do we leave our passports in apartment?

Divided opinion on this board, about half keep them in moneybelt and half leave them in room/apartment. Search on passport (search box upper right) to get a hundred comments.However, if you're driving a rental car--keep your passport with you in your moneybelt, because there is a greater chance of your being stopped by authorities/traffic police who will ask for your passport (technically you're supposed to have it on you) if you're driving and almost no chance of being asked for it if you're not driving.I drive some on most trips and for this reason have gotten in the habit of always carrying my passport in the moneybelt.

There is no black and white answer. Everyone has their personal opinion. You are required to carry id in most European countries. I have only been asked once for my id in some 300+days of travel. Some say a driver license is OK. BUT, if is not, then I don't want to be in a position of having to discuss that with someone who may not be overly friendly at the moment. Therefore, I have always carried my passport and always will.

I ask myself 2 questions: "How much trouble is it to carry my passport in my moneybelt?" and "How much trouble would it be if my passport were stolen?" There is probably a very low risk of it being taken from an apartment, but I'm not willing to take any chances.

How often do you go out without a valid ID? How often are you asked to show it? People don't leave their drivers license at home even though the chances are good you won't get asked for it.

Your passport is your valid ID when you travel. I think you keep it with you even though you may not need it. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Never. better very safe than sorry. Passport doesn't weigh much anyway.

I would not assume that a rental apartment is any more secure than a hotel room. Unscrupulous owners, neighbors with keys, and everyone else who has rented recently could come in.

I keep my passport in the hotel safe, if I was in a rental apartment I would keep it in my moneybelt as I would never just leave it "hidden" in my room( like a thief hasn't spent years figuring out the best hiding spots! LOL)

Great advice everyone! We'll just bring ours in our moneybelts. Thanks again!

We just spent 21 days in 9 European countries. I kept our passport in the hotel room safe the whole time. I was never asked for ID except at the airports and when I was checking into the hotels. Even when I used my credit card, the only time I was asked for ID was at an airport store. It was with my wife so they just asked for a second credit or debit card. I was warned about the pickpockets in the tourist areas, so I opted to lock up our passports.

I'm with Brad....your passport is your i.d. when overseas. Why would you walk around without it when you would never think of walking out your door at home without a driver's license? If you were in an accident or became suddenly ill while touring a foreign city, wouldn't you want the authorities to know who you are? At home, the other contents of your wallet/purse might lead others to find out who you were and where you lived, but much less likely so abroad.

Whatever you decide to do, remember to bring with you two copies of your passport. Keep one on you at all times and keep one in your luggage. In case anything happens to your passport it's much easier to replace if you have a copy. Have fun!!

I've been to Europe twice this year and for a change was actually asked to produce ID once in Italy and once in Germany. For specific reasons I knew ahead of time that I would need ID for: to get a VAT refund, to get a reduced ticket price for a site. In both cases my Canadian drivers licence worked out just fine. During the other 20 or so trips I was never asked for ID.

I never take my passport along on outings and always leave it behind in my accommodation, be it a hotel, a rental appartment or a B&B. My thinking is that it's much more likely that it gets pickpocketed from my person than stolen from the accommodation.

We stashed our passports in what we thought was a safe, hidden location in our hotel room last year in Europe. Stolen from the room (no forced entry...). This year we carried them with us, in our money belts, everywhere. Replacing them is a real pain, and returning to the US was not an easy time at passport control. IMHO: they're not heavy, take them.

I would take it with me. I live over here and don't carry mine with me around town, but when I go to another country, I always carry it. The exception is with hotel safes if I feel they are secure. Or if you are going somewhere like white water rafting in Austria or to a spa or pool. As to copies of your passport, you don't need to have a copy on your person, but it is good to have a copy in your luggage and good to leave a copy with someone at home, like with a relative or friend. If you lose all your stuff, they can fax it to the consulate or hotel for you.

Dennis, you are kidding, you hid them in your room and thought that was safe.. when will people learn..
Thieves jobs are to steal from you, they think about it all the time.. and they know all the hiding spots.

My dad had a large sum of money stolen from his home ,, here in Victoria.. He thought it was safe under the carpet and under the dresser drawers,( he taped some there)
Police taking the report stressed that there is NO hiding space a theif hasn't thought of before.

I'm with Bea,, and others, passport too precious to lug around ( and wearing a money belt freaks me out, I always think how easy it would be for clasp to come undone, or to have it fall in toilet,, LOL, I wear it for travel only. Ny PP and CCs has always been safe in a safe ( pun intended, LOL ) and a DL is fine for id.. and I never think about dropping dead in Paris, but if I do,, well I am sure my travelling companion will tell them who I was. I tend to carry a hotel card with me at all times, so that would be a clue too.

As I said before, do not " hide" it in apartment, if there is no safe then you will have to wear the money belt.

Call me cavalier or stupid but I carry as little as possible with me, in the same handbag as I would use at home. Have never had anything stolen from an apartment rental or a hotel. The only thing I have ever put in a hotel safe was a largeish sum of cash and then I was far more worried I would forget to take it out than anyone taking it from the room.

I now live in Europe and take my (non EU) passport with me to other European countries but carry the same stuff in my handbag as I would at home in Spain.

I do have a scanned copy of the photo page on my laptop and e-mailed to me so if in the worse case (and to me most unlikely) scenario of my laptop and my passport being stolen I would have access to the key information.

Thanks for all the great tips/advice everyone!

I have scanned my passport and emailed it to myself. I do it just in case my passport gets stolen and I need a copy.

Unless there is a safe in the room, I always take it with me. I make a copy of it and keep it handy, just in case a cop wants to see it.

The fundamental question is not whether or not your passport is safe in an apartment or hotel. But, whether you want to spend several days of your vacation trying to replace your passport. Your vacation is much too valuable to risk leaving your passport anywhere except in your money belt. The choice, it seems to me, is about salvaging your vacation rather than finding reasons not wear a moneybelt.

If you don't take your passport make sure you have a copy of it that you carry with you along with another form of ID (driver's license). This will be good to have in case it get stolen anyway. Also, I always make a pdf of it and send an electronic copy to my email and from someone back home I can contact. This also ensure if you lose it or it gets stolen it will be easier to replace. Also, while we took a train to Pisa some police/military personnel came aboard and asked for our passport or ID. Some on the train didn't have it and were told to make sure they carry some form of id with them at all times.