PacSafe bag and/or money belt?

I use my PacSafe Stash Safe 200 (fanny pack) for my video camera, digital camera and other things. On travel days the passport, airline tickets and Rail Pass are in a passport holder around my neck as I have to show the passport along with my Eurail Pass to the conductor. My big money, credit cards, ATM Card are in a neck money belt around neck. We use blouses with collars so as not to show the strap.

On non-travel days, the passport holder goes into my Stash Safe (fanny pack).

We have travel blouses with either velcro or sipper pockets that hold our day money which is usually 50 euros each.

The neck money belt (Rick Steves') is comfortable for us. The passport holder is not as comfortable.

If you wear pants, you might want to consider the "hidden pocket" type. It attaches to your belt by a loop and hangs down inside your pants. If you don't wear a belt you can pin it with a large safety pin. If you find anything hanging around your neck or waist to be irritating, this may be a good solution for you.

Also, I don't know if you already have a PacSafe bag, but if you are investigating them while deciding what to buy do consider the weight. I have one, and even when packed with only the minimal items I need, is quite heavy. My husband usually ends up carrying it.

Christine - I use the PacSafe CitySafe 100 as my day bag and Rick's moneybelt. I don't use the PacSafe bag so much for the safety features as I do for the organizational features. It's also much lighter than other bags of the same size. I usually put a credit card and ATM card in my day bag along with my camera and coin purse (both attached by a clip - otherwise I'll put them down somewhere...). I also usually stash some other miscellaneous items as well as sections of guidebooks and a small water bottle in my day bag.

In my moneybelt is my passport and another ATM card and credit card along with larger amounts of cash. I've tried other money belts, but I find Rick's to be the least bulky. I'm not really a fan of wearing the moneybelt, but I do anyway because I don't want to have to worry about my passport.

I've tried the neck pouch, but no matter what kind of shirt I wear, it seems to be visible. Also, I don't find it very comfortable around my neck.

Anyway, there are so many choices for moneybelts. If you can, just go to a travel/luggage store to try them out before your trip.

Which ever you decide to use, make sure you use it. This past August a Peruvian indian lady lady tried to pick my pocket on Linea B in Stazione Termini in Roma. Fortunately, I caught her and beat her with my water bottle. That day I decided not to use my money pouch. I was dumb and lucky. I am a very experienced traveler in Italy and I know better. I posted my experience here and on Frommer's Forum.

The type of pouch/money belt I use is a zippered, two compartment cloth item approx. 4" x 10" x 1/4" with an elastic strap. I can wear it under my pants or shirt. I usually wear it under my shirt with the thing under my arm. Then, I only carry one day's currency in my pocket. I bought it at an airport luggage shop.

Buon viaggio,

RB

Thanks so much for the helpful replies. I am still in the early planning stages and find the info here very useful.

RB, I wish I had been there to witness that.. I can only imagine..

RB-was the water bottle full? Do you prefer plastic or stainless steel?

I have a Metro Safe 200 bag which I have used in Italy. It is the perfect size and will hold just about anything you will need for a day's trekking, including a water bottle and a compact umbrella. I also have one of their retractable cable locks that I use to lash our luggage to the luggage rack on the train. The only issue that I had with the Metro Safe 200 was that the steel cable in the strap ate through the edge binding, exposing the cable. PacSafe did however replace the bag for me. I still wouldn't use any bag such as this to store your money or passport. These things should still probably go under your clothes. I use a Rick Steves neck pouch for that purpose. It is very low profile and well hidden under my shirt. You will probably find an "under the waistband" money belt uncomfortable and difficult to access. As an alternative, I have worn cargo pants with zippered pockets on the legs to do this duty.

Pat and Karen,

The water bottle was a full 1/2 liter plastic bottle and it was the only thing in my right hand at the time. Later I wished it would have been a brick. The Peruvian lady looked really surprised. The only thing she got from me were bruises. The next day coming back on Linea A from the Vatican we saw here at the Repubblica platform scoping the crowd. I started yelling and pointing to her calling her a thief in English and Italian. When she saw me she did her best to hide from me. This was my 12th trip to Italy and the first time I've had a problem. Luckily, it is now just a funny story.

RB

I just returned from a 12-day trip to Italy. I used only my PacSafe purse and didn't need anything else. With the added security and a little money pouch inside I had peace of mind.