Carrying passports with you at all times? Or leave in the safe?

We usually leave ours in the room safe unless we're heading on a day trip and will be quite far away from our hotel - in another city or site.

I was told by the B&B hostess of The Bellvue in Budapest to leave passport in hotel or room safe, if there is one available. So ever since, that is what I have done. When in transport on a train, my passport is in my neck pouch. And that is really the only time I wear a neck pouch, when in route on a train.

Another vote for room safe.

Thanks for the info and advice- room safe it will be.

I carry my passport with me at all times. Can't imagine leaving it at the hotel.

Assuming your hotel room even has a safe, how many people have access to it? No hotel would rent out a room with a safe without some means of opening the safe if the guest skipped out on the bill. If you are carrying your passport in a moneybelt or Hidden Pocket, which I prefer, how many people have access to it?

There are two cases among my friends of stolen passports. In each case the victim was a woman carrying it in her purse. One had her purse snatched in a restaurant, another in an internet cafe.

Not that it can't happen, but I've never heard of anyone having anything stolen from a hotel safe.

But I have heard of people checking out and forgetting that they had something in the hotel safe.

I carry mine with me at all times.

Unless I'm driving somewhere that's a long distance away or crossing a manned border I leave it.

I carry a colour photocopy of our passports as well as our CA DLs.

I've never had a problem but I've also never been stopped by the police.

I read somewhere that the French require you to carry it at all times, so I always do. Until I read that (was it in Rick's books or on this board?), I would lock it in the safe, but never felt comfortable doing that.

We also carry copies of the passport, IDs, plus the fronts and back of credit and debit cards--those I lock in the safe.

According to the US embassy in France website, Americans are NOT required to carry their passport at all times while in France. A drivers license or student ID is acceptable if a policeman asks for identification.

Good to know. Is it safe to assume Italy and the UK are the same way? It just seems like it would be one less thing to worry about if I knew the passport was safely tucked away in the hotel safe in the room.

I lock it in the safe and carry a copy with me.

Chris,

According to a thread on this subject 2 years ago, Italy as well does not require that you carry your passport at all times, as long as you have some form of picture ID, such as a drivers license or IDP.

http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/17387/need-to-carry-passport-.html

We always have our passports in our money belts. Why not? Once you are wearing a money belt, what is the issue with including the passport?

I agree that the room safe is better than none but certainly not "private" storage. For example, in Nice we could not get our room safe to work, according to their instruction sheet, so the desk clerk simply handed us a key (asking us to return it at the end of our stay). And certainly this was not their only key.

I carry it. It isn't much of a hassle, it's the best ID I have, and I got in the habit in some countries where you wouldn't even consider walking around without your passport.

That said, apart from a border crossing, I've never been asked in Europe to produce my passport or even show an ID.

I disagree with the last statement - a driver's license can just as easily identify you as a passport.

Mine has stayed in the apartment since we got here. I will need it to pick up my rental car, but otherwise my drivers license has always been accepted as ID. I do have a color photo copy of my passport in my purse, just in case.

We always carry our passports with us at all times. We were on a tour a few years ago, and the tour guide said you should have your passport on you at all times.
Mainly, for identification. His reasoning was, if you were in an accident of any kind, it is the only way to identify you.

Arnold....that may be the case in the U.S., but it's not necessarily the case overseas. In many countries, the legally-accepted form of ID is the national identity card or, for foreigners, their passport. Drivers' licenses MAY be accepted as ID...but maybe not.

Interesting though that of the people responding to this post who actually live in Europe, none carry their passport around.

Tom...perhaps because they are "residents" of Europe? Perhaps they have some sort of foreign residence permit or other ID that's acceptable to foreign governments, like military identification...I recall that Candian military ID was sufficient (when Canada HAD forces in Europe!)

Canadian - and American - military ID should not only be accepted in Europe, it should be answered with a salute and an offer the buy the bearer a drink.

Chris, You are not required to carry your passport on you while you are in the UK.

A source of information on this subject is the State Department website under the international traveller info (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_4965.html). They have this type on some of the country fact sheets but not all sheets.

For example, for Russia, they state "U.S. citizens should be aware that Russian police officers have the authority to stop people and request their identity and travel documents at any time, and without cause. Due to the possibility of random document checks by police, travelers should carry their original passports, migration cards, and visas with them at all times."

And for the UK they state:

"U.S. citizens should take steps to ensure the safety of their U.S. passports. Visitors in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Gibraltar are not expected to produce identity documents for police authorities and thus may secure their passports in hotel safes or residences."

With the exception of flights, border crossings and sometimes when checking into hotels, I don't think I have ever been asked for an ID in the UK.
When I lived in the UK, one of the things that I found surprising was that proof of address was considered a copy of a utility bill along with something like a credit card.

In the UK, I typically will lock my passport in the safe if I don't expect to need ID. I still do carry something that identifies who I am ... if you are hit by a car, I don't think the hospital really cares about what form of ID you have.

Can anyone tell me if youth hostels are likely to have safe safes? I've never stayed in one before this trip, and since it's a university group, all of our short, one-night stays are in hostels, as are two longer one-week stays. All in Portugal.

I do not always carry my passport with me, but I do carry a photo copy with me and one in my luggage as back up ID incase my passport is lost or stolen

Having lived in Europe for a few years, and travelling there many times before and since:

*when living there, the passport stayed in my apartment with ample other ID in my wallet in the event of emergency.

*when travelling there, the passport stays in my hotel room safe with a copy of the bio-page in my wallet.

*if no room safe, the passport's in my wallet, pocket or neck pouch.

I carry mine. It's your only valid ID when traveling.

So far I haven't needed it - no trouble with police, car accidents, tickets, etc. - except when checking into lodging.

The first time a police officer asks me for my ID, and I'm sure it will happen eventually, I'd like to have it with me. A copy of my passport or driver's license from home aren't valid IDs (although apparently European police often give Americans a break and accept their DL as proof of ID).