Passport safety tiebreaker

Why should anyone break into your flat, unless you leave valuables in full view. I would even so keep my passport with me, in many European countries it is mandatory to carry some form of ID. I am not sure if a photocopy is allowable. Keep the passports in a safe place in whatever day bag you carry. I keep mine in an inside pocket of my rucksack working on the principle that I know where it is. I am also very aware of my personal space and if feel even slightly uneasy I move the back from back to the front, and when sitting on a train keep one are through the straps.

Michelle, I always prefer to keep my Passport with me, partially for the reason that Pauline stated. I'm nervous leaving it in the Hotel, even if an in-room Safe is provided (some of those are actually quite easy to break into). Although I've never been asked to produce I.D. when travelling in Europe, I'd prefer to have it with me if that ever happens. The possibility of pickpockets is not really a problem if the Passport is stored in your Money Belt under your clothes. BE SURE to place it in a small Zip-Lok bag so it doesn't get "damp" from perspiration. Of course, there are no absolute guarantees with either method. Sorry, but I "side" with your husband on this question. Happy travels!

I always keep mine in my money belt and have photo copies in my suitcase back at the flat or hotel. I always go into every trip with the thinking if any thing should happened and I need to leave at a moments notice, I can and not worry about going back to a hotel.

We each carry a PacSafe slash proof day back pack with our passports, debit cards, credit cards (in case of a huge emergency), rail passes and money belts, along with our items needed for the day. I could survive that far away from home with my passport and debit card. We never leave them anywhere.

I never walk around with my passport but leave it either in my room or at reception (usually my room). While real pros (read high caliber pros) can alter a passport they, passports that is, are for general purposes useless to anyone but you. Now if a pickpocket nabs your passport along with the stuff he/she really is after (valuables) your passport will probably end up in the nearest trash bin (no consolation to you who needs to obtain a new one). Only once was I asked to provide I.D. and that was in Paris when I wanted to get into the U.S. Embassy. My California Driver's license worked fine. I also leave my driver's license as security (vs. my passport) for audio guides etc. All this said I stay in small family run hotels and B&B's not hostels. Remember in this day and age no hotel or flat renting agency wants negative posts re theft on Trip Adviser etc. The only thing worse would be a post about bedbugs... P.S. As for not being able to get back to your hotel/flat to retrieve your passport in an emergency I was in Paris on 9/11 and got back to the hotel no problem. Also was in Rome when the locals decided to riot. Again everything worked out fine. We're not talking about visiting Syria here.

I agree with the others. I keep mine in my money belt. I use a neck wallet, shortening up the strap and worn over one shoulder. It sits just below my armpit and I never even notice it is there. I pin the strap to my bra strap for extra security. Of course this is worn underneath your clothes. I don't keep it in my purse, no matter how secure it is. Someone could snatch the purse from me and then I would be in big trouble. You never know what might happen that could prevent you from getting back to where you are staying.

I always have mine on me. You can need it for lots of unexpected things, like purchasing a SIM card for your phone (found that out the hard way in Madrid in May).

I just got back from 25 days in France and Spain. Passport in safe or in apartment unless I thought I would need it( as Nancy says you do need it to purchase a sim card) . It was waaayyy to hot to wear a money belt and since some of our holiday included beach time we took nothinng there but a plastic bag with 10-20 euros in it ( for ice cream or drinks) and sunscreen,magazine etc.. that way we both could go in water at once,, no ones ransacking a plastic bag for loot if all there appears to be is a water bottle and a box of crackers sticking out of it,, ( and even it they did we can lose 10 euros ) Our apartment would have required a very determined thief,, a door code, and a key to get into , plus the key for the door,, took us 5 minutes as it was to get in, lol
Hotels we stayed in were very safe,, one in Nice required a code just to get in lobby , loved leaving keys at desk , one less thing to worry about losing everyday.

I keep my passport with me at all times. I use a hidden pocket to keep it and all my valuables safe yet available. If the police ask for ID, they don't want a copy.

And the score so far: Keep it with you: 7 Leave it 'home': 2

We take ours with us because ID is actually required in so many countries. They are handy to have for ID when picking up pre-paid tickets. If you keep the passport in a money belt, I think it's highly unlikely you'll lose it to a pickpocket. An apartment break in isn't really very likely either, though I do know someone who lost money out of a hotel safe in the U.S. So even hotels with safes are not necessarily thief proof.

Thanks all. I agree with a poster that this is a certain type of travelers in this form. For example, we always rent cars in Europe and stay in flats or houses etc. we would never carry a money belt in europe but we would do that in Tibet. As long as their is easy access to phone and Internet, I don't see the need. We rarely stay in hotels nor take trains. Our trips in Europe is not much different than what we do in the USA. The only time we have been asked for a passport was when we bought SIM cards for our phones this summer. Photocopy would have sufficed. This was the first trip my husband decided that he wanted carry the passport and also the first time that I lost my wallet. He may have been a bit swayed because he recently went on an NGO organized trip to a third world country. I consider traveling in western Europe We drove in a car that day so I have no idea if I got pick picketed or that it was a random loss. Anyhow, I am not swayed and my husband too decided that we are not in a third world when we are in Europe and that there is no need to carry the passport. So we will go back to our usual way travel, leave it in the flat.

I'll make it 9-2

I always have mine with me... even in the US. Just came in handy last week when I was 2 hours away from home and had an emergency call that I had to go to Canada to pick up my mother (really unusual situation) but it saved me hours of driving to get back home to get passport...
But... do you both need to do the same thing? Let him take his and leave yours.

Its interesting in that on this board I note more of a certain type of traveller( perhaps less experienced , but not always,) but if you ask this same question on other forums the numbers seem to favor leave passport at hotel or apartment. Police stopping you and asking id while merely touring about for the day is very very very highly unlikely. In fact in all the years I have been on travel forums( and it has been about 7-8 now on several different ones) I have only read about one person relating being stopped and asked for id in his case by police after crashing his rental car.. and I personally carry it if going out of town on a daytrip in case I get stranded somewhere and need to take a hotel room unexpectantly,, so carrying it does have some benefit. I just can't imagine wearing a money belt to the beach or having to wear one when its over 30 degrees outside( and it was this past trip of mine, it was way too hot!)
So, money belt wearers,, what do you choose to do at beach?? Are do none of you beach it,, or travel solo?

I don't keep it with me because I'm worried about being stopped by the police. As pat points out, the likelihood of that is slim. I keep it with me (most of the time) because things can happen and if something were to occur (fire at hotel/apartment, hit by bus, etc.) I would rather have the passport with me.

I only carry my passport with me when I think I will need it, which is pretty rarely, or when I'm in transit. I always carry a driver's license with me for photo ID, and have occasionally needed it when using a credit card and often as a deposit on an audio guide. I figure I am much more likely to lose it than to have it stolen from my hotel room. I find it very uncomfortable to keep in a money belt.

I never carry my passport unless I am traveling from A to B, etc. Once I get where I am going it stays in my hotel room or the safe. I do have other photo ID, in my wallet to use if needed. Had my passport stolen once. What a hassle. It isn't only the cost and time spent getting it done, you only get the new one for 5 years and every time you enter the US, they get to play little games with you. When traveling, I either use a neck pouch or have my important items in my messenger bag that folds over completely, and fastens at the bottom.

I'm with Chani on this... I generally leave my passport behind, unless I specifically need it. I used to even take the trouble to hide it in my luggage, but I haven't bothered to even do that for years now. I have a packing system where everything has its place - it's the best way that I have found to keep all my stuff safe, and also the easiest to keep track of everything and not forget anything. My passport is in a designated pocket of my travel bag and remains there while I stay put. In transit or if I must show it for a specific reason, it goes into a money belt or a suitable pocket in my clothes. When I'm on the move, between accommodations, the passport is on my person. The only times that I was actually a victim of theft while traveling, I had: small change and a camera stolen from a hotel room (passport ignored), a backpack stolen from a train (passport on me), a pickpocket try my day bag in Rome (passport in hotel), a shopping bag stolen from a rental car (passport in condo).

Maybe it is comfort for me but I always carry it with me. We only had to show passport twice, once when renting skis in Austria and at a wedding of all things. Were in Italy and the best man was to sign official document after ceremony and had to have his passport to do it, since he didn't have it on him, my son got to be the official witness. They were unusual circumstances I know but I just feel better having it with me.

I keep it with me. Been in Andalusia in the summer and even then it wasn't too hot for a money belt. The one exception was the one time I went to the beach. I did take a copy and left the actual passport in the room safe. However, I am not a beach person so that has only happened once. I figure I am much less likely to lose it when it is with me.

I keep it with me. It's your only universally acceptable ID and proof you are in the country legally. I keep mine in a moneybelt or neck wallet, though, If I were going somewhere I couldn't carry it safely - maybe the beach - I'd leave it in the flat.

I generally do not carry my passport around with me daily. I do take other ID like a drivers license or my passport card with me, but I don't usually carry my passport. I often stay with friends or family while in Europe, which I know is different than staying in a hotel or a rental apartment, but even when I take side trips and do stay in hotels, I don't carry my passport around while out sightseeing. I will usually just put the do not disturb sign on the hotel room door since I'm usually only staying for a couple of days at a time and don't necessarily need the room cleaned just for a couple of days. If the hotel has a safe, I'll put documents in the safe, but if not, just at the bottom of my suitcase/duffel and then I close and lock the suitcase. It's not going to stop anyone who's determined to steal my stuff, but it stops crime of opportunity. I also know it's not foolproof, but in 2 years of living in Europe and many trips back and forth, I have never had a problem. In living in Europe for two years and multiple trips back, I've only been asked for my passport by the police once, and that was while I was living in Germany. They did a check on a bus and the controlleur was satisfied with my drivers license. U.S. citizens may want to consider a passport card. They're about $35 if you have a regular passport and while they're not valid for air travel, they are a handy second official ID. It's actually quite similar to the national IDs that many European countries require their citizens to carry, though I'm not sure that Europeans would accept that in lieu of a passport book for things like opening an account since they're not used to seeing U.S. citizens with them.

Just weighing in on the "leave it in the flat" side. I think I'm in good travel company here with this opinion. Passports are a real PITA to get replaced. Far more so than even a driver's licence. I have another form of government ID that is also a real PITA to get replaced. When I travel I leave it with my passport in our hotel or flat, hopefully in a safe but I'm actually fine leaving it in the room/flat without safe. Because a US passport/us gov't ID is pretty useless to most people in Europe. Whereas a wallet is not. Because wallets contain money. And hey, muggers know about neckwallets and moneybelts. While it's very unlikely that you will be mugged in Europe, it is a possibility, and at that moment the mugger isn't going to nicely take your money while giving your passport, he's going to take off with the whole enchilada. Hotel maids don't care about your passport. Theives want money but if your money is stored next to your passport you're likely to lose it at the same time. I've lived here over a year and a half and traveled all over and not once have I been asked to show my passport. I have been asked to leave ID to tour a museum for an audioguide but my CA drivers' licence has worked just fine in those cases. Leave it where you're staying. It will be safe. For all the worry, I have never heard of someone having their passport stolen from a hotel room or flat.

Hi, We've always kept our passports in our room. We stay at B&B's and the like and most of the rooms we've stayed in have a small safe. For rooms without safes, we keep them in our luggage in the room. We have always used a rental car if that matters. Perhaps it's the places we stay and visit, but I feel as comfortable away without a money belt, etc. as I do around home. I carry my wallet with some cash, an ATM card, drivers license, ins. card and 1 cc, all of which I keep photo copies and digital copies (incl passports) in the luggage and at home with a relative. Paul

Pat, Funny you should ask about the beach. We usually don't in Europe. There are so many great beaches closer to home, but this year we did. We brought waterproof bags for passports, money and a camera meant to be worn around the neck. They worked just fine, weighed nothing and took very little space. If we hadn't had them and had done the beach on the spur of the moment, I'd have left the passport in the apartment.

We do know two couples who have lost passports and cash from hotel safes. That probably colors our thinking---Rome and Barcelona if it matters. The thing is most hotel safes have a standard combo that opens all of them in the hotel. The maid has a hotel key and the cleaning person an apartment key. No one who wants to keep their job would take advantage, but a disgruntled employee on their way out might.

Jenny thats amazing you know TWO couples who have had their safes robbed, thats quite a record.

Pat, Yes well, we know a number of people who've been in car accidents, had their homes robbed, gotten cancer, had their computer hacked.. . . We choose money belts over hotels and apartments, but it's at least a minor risk either way. I don't think people who leave their passports behind are stupid. We've made our choice, but we don't lose sleep over it.

Gee, I think I'm lucky that I'm not one of Jenny's friends ! just kiddin', Jenny.