My family will fly to Italy tomorrow. The pickpocket stories in Rome makes me very concerned. Should we leave them at the hotel? Would a color copy of passport on us good enough? Would US driver license work, if being asked for a photo ID to rent any audio device?
Thanks!
I always wear my passport in my money belt, so it is with me. If I need to leave my ID for a rental, I leave my drivers license. I’ve seen places where they don’t secure the passports, and I easily could have picked one up from an unattended counter.
You are going to get all different types of answers.
In Italy, by law, you must carry ID with you at all times. The only official ID for a non-European tourist is a passport. Whether or not a police officer would accept a photocopy is up to the police officer.
I always carry my passport in my money belt. (Hidden Pocket type)
For rentals, any type of ID is usually accepted.
It will be interesting to see how folks respond to this. I have travelled for 60 years and constantly for about 40. I never left my PP anywhere. I have always carried it with one exception. When I was working at Hon Hai Apple factories, the expectation was that guest workers would leave their PP with factory security when you entered. On the days I was there I would leave the PP in the safe in my room and offer them my driver's license. It worked.
I never use my PP as ID....I use the DL.
I have always been careful about pick pocketers. Try to keep things that they might want in a pocket you can put your hand in or otherwise protect. Never put anything of great value in a backpack, purse, what have you. Limit what you carry.
Always have a copy of the PP on your phone, in your luggage, saved on the cloud somewhere that it is accessible if you lose it.
Rome is not any worse for pick pocketing than NYC.
There have been many threads about this, I recommend running a search.
https://search.ricksteves.com/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=passport+hotel&button=
You are supposed to have your passport on you. Personally I prefer to follow the law when I am a foreigner in a strange place
This is a constant question with no definitive answer. Personally, I always have my passport either in a money belt or in a very secure pocket of clothing. It is the only thing that proves I am legally in the country. In some countries you are required to carry an appropriate ID -- for me that is the passport. In our close to 50 years of travel we have had to show the passport unexpected three times. Don't know what would have happened if we didn't have it. It is the old test ---- better to have it and not need it rather than not have it and need it. Your choice.
PS Pickpockets are not as big a problem as often reported BUT do be careful and keep everything secured.
Thank you so much for your responses! Thanks to your advice, I've decided to keep the passport on me. I have a money belt and hope it would do the work.
As well as always carrying your PP on your person in a hidden moneybelt at all times, bring a copy of it with you too.
Leave a copy at home for someone there.
It may help if you lose the original and need to go to your country’s embassy to get a new one.
Put your PP in a thin ziploc bag inside your moneybelt…..stops it from getting sweaty.
Have a wonderful trip!
Thank you! putting them in a thin ziplock bag is a wonderful idea
I must confess that I'm always a little bit surprised to see this question again and again on here. For one thing you'll never get a definitive answer because it boils down to being a personal decision and the situation. Personally, for me it depends on 1) where I am, 2) where I'm going, 3) what I'm doing that day, and 4) What is legally required where I am at. In general I would probably have it on me somewhere (either a money belt, neck wallet, or secure cross/body bag) at least 75% of the time.
When I last renewed my passport, I also received a passport card. I now leave the passport in my hotel and carry the card. Don’t leave home without it!
I wear it around my neck so law enforcement and anyone else can clearly see that I am legally in the country.
The Italian law says the following (Art. 6 par. 3 of Uniform Immigration Code, promulgated by Law 286 of 25 July 1998)
The foreigner who, at the request of the officials and agents of public security, fails to comply, without justified reason, with the order to show the passport or other identification document and the residence permit or other document certifying the regular presence in the territory of the State is punished with imprisonment of up to one year and a fine of up to 2,000 euros.
So the police officer is required to check not just your identity but also if you have the entry stamp when you entered the Schengen area. That stamp is posed on one of the pages of your passport.
In practical terms, it is unlikely that an American tourist would be requested to exhibit a passport to a police officer, but it can happen, especially if you don't look "very American" (I will let you infer what that means) but could possibly be a person at a high risk of being an undocumented migrant or terrorist.
If you don't belong to the latter category, the possibility of getting into trouble for not having the real passport with you is low, but I wouldn't venture too far from the hotel without one (like going out of town on a day trip).
Pick pockets are not really interested in your passport. They just want your wallet and/or (especially) your electronic devices. So keep your passport separately from your wallet, purse, and (especially) your smartphone.
I keep my passport with me, in my moneybelt, while visiting Europe. I’m not a beach person, and very seldom am at a beach in swimwear. But I’m aware that lots of people are. What do they do with their passports when they’re going in the water? Seems that a Ziploc bag stuffed in the swimsuit’s not going to be ideal.
What do they do with their passports when they’re going in the water? Seems that a Ziploc bag stuffed in the swimsuit’s not going to be ideal.
Anyone planing on swimming, especially away from the hotel or town you're staying in, should invest in a waterproof case for your valuables (money, passport, keys,etc) to attach to your swimwear, or yourself, when swimming. They make those for just this purpose.
This happened in France, not Italy, but if someone was taking a day trip on that train without their passport, it would have been a problem:
We were riding a train in the countryside of France, and two officials in bullet-proof looking vests & gear walked through the train wanting to see passports. They looked at my husband’s passport but weren’t interested in looking at mine when I handed it to them.
If you are with a traveling partner and going to the beach, alternate going into the water. One stays on the beach with the valuables and the passports, while the other goes into the water swimming. If there are more than 2 people traveling together at the beach, all you need is one that stays on the beach and watches the stuff (valuables and documents) while the others go swimming in the water.
There is really no need to carry the passport inside the water while swimming or scuba diving. I know Italy's Carabinieri now have a Scuba Diving Division called Carabinieri Subacquei, however I don't believe their institutional mission is to check that tourists have passports with them while snorkeling at the Cinque Terre.
