Money Belt Question

Shelley, I doubt there will be any "laughing" here, as the group tries to be helpful. The people that I DO laugh at are the morons I've seen in Europe on several occasions, who are wearing their Money Belts on the outside of their clothing in plain view. I sometimes try to "educate" them, but other times I don't bother as I feel the advice might fall on "deaf ears". A Money Belt is used for "deep storage" for cash, Passports and credit cards, and shouldn't be accessed where others can see. This is not used to store cash for routine day-to-day purchases. As you may have noticed, there are different styles of Money Belts including those that are worn on waist, neck, ankle or forearm. You'll have to find the type that works for you. Some people prefer to wear their Money Belts in the back, but I prefer to keep it in the front where it's somewhat "visible". When withdrawing money from an ATM, I normally place the cash in an inside and more secure pocket until I get back to the Hotel or to a washroom, where it can be placed in the Money Belt. That way I can move away from the ATM quickly (and anyone that might be watching). For routine expenses, I carry a wallet which only contains enough for daily expenses, perhaps €50-75 or so. If I lose that, it will be an inconvenience but won't ruin the trip. Others just carry their daily cash in a pocket and don't use a wallet at all. One other point to mention is that cash accessed from ATM's in Europe must normally be in a chequing account with a four-number PIN. Also, DON'T forget to notify your financial institutions that you'll be travelling so they don't "freeze" your cards when they notice transaction activity in Europe. Happy travels!

I operate the same way as Ken. Stash your cash in an out of the way place after getting it from the ATM. I keep our passports, credit cards in my money belt. Just enough daily cash in my wallet. I have found after a few trips, that I find it more comfortable to wear my money belt in the small of my back, tucked into my undies. When I took my first overseas trip in 1995, I was travelling without my husband. I felt more secure wearing the money belt knowing that my important documents, credit cards etc. were with me at all times.

I second (third?) Ken and Judy. I take my ATM card out of my money belt and put it in my day bag. Then I look for an ATM close to my hotel or near a museum or other attraction which I'll be visiting. When I withdraw money, I put it in an inside pocket of my day bag and then either return to the hotel or go to the museum and go to a bathroom, where I'll transfer most of the money and my card to my money belt. I keep about 50 euros / pounds / whatever in my wallet in my day bag. I try to plan when I'll use a credit card, and keep it in my wallet until I use it. Then I put it and my receipt in my money belt. This takes time and planning but I wouldn't feel secure carrying lots of cash and credit cards without following this system. Like Judy, I wear it in the small of my back, tucked halfway down my pants. NO ONE can get to it without me noticing!

Adding to what others have said: You never deal with your money belt in public. The idea is that you want it to remain hidden and undetected at all times. So, when you go to the ATM, you pull your cash and carry on with your business. At the earliest convenience, you visit a restroom, so in a stall and put most of the cash in the belt and keep whatever you need for the foreseeable future in a pocket/small wallet.

Hello Shelley,
I am one of those travellers who does not wear money belts, not only in Europe, but even in some of the most dangerous countries in the world. But I am not trying to deter you from wearing one. My physical characteristics are probably intimidating to most prospective thieves and that may not be the case for most people. Pick pockets tend to target women and the elderly. If you belong to one of those categories you should wear one. However we must mantain some perspective. Most European countries are extremely safe places, probably more so than the US or Canada. You should wear money belts when you expect to be in crowded places (buses and subways for example), because that is where most pick pockets operate. The most valuable item when you travel is actually you passport, because if it gets stolen it's a hassle to find you Consulate and have it replaced. As much as you can, leave your passport at the hotel. Your passport is what you should protect the most, carry it only when necessary, otherwise the safest place is your hotel room safe. When you must carry your passport with you, that is what you shoul keep in your money belt. Keep a list of your credit card numbers and tel numbers separately. If they get stolen, you can easily cancel them. Carry at least 2 credit cards. Keep one with you and leave one at the hotel (with your passport) or give it to your spouse. If they steal one, you can cancel that one and continue your trip with the other one. Other than these very basic precautions, relax. The chances of being victim of crime in Europe are extremely low to the point of being statistically insignificant. Merry Christmas!

Similar to the others. The moneybelt is for things that would make your trip difficult if lost or stolen (passport, credit card, extra money). I carry a daily supply of money folded in my front pocket. If I'm on a crowded bus, or similar pick-pocket hot spot, I put my hand in my pocket. I wear my moneybelt below the beltline in front. If I need to access my moneybelt I do it in a private place and look around carefully to be sure I didn't inadvertantly drop something before leaving. I often use a neck wallet (around my neck and under my armpit) instead of a moneybelt. I go back and forth on which one I like better. I tried a leg-wallet, but I only found one style and a couple design flaws made it a bad choice.

Yup, I also almost never wear a money belt, but if you do, NEVER access it in public. The whole point of one is that no one knows it's there, and that won't work if you access it where anyone can see it. Use it for extra cash, an extra credit card, your passport, etc, but not for things you'll be using that day. Yes, you still need a wallet with some cash, your ATM card, and a credit card (unless you know you won't be using it). If you want to put some of the cash from an ATM in there, do it in a bathroom stall or somewhere no one will see you. Have fun on your trip!

Thank you so much every one and a Merry Christmas to all of you!
That is great advice. Ya, I'm wondering about the idea of taking the passport with me or leaving it at the hotel. While we are on the subject... is it hard to find ATM's and any advice on that. :)

I've made all the mistakes regarding moneybelt use and forgotten my purse several times while traveling. Each time I lucked out and was able to retrieve forgotten items without loss. The only time I've been ripped off has been in the US when I've dropped my wallet. Twice this has happened and twice the wallet was returned-without the cash that was in it. One tricky place is after removing items in the moneybelt for some purpose and neglecting to put them back, whether it is money or passport. Get to a private place and get the money or passport back in the moneybelt. It really helps to have everything organized and know where valuable things are. I reverted to carrying my familiar wallet for my daily cash needs. I just keep it in a safe pocket for easy access and carry enough that I don't need to access my moneybelt during the day. When I am in a hotel room with a safe, I often leave the moneybelt in the safe along with any other items I think a light-fingered person with access to my room might pick up. I never leave my passport at the front desk, even in Italy. I stand and wait while they record the pertinent information. They have no need to hold the passport.

Like others, I wear a moneybelt(hidden pocket) and carry a RS wallet in my front pocket with a day's worth of spending money. Most countries require you to carry your passport at all times so it goes in the moneybelt with the CC and train/airplane tickets. I leave my regular wallet at home since it has a lot of stuff I won't need on a trip and is just one more thing to keep up with. No one will laugh at you since we've all been where you are now.

I also almost never wear a money belt, but if you do, NEVER access it in public. The whole point of one is that no one knows it's there, and that won't work if you access it where anyone can see it. While many people believe this, it is not necessary or true. The point of a good money belt/neck pouch, etc... is to prevent someone from gaining easy access. It doesn't matter if they know WHERE it is, just that they can't get to it, in it or remove it. The type I use is actually a secure belt pouch (not a fanny pack), worn visible on the outside and I use it for everything. But no one can access it but me. Having said that, there are many types that aren't easy to access in public, and no doubt many people FEEL more comfortable keeping it hidden. In that case, do carry a wallet with just enough spending cash to get you through the day. The problem I've never understood with that method is what people do with their credit card.

Shelley, Regarding your question about ATMs and the ease of finding one, and all that - You don't say where you will be going, and posting this in the General Europe section of the Helpline gives no hints. If we had an idea of where you will be traveling we could give more specific answers.

Rarely hard to find an ATM. You will pass them at the airport on the way to the exit and they will be built into walls in medieval town centers. The only time I've had trouble is around ferry terminals, they don't seem to have ATM's like airports do. A note on ATM safety. There are always some scams going on in Europe and some involve ATM's. I prefer to use ATM's inside buildings (banks, grocery stores, department stores) rather than those on the street simply because they are harder to mess with. I don't recall the warning in Spain this last trip, but Copenhagen always showed covering your hand while you entered your pin - because one scam involves scanning your card (with some equipment on the machine) and seeing, or filming, you enter your pin. I think that's always a good idea.

" While many people believe this, it is not necessary or true. The point of a good money belt/neck pouch, etc... is to prevent someone from gaining easy access. It doesn't matter if they know WHERE it is, just that they can't get to it, in it or remove it. " That's true if your only concern is pickpockets, but preventing "easy access" can still leave you as a target for mugging (i.e. assault and robbery). In some places violent crime is low and pickpockets are your main concern (like Barcelona), so I'd agree with you there........but in other locations you can also be at risk of getting mugged, in which case it won't matter whether the access is easy or not.

Yes, James. The chance of being pick pocketed in Europe is low, just as low or lower than being shot in the US. Therefore I don't wear money belts in Europe for the same reason I don't wear bullet proof vests when I am in Connecticut or Colorado. I only keep my passport on a neck wallet, because I travel with two (I'm dual citizen) and they don't easily fit in my wallet or pockets. I also keep an emergency credit card with the passports (in the unlikely event I lose the others or they stop working). As to the requirement that you always carry a passport, I don't think any American or Canadian will ever be fined or even reprimanded by the police for not having one on them. I've been stopped by police while driving and all they wanted to see is my California drivers' license and International Drivers' permit. No official has ever asked me to see my passport, except at Immigration/Customs. Although it is unlikely to be pick-pocketed in Europe, however one should not discount the possibility of accidentally ping, losing, misplacing, leaving the passport somewhere. Once you don't have the passport with you, even if it's just lost, not stolen, you need to find your home country consulate, which may not be in the city where you are visiting, then start the procedure for renewing one. That takes time away from your trip and also the Consulate wants to make sure you are really a citizen and you have the burden of proof (so make copies of your passport). Moral of the story. Leave your passport at the hotel safe or at the hotel desk (probably safer than your pocket on a crowded bus). The chances of misplacing/losing it are much greater than an officer asking you to see your passport while touring the city (and as I said, just show your drivers' license and tell them you have the passport at the hotel).

"My physical characteristics are probably intimidating to most prospective thieves and that may not be the case for most people" I probably fit that profile too, but I still feel it's prudent to wear a Money Belt. The pickpockets in Europe are VERY proficient at their "craft"! They typically work in teams and if they do get a wallet or whatever, it will be GONE very quickly. It's a bit long, but you might enjoy watching THIS Video. Regarding Passports, I prefer to keep it with me, as it would be major annoyance if I had to replace it during a trip. It's safer with me than it would be at the Hotel. You may also be interested in THIS Video, which shows why I don't trust Hotel room Safes. There are many more videos showing a variety of methods that can be used to open the safes. Cheers!

yes, sorry Nigel. I didn't say. We'll be in England, York area, and London the rest of the time, Paris, and Germany in the Rhine River Valley Regions. and then off to Munich.

Shelly, there are ATMS all over Paris, and best part is there is no fee on their side for transactions, and get this, if you have a certain type of TD bank account you will pay no fees for foriegn withdrawals.. I know because I do and I did! You have to have a chequeing account with a min 5,000 balance and then you get the free withdrawals, you can close it after you come home and put money back somewhere else. PS in 40 years I have never carried my passport around with me all day.

I apparently don't have intimidating physical characteristics. So that makes me a target for thieves and con artists. My Arnold Schwarzenegger voice impersonation was a major fail when I was once encircled by a group of tenacious gypsies outside of the Roma termini. But despite that, I can't stand to wear neck pouches and money belts. I keep the passport and other essentials safe and sound in the hotel safe. I carry one credit card and maybe 200 euro max at any one time in a very thin wallet in a front pants pocket. Then I can spend my time using my non-intimidating looks to flirt with the local ladies. That is until my intimidating wife whacks me in the head.

There are ATMs all over London and York. In London there are banks all over and they all have ATMs, inside and out. York has fewer but its much smaller so the density is close. Post Offices, supermarkets, and shopping centres. Check carefully in smaller stores or shopping areas as some are not bank linked and will clearly state on a sticker and on the screen that there may be a charge. None of the bank linked ones charge. Depending on which bank you have your card with there may be preferred banks in Europe to use in order to save on fees. Make sure to tell your bank you are going overseas and tell them the dates you will be away and which countries you will be in or you may find your cards get locked against use in Europe.

Here's another consideration- are you traveling in the summer or during one of the colder times of the year? If the latter, don't worry about a moneybelt, just keep your valuables in a sealable inside pocket of your coat. Your inside pocket is just as inaccessible to a potential thief, but you can access it without lifting several layers of clothes.

I love the hotel safe question and the video. They show a burglar opening the safe. They never show you how they got into your room in the first place. Hotel staff, other than the manager, will not be able to access your safe. With websites like Trip Advisor, posting immediate reviews of hotels, imagine how quickly a hotel would be ruined, if staff were stealing from hotel rooms and the safes. I never carry my passport with me, whether I am here in Germany or traveling around, other than on travel days, flying or crossing borders on a train. For flying, I wear a neck pouch and the rest of the time, I use a messenger bag that is not easily accessible, as the entire bag folds over on itself, and then fastens at the bottom. If you are getting money out of an ATM, then putting into a neck pouch immediately is probably the easiest. Perhaps transfer it to your money belt later in the restroom, other wise, between point A and point B, I would imagine one risks having it pick-pocketed. Use the ATM inside of the bank when possible, when the bank is open, to lessen the risk of having your money stolen directly at the ATM.

Ken: When in youth I was serving at the Florence SMN station I remember many tourists coming to the police station desperate because they had either left a bag/purse with their passport on the train or it was stolen somewhere. All we could do is file a report and send them to their consulate to replace their passport. On the other hand, I've never heard of instances of somebody who had left their passport in the hotel room safe and somebody had burglarized the room, opened the locked safe and stolen the passport. If a thief goes to the trouble of all of that, he will probably steal the money and credit cards inside the safe, but probably not the passport which cannot be easily sold in the black market. Aside from physical characteristics, let's look at things in perspective. There are approximately 58,000 pickpocket incidents a year in Italy (just checked the crime stats). That's 160 a day. So basically one has a 0.00027% chance of being a victim of a pickpocket in Italy on any given day. I think people in this forum can relax, especially if they aren't planning of riding on crowded buses or subways too often.

"...Pick pockets incidents are also rare outside of crowded buses/subways..." That's ridiculous. Why are there so many signs at restaurants, shops, and museums within tourist zones warning warning visitors that "pickpockets are at work"? The owners of these places don't go through all the trouble and expense of printing and installing the signs if it's a rare occurrence.

What Jo said made alot of sense, do you really think its that easy for theives to just walk into your hotel room to begin with, most hotels I stay in are small , you can't just march by front desk without being seen, and you don't really think that the managers and maids are all conspiring to rob their clients, like that would ever get beyond silly. I have heard of people walking away from their purses, I kind of find it shocking( as in really stupid) , but some people are that absent minded.. I am not.
Wear purse cross body, and do not take it off if in a cafe, I don't . I have also read many first hand accounts of either pickpocketing, or pickpocket attempts( foiled ones) but I have only read one or two THIRD hand accounts( they are always something about someones secretarys sisters cousin, lol ) about safe robbers.

You might be shocked at the way hotel room doors on an entire floor are left open during the day while hotel personnel do their cleaning. Small items left on desks etc may tempt someone. Also, there are sometimes other workers in the building while you are out seeing the sights. Once I returned to my room to find that the carpet had been shampooed that day; it was still damp. Another time, in a major RS hotel, phones were being upgraded and workers were going from room to room. I make a practice of stowing my loose things in my suitcase and placing the suitcase (locked) in the wardrobe while I am gone during the day. That way I return to a clean room and I know where everything is. I carry on my person a moneybelt, a coat or vest with multiple "safe" pockets, and a small purse or packpack. All valuables are stowed in the moneybelt or pockets. If I carry a camera, it is small enough to be carried in a handy pocket. In Rome, I once was surrounded by three small women. One woman placed herself in front of me, the others were behind. I calculated that the woman in front was much smaller than I was so I just kept moving. I pushed her aside with my forearm and they all moved away from me. I think their aim was to stop me and get into my small backpack. It contained nothing they would be interested in, but they didn't know that.

"You might be shocked at the way hotel room doors on an entire floor are left open during the day while hotel personnel do their cleaning." This is kind of a side-track, but a funny story anyway that illustrates this point. My wife and I are currently staying in a dog-friendly hotel in Grindewald. Only place they are not allowed is in the breakfast area, so we leave the dog in the room every morning when we go to eat. Yesterday, as we were sitting there eating breakfast, we noticed a dog walking through the food line... then we quickly recognized that is was our dog! Apparently, when the maid opened the door to clean the room, our little rascal escaped and followed the scent downstairs to the food.

That's true if your only concern is pickpockets, but preventing "easy access" can still leave you as a target for mugging (i.e. assault and robbery). In some places violent crime is low and pickpockets are your main concern (like Barcelona), so I'd agree with you there........but in other locations you can also be at risk of getting mugged, in which case it won't matter whether the access is easy or not. Name me one place in Western Europe that is routinely travelled by Americans where violent muggings and thefts are a common occurrance. I can think of some bad neighborhoods in major cities, but no reason for tourists to be there. Fact is that muggings of tourists are extremely rare. The issue is pickpockets.

Pick pockets incidents are also rare outside of crowded buses/subways. Most of pickpocketing incidents happen aboard public transit or other crowded situations. Outside of those instances, most common are stealing of unattended bags while tourists aren't looking or stealing of personal property from inside cars. As a matter of fact many years ago somebody opened the trunk of my car in Riomaggiore, which I parked along the road, and stole a bag I had inside.
So if you plan to store your luggage in your rental car while you visit around, I suggest that you park your car in an attended parking lot and preferably with the car backed against the wall so that the trunk won't be easily accessed. Regarding hotel safety, I'm not suggesting you leave your money in plain sight on the night stand, but if you use the hotel safe, your valuables will be much more secure than with you in the streets. You could lose them too, it's not just a matter of pickpockets. Also keep your passport separate from your valuables inside the safe. In the extremely unlikely event someone is going to open that safe (never heard of it), they'll take the money but not the passport. The passport is the most valuable item because of the hassle of having to replace it while abroad. If the hotel has no safe in the room, then you can ask the front desk to put your passport in their safe.

Swan, do want you to take it personally I don't think you are stupid, its just for someone like me its almost inconcievable that someone could forget their purse, its literally part of my body, I wear one at home every day, and have for last 35 years at least.. When I was sent to France to spend my first summer alone with my grandmother ( I had been before , but with my mom) I was only 13 and at that point my parents told me if I lost my purse ( with my passport in it) I would be stuck in Europe forever, ( lol, hey it was a fear trick thing , but it worked!) so for me it would just be unthinkable. I don't want you to take it personally though, its just one of those things that try as I might to intellectully understand the being absentminded thing, its just hard. Please don't take it personally, its just like forgetting to breath to me. lol I have come to learn some ladies do not carry purses normally at home, I imagine in those cases carrying one on holiday would create a situation where they may be more likely to forget one on vacation.

@Jo, "They never show you how they got into your room in the first place." You might find it interesting to have a look at THIS story from November 2012. I used to work as a Locksmith, and have seen numerous examples of supposedly secure locks that have been compromised. The situation mentioned by Swan is another example of how rooms can be accessed. I've lost count of the number of times that I've come back to the Hotel to find my room wide open, with the staff working in another room at the far end of the hallway. The room can be open and completely accessible to anyone for half an hour or more. The Maids often have no idea who the proper tenant of that room is, and I've never been asked by them to prove that I was the legitimate tenant of that room. When leaving the room, I always lock my Netbook and other valuables inside the luggage, as that tends to prevent "opportunistic" theft. Cheers!

@Roberto, Given your background, you undoubtedly have a better idea of the pickpocket situation in Italy than most of us here. However, I still prefer to take reasonable precautions as I don't want to be one of those 58,000 victims. If that means wearing a Moneybelt, that's a reasonable precaution (IMO). Most of the cases of Passport theft that I've heard about have involved having a Daypack, Messenger bag or Purse stolen when the owner hangs it on the back of a chair (or whatever), rather than having it taken off their person. I did observe the aftermath of a group from the U.S. losing a number of Passports (and other valuables) while riding on the trains in the Cinque Terre a couple of years ago. Their Passports were not specifically targeted, but rather stolen with other items. Likely the thieves just "binned" the Passports. The hotel owner told me that type of incident is quite common, as professional thieves from Genoa or La Spezia routinely "work" the local trains as many people "let their guard down" when they get to the C.T. I absolutely agree that crowded public transit is one of the most likely places to be victimized thieves. One of my former colleagues learned that "the hard way" while riding the Metro in Rome. He had placed a Wallet with a "substantial amount of cash" in a front zippered pocket, which was pinched at some point during the trip. I suppose he thought the zipper would provide some deterrence, but he didn't feel a thing when the wallet was stolen! I asked him how much money was involved, but he wouldn't tell me. Losing cash is a minor problem, but losing a Passport or credit cards would be a major inconvenience, so it's something I'd rather not deal with on a holiday. Cheers!

I read this web site almost every day for years and years and have yet to read about anyone loosing anything carried in their money belt when worn properly and accessed properly. With that history, I wear a money belt with passport, credit card(s), ATM card, extra cash (not daily spending money), travel information including hotel and train and plane information and/or tickets. May sound like a lot but in over 10 years of following that routine, I do not feel it is awkward, too full, or sticks out uncomfortably.
I would rather have those things in my possession all the time I am in Europe (a month every summer), in fact, we put our money belts on with those items as soon as we pass thru "security!" in the US by going into a bathroom stall. I feel much safer this way especially when I read about other folks suffering losses when not wearing a money belt.

Do not wear a money belt if you are going through airport security. With the old machines, this was never an issue. The new total body scanners will see it and not know what it is. This happened to me in October. I didn't think about the different scanner. I had to go into the private area and undo my clothes to get it off while the agent watched to see for sure I wasn't about to pull a gun out or something. It was another man, so it didn't bother me, but it was a hassle. They then took the belt and put it through the scanner while I watched. I put it in by backpack for further scans with no problems. The agent told me that even a Kleenex in your pocket will set off a search.

Also, don't forget to include famous, well touristed cathedrals where pickpockeing takes place. I remember seeing the warning sign in French, German and English (which surprised me) inside the famous cathedral (das Straßburger Münster) in Strasbourg. I believe that 12,000 was the figure given on CNN.

"...Pickpocket incidents are also rare outside of crowded buses/subways..." Agree with Michael S., pickpockets are at work other places as well. I recently saw a TV program on MSNBC about pickpocketing. There was surveillance camera footage of a pickpocket in Harrod's in London, putting his hand down inside a woman's open-top purse while she was shopping. He slipped the wallet out and into the inside of his overcoat and was gone in 60 seconds. Shopping venues that attract tourists are also the happy hunting ground of pickpockets, so watch your purse or backpack in London everywhere. Some train stations in Europe have signs that remind tourists to "Check your valuables". This makes a tourist pat the pocket where their valuables are kept, so the thieves watching you as you board the train know exactly which pocket to pick. Resist the urge to touch the place your valuables are kept when you see such a sign. Actually, they're going to try to pick any of your pockets they can get their hand into anyway, just don't give them the tip off of knowing WHICH pocket the goodies are in.

Having read through most of this thread, I feel it might be worth pointing out one thing: while you are in the Schengen are you are obliged to carry a passport or national identity card. And while police, border guards and customs officials may accept other forms of ID, such as driving license or similar documents, they are not obliged to do so. You should also be aware that countries do spot checks from time to time within the Schengen area in their search for illegal "guest" workers. If you are found not to have the correct paper work, then they are entitled to detain you until such time as they have established your identity. So far I've only experienced this once in Zurich HB. But once is enough to muck a holiday, so I'd suggest carrying that passport rather than leaving it in the hotel!

I don't carry a money belt in European Cities for the same reason I don't carry one in US cities - the chances that I'll be mugged are low and the chances that I'll continually be thinking of how uncomfortable my money belt is are high. My brother was mugged in London - the robber grabbed him at knife point and made him go over to the ATM and make a large withdrawl. Money belt would not have helped him. What would have helped him (possibly) would have been to have put his wallet away BEFORE he left the store in the tourist area. He's also had his wallet stolen because he left in atop a bar in a US suburb. But if you try not to be stupid, you should be fine. I have travelled throughout Europe and also to Colombia - which some might say is not the safest destination. I didn't carry a money belt there, but I also didn't take much cash with me and didn't take taxis except with Colombian natives (known for being a way tourists get abducted). I use credit cards whenever possible (many places these days) and take only the cash I need for the day. I keep my passport inside my suitcase in the hotel or flat - I have had too many problems with safes, although I'll use them for laptops.
Also, be aware of your surroundings when you use an ATM.

My husband hates wearing a moneybelt. He says it's uncomfortable. Whiner. I tell him to put his big boy boxers on and do it. Some women don't like to wear them because they make a little pooch out on their tummies. I don't care. I wear the thing all the time anywhere we go. It is not stuffed with a ton of paperwork just the basics many others have mentioned here, so it's very flat. About 99% of the time, I can find a cash machine in a bank within a couple of blocks of where we are staying. I'm not shy about pulling out the money belt, getting money, and putting the belt back where it was, all right inside the bank. I feel very safe in those locations. That 1% of the time I need money and there's no bank nearby, I take the card out in a secure place, use the cash machine, secure the money and the card as best I can and try to find the closest toilet to make the exchange. In my experience, banks with safe ATM access are easier to find than toilets! When I'm traveling, I always wear pants or a skirt that I can stretch out far enough to pull the moneybelt out. I always wear shapewear on top which goes down to my hips. It is supposed to be worn under, not over, panties so the moneybelt goes between the panties and the shapewear. Shapewear panties help keep the moneybelt bulge flatter, but they can't go above the waist. I never carry a wallet. The money goes in a deep pocket or two or in a bag of some sort that never leaves me. Last year I used a Baggallini tote. It has an inside zipper pocket and a zippered pouch that hooks on a strap inside but can be removed. The whole thing can be zipped closed at the top. It worked for everything and was great for shopping.

Thank you one and all for all the advise... Much appreciated!

Hi Shelley, I have to side with the "Wear a Money Belt", and the "Never, Ever, Leave Anything in Your Room Safe" crowd. The place I stayed in Paris last month, had a Trip Advisor review where 900 euros went missing from a room safe, while the people were out. (Londres Saint Honore). I still stayed there because it is clean and inexpensive, because of the Spiral Staircase of Death, and no elevator. (Working). I just hate not having my passport or money on me. My passport comes out of my moneybelt at customs, rail pass validation, buying something expensive, rental car, hotel front desk, etc, etc. I always have it with me if I can. Now that I live here I don't carry it, because I have German ID. My wife and I once watched a gaggle of kids work the crowd over, at the Spanish Steps, and we sat there in utter amazement. They took wallets, cameras, opened purses, or opened fanny packs and removed items. It was had the precision of the Rockettes. Once they got something of value, they would hand it off to another person that took it away from the area. One thing we always do, is one person uses the atm, the other person faces away from it, watching for anything unusual. If done correctly, money and your important papers become one less thing to worry about. Good Travels