Should I bring Passport with me or leave in Hotel Safe?

The hotel will ask to see your passport when you check in; they are required by law to do that. If they do not have time to take down the numbers, etc. right then they may ask to hold it for a while and you pick it up later. As for whether to carry it or leave it in the safe after they return it to you, you will get both opinions here. It is a matter of personal choice. I carry ours as I am afraid I will forget it if I leave it in the safe. (A friend of mine did that once and it was a major headache!) If you choose not to carry it, make sure you have some kind of alternate ID with you (driver's license is good). some places now ask for ID when you use a credit card, at least in spain they did. I don't know about the SIM card/passport requirement.

For Italy - unless something has changed recently, they (internet cafes, cellphone providers, etc.) require passport info from you (as a foreigner) for security reasons. IF they'll accept a DL...I don't know. IF they'll ask nothing of you...yes, perhaps. It's Italy. For whether or not to carry it... please search using the search feature - go back to either the "To The Boot" page, or the "Travelers Helpline" page, and look for "Search the Helpline Archives" or "FAQs: Answers to ..." You'll find more opinions than you EVER wanted to know...

I always have my passport in my neck pouch whenever I travel. make a copy of it and place it somewhere safe in your luggage or hotel safe.

In 13+ years of living overseas, I've never carried my passport... unless I'm headed to the airport or driving a rental car. I've never been asked to show it on the streets. At an internet cafe, which we use often throughout Italy, I bring my US DL and just shrug if anyone asks for a passport. I also use my DL when "borrowing" audioguides. I NEVER give up my passport unless it's at a hotel, and often I'll wait while they "copy" it. That said, there are some spots you need a passport. To get a SIM card in Italy, you'll need a passport. To exchange money at many Italian banks, you'll need your passport. You are required to have ID on your person and thus I always carry a copy of the photo page of my passport in my bag, along with my IDP and DL as I'm always on a motorino in Rome. The other factor may be, "Where would you store your passport as you travel?" We fortunately have an apt, but if your hotel does not have the facilities for storage (safe in the room or at the hotel desk), you probably SHOULD carry it in a secured device, like a money belt or neck pouch. I would not leave it unsecured in my room. You should make copies of - or email scanned images to yourself - of your passport, birth certificate, SS card, DL, all credit cards (front and back) ... in case you lose any of these. It makes it MUCH easier if you need replacements. Some people put it on a USB stick drive but I'm always worried I'll lose THAT - and someone would have ALL my information! So I send myself an email and then when I return, I delete the email. Personally, first I'd use a room or hotel safe, and if that's not available, carry it in a secured - strapped to me, inaccessible, never coming off of me - device!

Thanks a lot Ron. We'll take your advice- keep original passport in the safe if available at the hotel and bring photocopies with us as well as DL. We'll scan our documents too. Thanks again.

I agree with JS. Take your passport with you. Leave copies in suitcase and with family at home. We were asked to show our passports in Italy on April 1. We were stuck in the train station (due to a one day strike) and the police came into the station and asked for everyones documents. I was glad I had it in my neck pouch and not a photocopy.

I carry mine with me. It's your valid ID AND proves you are in the country legally. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Admittedly, most of the people on this site aren't going to arouse suspicion of European police and will rarely, if ever, be asked for their passport (except as Ron ably describes).