Travel Emergency Handbook: What to Do When You Lose Your Passport, Get Sick, or Have an Accident Abroad

Before Trouble Strikes: The 10-Minute Prep That Saves Hours

Most travel emergencies feel catastrophic in the moment because you are missing one small thing: a document number, a phone number, or a policy code. The travelers who recover fastest are almost never the calmest people. They are simply the ones who spent ten minutes preparing before they left home.

Do this before your trip, and a lost wallet becomes an inconvenience instead of a disaster:

• Photograph your key documents. Passport photo page, driver's license, travel insurance card, and any visas. Store the images somewhere you can reach without your phone unlocked at a police station, for example a private cloud folder or your email drafts.
• Write down your embassy's address and after-hours line. Consular help is worthless if you cannot find it at 2 a.m.
• Note your bank's international collect-call number. The toll-free number on the back of your card usually does not work overseas. Find the direct-dial version.
• Save two local emergency numbers. The universal 112 works across the EU and much of Asia. In the U.S. and Canada it is 911; in the U.K. it is 999. Confirm the number for your destination.
• Keep a small cash reserve in a separate pocket or bag, ideally in the local currency and a fallback like U.S. dollars or euros.

Lost or Stolen Passport: The Exact Sequence

A missing passport is the emergency that ends trips prematurely, but only if you freeze. Work through these steps in order.

1. Confirm it is actually gone

Retrace the last confirmed sighting. Hotels, tour desks, and restaurants collect passports constantly and forget to return them. A calm five-minute search resolves a surprising number of cases.

2. File a police report

If it was stolen or you cannot find it, go to the nearest police station and file a report. You will need this document for two things: your embassy will often ask for it, and your travel insurance almost always requires it. Get a copy or a reference number in writing.

3. Contact your embassy or consulate

Call ahead rather than showing up blind. Most embassies can issue an emergency travel document that gets you home, though it is not a full passport. Bring your police report, a photo, proof of identity (that photocopy you made pays off here), and be ready for a fee.

4. Rebook around the delay

Emergency documents can take a day or more, so assume you will miss connections. Contact your airline about rebooking and your accommodation about extending your stay.

Lost Wallet, Cards, and Cash

Losing your wallet is more common than losing your passport, and speed matters even more because fraud starts within minutes.

• Freeze your cards immediately. Most banking apps let you lock a card in one tap. Do that first, then call to report it, and ask whether they can ship a replacement or arrange an emergency cash advance at a partner bank.
• Use the number you saved in advance. This is where that international collect-call number earns its keep. Panicking traveler plus 40-minute hold on a number that does not connect abroad is a bad combination.
• Split your money going forward. Never keep all your cards and cash in one place again. Put a backup card and emergency cash in a different bag.
• Consider a digital wallet. Apple Pay or Google Pay lets you keep spending even when your physical cards are frozen and in transit.

If you are traveling with someone, transferring money to their account so they can cover shared costs is often faster than waiting for your own replacement card. Agree on this arrangement early rather than negotiating it during a crisis.

Illness and Injury Abroad

Getting sick in an unfamiliar country is disorienting, especially when you cannot read the signs or speak the language. Handle it in three layers, from mild to serious.

Minor issues: pharmacies first

In many countries, pharmacists can advise on and dispense far more than you would expect at home, including basic antibiotics in some places. For an upset stomach, a mild fever, or a cold, a pharmacy is usually faster and cheaper than a clinic. Keep a translation app handy for symptom names.

Moderate issues: clinics and telemedicine

For anything that needs a diagnosis, ask your hotel or your insurance provider's assistance line to point you to a reputable clinic that treats foreigners. Some travel insurance policies include a 24-hour telemedicine line that can triage you before you spend money on a visit.

Serious issues: call emergency services now

For chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, signs of stroke, or a bad accident, call the local emergency number immediately. Do not try to research the "best" hospital while someone is deteriorating. Get to care, then sort out the paperwork.

Theft, Scams, and Accidents

Personal safety incidents split into two categories, and your response differs sharply between them.

If you are physically threatened

Property is replaceable; you are not. If a mugger wants your bag, give it up. Do not chase a pickpocket into a crowd or an alley. Once you are safe, report the incident to the police and get a written report for your insurance claim.

If you are scammed

Common setups include the "broken taxi meter," the overpriced "free" bracelet, the fake ticket booth, and the friendly stranger who leads you to a shop that pays them commission. If the pressure is high and the deal feels urgent, that urgency is the scam. Walk away.

If you are in a traffic or rental accident

• Check for injuries first and call emergency services if anyone is hurt.
• Do not admit fault or sign anything you cannot read.
• Photograph everything: vehicles, positions, license plates, damage, and the surroundings.
• Exchange details with the other party and get a police report, which your rental company and insurer will require.

For rental cars, contact the rental company's emergency line before you move the vehicle if local law allows, since they often have specific procedures that protect your deposit.

Filing Your Travel Insurance Claim

Insurance only helps if you feed it the right paperwork, and most denied claims fail on documentation rather than coverage. Build your claim file as events happen, not weeks later from memory.

Collect and keep:

1. The police report for any theft, loss, or accident.
2. Original receipts for medical treatment, medication, replacement documents, and emergency purchases.
3. Medical records including diagnosis and treatment notes, translated if your insurer requires it.
4. Proof of your trip such as bookings and boarding passes.
5. A written timeline of what happened, when, and where.

Call your insurer's assistance line as early as possible. Many policies require you to notify them within a set window, sometimes 24 to 48 hours, and pre-authorization for large medical expenses can mean the difference between direct billing and a five-figure bill you have to fight to recover.

A Calm Mind Is Your Best Emergency Kit

You cannot prevent every mishap, but you can decide in advance how you will respond. The pattern is the same across almost every emergency: get to safety, document what happened, contact the right people, then rebuild your plan.

Notice that four of those five steps are things you can prepare for at home. The photocopies, the saved phone numbers, the cash reserve, the insurance details in one place: none of it takes more than a coffee break, and all of it turns panic into a checklist you can actually follow.

When something does go wrong and your dates or destinations change, you do not have to throw out your whole trip. Open your plan in myTravel at https://mytravel-planner.com, adjust the details, and let it reshape the days you have left. The goal is not a trip with zero problems, which does not exist. The goal is being the traveler who knows exactly what to do next.

Ready to build a trip you can adapt on the fly? Start planning at /trips/create.