Swimming is fun, but can be dangerous. Here are Sarina Singh’s tips to ensure a safe holiday by the sea

SOME of my most precious childhood memories are of holidays by the sea – building sandcastles with my brothers, collecting seashells with Dad, pretending to be a mermaid with Mum. For kids, there’s something inimitably magical about water. But, sadly, water can be a death trap. Indeed, one of the leading causes (worldwide) of death for children aged between one and three is drowning and it’s also a major cause of holiday fatalities among older children as well as adults.

Follow these tips to stay safe by the water on your next vacation.

1 Never take your eyes off your child, even if he/ she is a strong swimmer – drowning deaths occur in a flash. If you need to go away for a few minutes, either take your child with you or assign someone reliable to keep guard while you’re gone. And remember, chatting on a cell phone can easily become a dangerous distraction – stay vigilant!

2 Instruct your kids about water safety (professional swimming lessons are recommended, as they teach basic survival skills, such as treading water). Beware of surfaces around pools – kids often sustain injuries while playing near the water. In pool spas, be wary of getting hair/ fingers/ swimsuit straps caught in filters.

3 Flotation accessories (such as vests/ arm bands/body rings) are no substitute for keeping an eye on your child – according to safety experts, they’re not foolproof and have been known to slip off or deflate.

4 When swimming at the beach, stay between any designated safety areas (usually marked by flags, ropes and/ or buoys). Some beaches have lifeguards – where there are none, seek advice from local officials about the safest areas to swim. Always remember that appearances can be deceptive – still waters can conceal surprisingly powerful (dangerous) undercurrents.

5 If you find yourself caught in an undertow (strong current), don’t panic, as this can make matters worse. Experts advise swimming parallel to the shore until you feel the current diminish before slowly making your way to land.

6 Never dive into water without knowing its depth – one of the most common causes of serious neck and spinal injuries (even death) is from plunging into shallow water.

7 Don’t swim too far from shore – if you get into trouble, it’ll be more difficult for anyone to detect you’re in danger, let alone reach you. If you’re not an experienced swimmer, stay very close to the shore.

8 In the sea, be mindful of objects – sharp shells, spiky coral and broken glass – that can cause nasty flesh wounds. If unsure, wear flip-flops/ sandals rather than go barefoot. Refrain from touching marine life, not only because it may sting, cause allergic reactions or be poisonous, but because it can interfere with fragile underwater ecosystems.

9 Adults: don’t even consider dipping so much as a toe in the water if you’ve consumed alcohol – an alarming number of drowning deaths are due to intoxication.

10 It pays to learn general first-aid procedures such as CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation), which can mean the difference between life and death.

‘THERE’S SOMETHING INIMITABLY MAGICAL ABOUT WATER, BUT IT CAN BE A DEATH TRAP’

“THE traveller doesn’t know where he’s going; the tourist doesn’t know where he’s been,”– Paul Theroux

As a travel writer, the road is my office. Each day is distinctly different from the next, with unpredictability being the common thread that weaves my days into weeks, weeks into months, months into years… I meet people of all stripes, from all over the world, each chasing their very own travel dream.

One of the questions I’m most frequently asked is how to jump off the tourist treadmill in order to delve beyond a destination’s ‘façade’. While there is no definitive answer, there certainly is a variety of ways in which a traveller can better connect with the pulse of a place and its people.

1 Find your inner gypsy: To tune into a country’s rhythm, it’s advisable to spend more time in fewer places. Frantic ‘tick-list’ travelling (robotically whizzing from one tourist attraction to the next) is one of the best ways to asphyxiate adventure and bypass deeper connections to a destination. By devoting time to being a dedicated gypsy, you’ll be giving yourself one of the greatest travel treasures possible – unshackled time to simply wander. Take a leaf from JRR Tolkien, who astutely declared: “Not all those who wander are lost.”

2  Dare to wander: Fortune favours the brave. By resisting the urge to set your itinerary in stone, you’re less likely to shut the door on the priceless travel experiences garnered via serendipity. Sure, you should devise a basic travel framework – especially for the first few days, when you’ll be whipped out of your comfort zone – but allow space for flexibility so that you’re able to take advantage of fortuitous detours that may present themselves along the way.

3 Stay somewhere social: A good way to meet (and live like) a local is to opt for socially congenial accommodation such as home-stays, B&Bs, or other options conducive to interaction. You may also like to consider becoming a ‘couch-surfer’– a relatively recent (non-profit) concept, which connects travellers with locals (couchsurfing.org).

4 Become a groupie: A terrific way of enhancing your ability to tap into the pulse of a destination is by participating in activities/ events – whether it’s joining a jogging group, reading club, language course or whatever else takes your fancy – which give you the opportunity to rub shoulders with locals and like-minded travellers alike (tourist offices, guidebooks and local residents will help point you in the right direction vis-à-vis activities/ courses on offer).

5  Lend a hand: Another excellent way of riding a destination’s pulse – not to mention giving something back to the community – is to sign up as a volunteer. This not only hooks you up with locals,it also means you’re more likely to really get under the skin of issues – from current news affairs to the latest entertainmenthot spots – that matter to them. Keep in mind that quite a few charities prefer advance volunteer applications and some may require a minimum time commitment – for comprehensive, country-specific information, consult the relevant Lonely Planet guidebook.