Safety Tips for Travelers to San Francisco

SFWanderlust Team October 29, 2018

Relax – It’s just a few tips

In our last post we covered three parks in San Francisco that are worth visiting. With that said, wherever you go, it’s never a bad idea to keep your safety level to the maximum. San Francisco, generally, is a safe large city. Unfortunately petty and opportunity crimes are on the rise. We’ve heard of theft, we’ve heard of people at gunpoint, and even life threatening cases all over the news.

I know this all sounds scary, but all these things are happening across the globe. Our goal is to share with you some tips that will help you avoid having to deal with any of the previously mentioned scenarios. My guess is that most of these will never happen to anybody, but it’s always a good idea to be cautious and know what to do when you run into difficult situations.

Tip One

First tip is research the area you’re going to. Believe or not, most of the time, I merely head over to wikipedia and look up the city I am going to and look into some safety statistics. In some larger cities, they even offer separate pages covering different neighborhood and what the crime rate is, what kind of crime a particular location is related to, and when they happened.

If Wikipedia doesn’t offer the information you’re looking for, do a simple Google search and get some insight there. This is one way to help you plan where to go, at what time, and where not to go and if you really want to go to a spot, what are things that you can do to maximize your safety.

Tip Two – Carry less

Second is be as inconspicuous as you can be. I know it is very tempting to bring a large backpack or handbag that you can fit everything in or carry expensive cameras with large lenses to get your journey documented. You can certainly still do so, you only need to be aware of the appropriate location and time. If you’re walking at night in a non-crowded or empty neighborhood, it’s best to bring a minimum amount of items on your including cash, especially if you’re alone.

I also carry a Swiss Army tool or I do see some ladies bring pepper spray with them for self protection. Best of all, don’t go out late night by yourself in an empty area. Instead, wander yourself around the Piers or somewhere nice and crowded on Market Street. The more people around, the better, in general.

During daytime, I don’t mind pulling out my camera gear. Again you need to be careful of your surroundings. If somebody’s approaching you and their eyes moves left to right and starts asking you distracting questions, use your best judgement and don’t be afraid to say: “Sorry, I can’t help you and move on.” Don’t fall prey to different scam schemes such as a woman holding a baby on BART asking riders for money (that’s been covered on TV many times).

Some handful info

If you’re going to an event, research the event and the venue that it’s taking place in. If you’re taking an Uber, look at the driver’s rating and make your judgement from there. You get the idea now. I think all of this might sound paranoid to you, but I always say you can’t be careful enough.

Tip three

Last but certainly not least, if you’re going to do anything that involves meeting others i.e. meeting someone on Craigslist for any reason, make sure you speak over phone first. Speak and ask questions until you feel comfortable meeting the person – trust your gut. If someone’s not willing to give a phone number or is only willing to communicate via email – that’s your red flag there.

Don’t be scared – Just be safe

OK, I hope I haven’t scared anybody off. All of the things I’ve mentioned so far happen so rarely, as far as San Francisco is concerned, that you shouldn’t compromise your trip. I only listed them to help you prepare in case you run into something similar or in case you see someone in an alike situation.

In the US, you can dial 911 for emergencies. Best thing to do is to have somebody local who can show you around, someone that you know or trust or someone that was referred to you by a person you know personally well.

Have a fun trip and please see our other posts for other tips and tricks and for coverage of top San Francisco neighborhoods.

Google Sites

Report abuse