Getting your whole crew together to come party with you in Vegas, or relax on a tropical beach can be a challenge! Everyone has a reason to miss out on this trip, whether it’s budget, timing, childcare, etc. Sometimes, you have to just catch a flight and take a vacation by yourself! This can be the best time you’ve ever had, but you have more safety concerns when you’re solo than when you’re with a crew. Here are some safety tips to keep in mind on your next solo outing in Las Vegas or anywhere in the world.
Stay In Public Areas
Las Vegas is among the most popular tourist destinations in America. We do everything we can to make sure your stay is safe, and you feel secure. You can’t get into the hotel elevators at most resorts unless you have a room key, Las Vegas Blvd (the Strip) and the Fremont Street Experience are lined with on-duty police officers, and each hotel has their own trained security staff ready to aid any situation (even labor!). Some of our best venues are off the strip. For this, I recommend taking an Uber/Lyft so you don’t have to worry about parking far away from the venue in an area you are unfamiliar with. If you are traveling anywhere else, security may be less vigilant and you might not have access to Uber/Lyft. In this case I suggest staying in the tourist area, and stick to tour guides when traveling way outside the beaten path.
Be Aware Of Your Surroundings
A lot of us feel awkward when we are alone, so we keep our noses buried in our phones. Trust me, what’s going on in Vegas is much more fun than scrolling through your phone. Pop it in your bag, zip it shut and enjoy the city! You don’t want to give a pickpocket any extra reason to look to you as their next score. If you’re traveling outside the country you might not even have service, so it might be even better to just lock it up in your room and bring your camera for all the fun pictures.
Carry the Right Bag for the Occasion
If you’re going to the pool, go ahead and bring your pool bag. If you’re going to the club, or sightseeing leave the big, bulky, over the shoulder or luxury bags at home/in your room for the fancy dinner and choose a cross body/waist bag instead and carry just the essentials. It’s so much easier to keep track of and harder to “lose” your things when they are in a smaller bag that is much harder to get into. One thing I learned from our latest trip to Mexico, was that it was fine to just have a copy of our passports, as long as we had our ID/Drivers License with us so we left the original in the safe.
Watch Your Drink
This one goes out to men and women. People DO throw drugs in drinks, and being a solo traveler that means you don’t have a group of people looking out for your drink like back home. This is especially a concern in really crowded areas, like nightclubs and extremely crowded bars where heavy drinking goes unnoticed. If you’re a casual cocktail drinker while you are out and tend to pay more attention to the fun you’re having or the people you’re talking to than watching your drink like a hawk this could be a scary problem. There is now an easy to carry drug detector called the SipChip that anyone can use to make sure their drink is safe. I’m keeping some of these in stock so send me an email if you are in Las Vegas and need a few.
Join A Group
Last but not least, join a group! Just because you came alone does NOT mean you have to stay alone your entire trip! I LOVE going on tours with groups. We have lots of downtown tours like one on a Segway that takes you out to check out all the original art all over the walls of Downtown Las Vegas. We also have things like Pink Jeep Tours that will take you out in nature to explore the desert or Red Rock. If you’re looking for an outing, Meetup.com has lots of groups to join, especially for women. Since it costs money to create a meetup group, I always trust these to be legitimate. When we were in Mexico, we signed up for a tour and our tour guide kept a head count of us and made sure we were near her at all times.
Your safety is my #1 concern while you are here in Las Vegas. If you ever feel unsafe, dial 911 immediately! If you want someone to check in with while you are here and solo traveling, reach out to me on Twitter by sending me a tweet @NikkiOnVegas. I always make sure to keep up with my mentions on Twitter and will be more than happy to check in with you while you are here to make sure you are having a great time.