Passports

Carry it with me....

Do we have to do this again, and again -- carry it. You never know when you might need it. It is the only thing that proves your are legally in the country.

Leave in Hotel safe, cruise safe & carry a copy; no safe take it with me.
Som

Mark and Kristy,

I always carry my Passport with me, either in the Money Belt or other location. Losing the Passport and having to replace it during a trip would be a HUGE inconvenience, so I'm not willing to take ANY chances.

If you decide to carry your Passport in a Money Belt, be sure to place it inside a zip-lok bag or it will become somewhat "damp" from perspiration.

Cheers!

Hotel Safe. In countless overseas trips, I've never been asked for my passport outside of hotel reception, or an immigration checkpoint at the airport. I'm sure the safes get broken into from time to time, but IMO they're reasonable secure. Nothing is 100% full-proof, there have even been scattered reports of travelers being tackled, pants forcibly pulled down, and money belt stolen. I'm not dissing money belts, they're important to use when in transit, but nothing is 100% secure.

Ken, thanks for the baggie tip on keeping the passports "dry." :-)

It depends on where we are. In the cities, yes, we carry them with us.

But in our small village we do not.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS carry it with me in my money belt.

Ken

Great suggestion about the plastic bag.

Always with me in my money belt. The small snack bags work great for the money belt "liner". If you buy one from RS, his comes with a plastic liner.

Interesting that some carry photo copies. That is absolutely useful if you need to replace a lost passport, but I can't imagine it would ever be accepted for id or proof of valid entry.

I also carry my passport on me at all times (in my money belt & also in a plastic bag). We got some plastic bags at a craft store that fit the passport perfectly. We left photocopies at home with a relative & e-mailed copies of our passports to our Itouch's just in case something happened. Better to be safe than sorry.

I only trust one person with my passport and that is me, in my money belt. Along with my ATM card, CC, money, tickets, etc. I will not catch on fire as a hotel can nor will I not be available whenever I want one of those items as can happen at a hotel desk. As I think Ken said, "better safe than sorry.."

Always carry it with me in my money belt, along with everything but my day's spending money, my ATM and credit card. Put paper items in a baggie to keep them dry; you can find smaller sized ones that are perfect for bills or a passport.

BTW you are required by law in most if not European countries to produce ID on demand, no reason needed by the police. So if you don't carry your passport you'll need to be carrying your Drivers License. Of course make sure its the police asking, not some kind of scam...

I keep it with me in my money belt. The ONLY time I have left it in a hotel safe is when we went to the beach - wearing a money belt with a swim suit just didn't seem right (smile). I felt it would be safer in the room than on the beach with me, especially since we were swimming.

In the money belt at all times.

I cant imagine a safer place then in my moneybelt.I cant forget it there and its always with me if I need it.A copy of mine is in my wifes moneybelt and vice versa.

In effect, it's your visa - proving you have the legal right to be there. The only time I don't have mine on me, is when the hotel has taken it to register it, etc.

always in my money belt...

Always on me in my money belt. It never leaves me except at the hotel desk to register as someone mentioned.

Like the recent posters, always in the money belt. I feel more comfortable having it with me, and as I've mentioned in previous threads, assuming the absolute worst happens, I can run straight for the American Embassy without having to go back to the hotel.

I do keep the photocopy safe at the hotel, so if I were to somehow lose the original, I have something available to replace it with. I'd be far more concerned with accidentally leaving the passport behind in the hotel safe than losing it from my money belt, though.

No exceptions…always with me at all times in the moneybelt. Anytime a hotel has ever asked for it, they did their paperwork while I was standing there and handed it right back. I’ve never been asked to leave it with the clerk for a period of time, but I wouldn’t have an issue with it if that’s what was required. Your passport is your ID…keep it with you. For me, copies are in the messenger bag.

with me at all times. If you run into trouble, you'll be glad it's on you and not someplace else.

Hotel safe, Its fine there. I am not worried about it in the least( in many, many trips) . I have never forgotten anything in my safe,, but I suppose if one was a forgetful person then there is the risk of forgetting it there.

I do wear it in my moneybelt when actually travelling.

My passport and credit/ATM cards are on my body (money belt) at all times except for showers.

Not the authorities per se, but you have to show your passport to use an internet cafe in Italy.

I suppose if one wanted to go to an internet cafe they could just bring their PP for that day.. I hope a person wouldn;t be visiting one of those places everyday.. yikes.

I think there is alot more to this then meets the eye.. I beleive some people are just alot more nervous about losing their PP,, I mean ,, REALLY nervous, like they will lose their citizenship or something...some of the posts seem very emphatic,, like they would rather die then lose their PP..

My only fear would be losing it in the last few days of my visit, since it takes a few days to get an emergency replacement,, so that would delay leaving and likely mean having to change an airline ticket( which for me would only be a 100 dollar date change fee, but could be worse for others). Other then that, I kind of think it would be funny to phone home and tell them I have to stay another week,, boo hoo,, yipppee for me.!

Having gone through the hassle of having a passport stolen, interrupting my trip to travel to the nearest embassy, spending hours filling in paperwork and days waiting for a replacement, and spending more $$$ than I wanted to on extra hotels, etc.....I now keep my passport firmly on my person at all times.

If my hotel has a safe in my room, that's where my passport will be. I unlock the safe the night before I'm scheduled to depart. I carry a color copy of my passport information page. I've been all over Europe for the last several years and have never been asked for a passport except at hotels, some borders, and a car rental facility.

I carry mine with me unless I'm planning on going in the water.

We always carry our passports with us.

Norm, how did your passport get stolen?

I absolutely always have my passport in my Rick Steves money belt protected in the plastic liner.

Yes Norm,, can you please let us know how yours got stolen. Yours is the first direct story I have heard about one being stolen,( its seems I always hear about someone who knew someone who read somewhere etc) so I am sure it will be a good warning to others.

Either is fine. As long as it is in a secure place, then you are good. I prefer to keep mine on my person; for me a safe is a hassle and sometimes costs money. And I have it as identification.

PS - no police officer is going to come up to you on the street and demand your passport. But what if you are in an accident? Or get sick and must be hospitalized? Or get fined on the Metro?

Carry it with me, have a color photocopy locked away.

I carry it with me, with a few exceptions here and there..