Teresa

<BR>Was wondering how safe it is right now to travel to Ireland and London? I know there have been terrorist activities in the news of late and was wondering if this summer is the right time to be a tourist? Thank you in advance.

Martin

I felt much safer in the UK (including London) than I feel in many larger cities of my good old USA--with a couple of exceptions (after a soccer loss in the European Cup, my wife and I found ourselves in the middle of a major riot--but if you go now that the World Cup is over and the British hooligans are on the Continent wrecking things instead of at home it should be fine); also, parking lots (car parks) in out of the way spots are sometimes frequented by thieves, so keep your valuables hidden in the trunk (boot). Despite my chilling words, I would try to relax and just enjoy the trip--it's a wonderful and remarkably civilized land.

ija

the UK and Irland are in my opinion pretty safe. Just remeber a couple of general rules: never carra all your money in one place, and for the streets and underground, always remeber to say, excuse me and thank you while passing people at close range, otherwise just pushing through make you look strange and atleast very rude. <BR>for the terroists, i wouldent be so afraid,when you really look at it they happen very seldom, just remember to hold on to you possessions at trainstations and airports, luggage standing alone will be confiscated by the police and it will cause delays delays.

Earla Cooks

I spent a week in London back in April. I felt very safe and had no problems. My friend on the other hand did experience a young pickpocket (maybe 10yrs old) but nothing was stolen. He actually just dropped everything on the ground and a passerby saw the action and stopped us to let us know. Piccadilly Circus area at a street crossing. Been to London several times and this is the only incident ever. Keep your valuables close to your body.

Amy

I spent three months studying in London and never had a problem. I had one of those impossible to get into, very flat wallet/purse things and I wore it under my coat--that way I could get to it with relative ease, but as far as a pickpocket was concerned, I wasn't carrying anything. Guns are illegal there, so that isn't a problem. I spent a lot of time walking around by myself, and after the first two weeks, it didn't occur to me to be scared. There were also no terrorist attacks while I was there. Use common sense, but don't worry, relax and have fun!

Kate Woodward

I lived in the UK for seven months and felt completely safe all the time. ALWAYS use common sense and you'll be fine!

Amita

I studied in London for 4 months at a time when there were a lot of IRA bomb threats. All that ever happened was that some streets were closed off, public transportation was suspended & traffic in & out of the city was not allowed. I might stay away from Northern Ireland, but the Republic of Ireland and London should be pretty safe. Am going to Ireland myself in September!

Kat

Probably about as safe for tourists as is Washington D.C.

greg

Since "safe" is such a subjective word depending on where one comes from, I have listed categorically what I have found to be different from the U.S. <BR> <BR>1. Weapons: never saw one carried around, not even a small knife. <BR> <BR>2. Loitering: never had to walk in front of group of threatening people. <BR> <BR>3. Pan handling: I had been followed and had been screamed obsenities at if I failed to give changes in some U.S. cities. Beggers exist in the U.K., ones I saw simply sat quietly. <BR> <BR>4. Parks early in the morning: Saw homeless people sleeping in cardboard boxes. They just minded their own business. <BR> <BR>5. Pickpockets: I never had even an encounter in the U.S. I had a show down at the Paddington Station literally a half second from being pick pocketed by a small boy carrying an open bag at waist height about to bump into me. I stared at him and he stared at me, he walked away; perhaps looking for other victim. <BR> <BR>6. Abandoned packages: since the natives avoid them (at least thats what signs said,) we avoided too. This was something new to us (thus not a common sense.) They often belonged to careless tourists who did not think about what left packages in the U.K. were suspected for. Because of astonishing lack of trash cans in the public places, paper bundles, paper cups, etc. littered public areas. <BR> <BR>7. Short changing (not personal, but financial safety.): Always count, no major problem. About once a week, did not get exact change for those 2.99p type of purchase, missing 1p, I did not care. <BR> <BR>"Common sense" is also a subjective phrase: for one living in a community with high pickpocket incidences, theft avoidance is "common sense", but it is not "common" for those from a community with low pickpocket incidences. It would be helpful to point our how one to behave with "common sense."

Nick Cole

Take it from a resident - nothing to fear. Any level-headed US citizen from a major city will find London safer than any city in the States. <BR>Nick Cole <BR>London <BR>

Julie

I just returned from Europe, including London, and also had concerns since just prior to our leaving, there were problems in Ireland, ironically enough, <BR>the major news item happened in Washington D.C. with the shooting! <BR>So, as previous postings suggest, use common sense avoiding situations that could cause problems, and realize that any terrorist act or nut-case could strike even at your local McDonalds. <BR>We felt very comfortable when in London, and never gave terrorism a second thought, just enjoyed the trip. The only time security really entered my mind was at the airports, and security checks were excellent, especially at Amsterdam's Schiphol. <BR> <BR> <BR>

Joanna

Two posts ago a fellow mentioned lack of rubbish bins in London. I believe this is because of possible IRA bombs - they have often been left in rubbish bins in the past, so several years ago all the bins were removed for safety reasons.

Harry

As a resdient, I would say that we are more scared of American tourists than we are of terrorists! In fact, I have seen lots more U.S. tourists than I have terrorists. .... Just a joke, London is safer than almost anywhere else in the world. Come and enjoy. <BR>

Kim

We were in London & Edinburgh in July and were hardly ever out past dark, stayed in well traveled areas, and always felt safe. Only disappointment was having our umbrellas stolen. We checked them with the desk at King's College in Cambridge and forgot to pick them up after dinner, and the clerk put them out in the hallway. When we came back to claim them the next morning, no one knew what had happened to them. Apparently no one thinks twice about petty theft. The fellow that took us punting on the Cam said he had had lost three bikes in the past year to thieves. I also noticed there were no bins (trashcans) in the subways. (Because of bomb scares previously.)

hamlet

I found both places to be very safe. In Ireland I was mostly in small cities and town and in England I was just in London - and as a young, adventurous female I was comfortable traveling alone. Especially in Ireland, sometimes it was too safe and people were so honest that it was almost funny!

Peter Holme

Europe is a safe place. In all of the european union, there is the same amounts of murders in one year as i New York in one week <BR> <BR>gOOD lUCK / pETER

Harry

A recent survey (last week) reported murders per capita around the world. 2.1 per 100,000 in London, 30 per 100,000 in Washington! I believe that Brussels was the only capital with a rate lower than London. Any other questions? <BR>