Are there any concerns with leaving our luggage in our car during the day while we are sightseeing?
Since we are doing a self-drive tour, we will be moving hotels every one to two nights so it's unavoidable to leave our luggage in our car at some point during the day while we are touring sights from one stop to the next.
Yes, I would be concerned. Anything visible would be an invitation for theft. If you can rent a vehicle with a closed trunk that would be better.
Leaving luggage out of sight in the trunk should be safe. You for sure don’t want luggage visible from outside the car through the car windows.
We try to avoid it as much as possible but sometimes there just aren’t great options. (Two years ago, we stopped for lunch and I worried about our bags in that short hour- came back to a broken side view mirror but the bags were fine!). When possible, we park in well lit lots or within eye shot if it’s a quick meal. We also remove what look like “touristy” identifiers like maps. We try make the car look messy and like it would be a hassle to break in.
We travelled extensively by car and had to, by necessity leave our luggage in the car. We left nothing visible in the front or back seat and did not open the trunk in a location we were going to park. We were have had nothing taken from our car in our travels to Europe, New Zealand, USA and Eastern Canada.
We always parked in public places and did not take risks by parking in sketchy areas. We have been lucky, but it is one of the risks associated with driving.
IME, your luggage is far safer in a rented car in the parking lot of, say, the Cliffs of Moher than it is in your own car in the parking lot of the local WalMart.
While I agree in general with the other posters, in Ireland I am going with G3rryCee on this. Just be sensible. Out of sight is best.
No one ever steals my luggage from the parking lot at Walmart. Of course, I never have my luggage in my car at Walmart. I think that common sense precautions at both the Cliffs of Moher and Walmart are advisable. I certainly wouldn't skip an important site for fear of gangs of luggage thieves roaming the parking lots.
And don't leave anything in view in the car passenger compartment that says "tourist'; e.g., brochures for tourist sites, hotels restaurants, maps ( and hope the crook doesn't notice the barcode sticker(s) on one or more windows that the rental car company has on the car).
