Walking alone at night in a new city: a checklist for crew

Plan your route, stick to lit main streets, share your location with a crew mate and know what to do if someone follows you on a layover.

A layover often ends with a walk in the dark after a late dinner, a shop run, or a drink that wraps up earlier than the others'. Most of these walks pass without trouble. A few habits make the rare bad one easier to handle, and none of them costs much.

Before you leave

Plan the route there and the way back. Protect UK, a UK police advice site, tells travellers to check transport times in advance and to stick to well-lit, busy streets and the route they know best. Victoria Police in Australia says to tell someone where you are going, when you expect to arrive, and if your plans change.

Share your location with a crew mate. An iPhone can share your live location through Find My or Messages for an hour, until the end of the day, or until you stop it, according to Apple. In Messages, Check In shares your location if you are delayed and do not respond. In Maps, you can share your estimated arrival time while following directions.

Charge your phone before you go. Protect UK calls it your link to help. Save the local emergency number too, and see our list of emergency numbers for crew cities.

On the street

Choose well-lit streets with more people around. Avoid quiet or dark alleyways, subways and isolated car parks, as Protect UK advises.
Walk with confidence, face oncoming traffic, and keep your hands free.
If you wear headphones, keep one ear free. Victoria Police makes the same suggestion.
Keep valuables out of sight. UK police advice says that in busy public places, showing your phone can make it a target, so check your route before you step out.
Arrange a taxi ahead of time instead of hailing one in the street, because a driver you hail may lack a licence. Our guide to taxi and rideshare safety abroad has the checks.
Trust your instincts. If you feel worried, move towards a public place or a group of people.

If someone follows you

Cross the road and look behind you. Protect UK says that if the person is still behind you, head for a busy area, tell people what is happening and call the emergency number. Victoria Police says to go into a shop or business, where staff and cameras can help. Ask a friend, colleague or security guard to walk with you if you can find one.

Local risks to know

Risks vary by port. The UK Foreign Office says bag-snatching by thieves on motorcycles is common in Vietnam, and the Canadian government advises carrying your bag on the side away from the road. For Malaysia, the Foreign Office warns that thieves on motorbikes target tourists, and that people who resisted have ended up dragged to the ground and injured, so it advises against holding onto a bag in a snatch. For Indonesia, it says to stay alert at night in Bali and Lombok and to avoid dark areas. For Thailand, it advises you to avoid walking alone through isolated areas at night.

Our guide to common scams in Southeast Asia covers the rest. The guide to safety tips for solo female crew adds advice on dress and drinks, and keeping your layover private covers what to post.

Crew alerts and the Safety layer

On Chocks has crew alerts, which are heads-ups from verified crew about part of a city, such as a fight, an unsafe taxi, a scam, pickpockets or a protest. The person posting picks from a fixed list. Other crew cannot see who posted, and each alert shows the local emergency numbers. An alert clears by itself after about 6 hours.

The Safety layer tints areas of the map by how walking there felt to verified crew. It is crew opinion, so treat it as one input alongside your own eyes. On Chocks is not an emergency service and cannot call for help for you.