe. Singapore Changi International airport has the world's tallest indoor waterfall and a city in itself. Take the night train through the Singapore zoo, visit the interactive Art Science museum. The people were always friendly and welcoming.
For me, safe usually equals boring. The two "safest" places I have visited are Disney Resorts and Rossmoor, the gated senior community in the San Francisco Bay area where my aunt and sister-in-law live. The only danger at Disney is to your wallet. The safest country which was not boring was, by far, Japan. We felt comfortable walking anywhere at any hour.
We generally like to travel to places which are not dangerous, but not perfectly safe. Last fall we spent two weeks in Beijing and two in Thailand. We took public transportation and ate street food. We never felt threatened, although we were often on very crowded subways. Being larger than the average local helped. We have traveled to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam where the biggest danger was traffic.
We travel to get out of our comfort zone. No resorts where the only contact with locals is with guards and staff. I don't think I have ever stayed in a chain hotel outside of the United States. We're both in our 70's and will celebrate our 45th anniversary this year. We plan to keep traveling as long as we're able.
As I just commented, yes and no. Hong Kong is incredibly safe, but certainly not boring ( https://joelmhoffman.com/Human-Stories/postcards/a-man-and-a-tree-and-the-nature-of-the-world/ ).
Singapore - favorite place is the Buddhist Hell Museum. Not on tourist lists but an amazing place. Truly no words to adequately describe it and great for photos.
Singapore experience. GARDEN BY THE BAY... over and over and over again. Also, Singapore Botanical Garden.
Tough question to answer because it's been a long time since I have not felt safe in any country other than here, but I would say Iceland. They don't even have an army and guns are highly restricted.
Costa Rica doesn’t have an army.
We spent time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia because our daughter was living there. She was living in the 25th floor of a tall building. It had decks all around the outside that were glass. She had three little boys so she asked them to put screens along the glass because she didn’t think it was safe. They did that for her. We spent a lot of time walking around but did not know the language. We pretty much covered the sites in Malaysia. I sat by the swimming pool with Women dressed from head from head to toe in black garments. They told me they were used to the heat in those clothes. Sad. My daughter would be participating in 6 mile road races there and she was accompanied by many women wearing long black clothes and their head was covered hard to imagine isn’t it?
We should learn from Singapore, where I have been many times.
1st lesson: Drugs means death penalty. Result: No drugs.
2nd lesson: Corruption means death penalty. Result: No corruption.
I've made multiple trips to Malaysia (KL, Penang, Malacca) and Singapore, including several weeks of visits at two leading Singapore universities (NUS, SMU). I feel perfectly safe there, though I sometimes think at I will melt from the 24/7 heat and humidity. I think of Japan as the safest place I have regularly visited, and the climate is much more to my liking. Singapore is great if you like shopping and visiting the food stands (hawker stands); air-conditioned movie theaters have the latest films from around the world. But it doesn't take very long to see all of the tourist attractions.
Singapore is what happens when you take three ethnic groups and shepherd them into the 21st century under the canopy of a common tongue and a united vision. The result is tension between past and future, but not among citizens. Singapore is the battle between old and new.
https://joelmhoffman.com/Human-Stories/postcards/impressions-of-singapore/
I've wondered about safety, and why some places achieve it and others can't. What really got me thinking about the issue was this traveler napping in public in Hong Kong:
https://joelmhoffman.com/Human-Stories/postcards/a-man-and-a-tree-and-the-nature-of-the-world/
Love Singapore! All the vines and flowers everywhere you look, it's as if you're in a botanical garden (the actual garden is outstanding). The food is also great.
About 20 years ago in Istanbul, a guard from the hotel followed us to dinner and back.We never felt we needed protection there, however.
We have felt the safest in Spain and Portugal, walking at night, or traveling by car. We do avoid the large crowds in large cities, due to the pickpockets, which are in every high tourism spots. Our favorite mode of travel while in EU is by train. I wish I could say the same for where we currently live.
Rancho la Puerta in Tecate Mexico. Very large health spa. There are locks on the doors but unneeded. The staff and guests are all polite and happy to be in this special place. No one wears jewelry, carries a billfold or a purse. They supply everything including sunscreen. We do carry our water bottles. Another answer is Switzerland. On a hiking trip to a small town in the Alps, my room mate double locked our door from the inside when we went to sleep. In the morning, we could get the door to budge. The inn keeper was annoyed: No one locks the doors; this is Switzerland. They had to get a locksmith to let us out!