chrysalis

Hi,

I'm going to Europe next week! Wondering if any females have any experience in using money belts or neck wallets to store their passports/cash etc. I always thought a neck pouch will be more comfortable but I'm going in the summer and will be wearing tee shirts - will they be conspicuous at the neck area or too obvious at my waist area?

Any ideas are appreciated!

adrienne

I leave my passport in the hotel or apartment and only carry a small amount of cash for the day. If you put all your cash in your money belt then you're constantly digging underneath your clothes for every small purchase.

I use a cross body purse and put everything into it.

bilboburgler

What do you do at home? There are places I would think of wearing this sort of thing but not in the countries you mention.

When I go to any city I don't have a lot of cash, I don't take valuables and if I have them I don't stick them in easy to get pockets.

jamikins

Neither, I have an over the body bag that zips up with lots of compartments that wear. I put the passports in an inside pocket, (or just leave in the hotel or apartment) hubby carries most cash, I'll keep a small amount, and we use credit cards alot. When I am in crowded places I just ensure the bag is in front of me and hold it with my hand.

I think being aware of your surroundings is the most important thing.

constant

There's a good discussion of this topic vis-a-vis Italy here: http://www.bella-toscana.com/pickpocketsinitaly.htm

hetismij2

I too use a cross body bag.

If you are worried about it being slashed or the strap cut then consider getting a Pacsafe bag. Looks like a normal bag, but is slashproof, has wire through the strap, and locking zips.

cathies

I have a cross body bag and my husband has a small backpack. However, the backpack just has water, reading glasses, and guide books, nothing that can't be replaced.

I wear capris with several pockets and will put a small amount of cash in one pocket, a credit card in another etc. we are in the group that mostly leaves passports in the hotel room and carry a photocopy of them with us.

kerouac

Awareness of your surroundings is generally sufficient protection. After all, you will be surrounded by 10 million Parisians who are not wearing money belts or neck wallets and somehow we manage to survive. And I carry a camera just like a tourist every day.

isabel

chrysalis - you asked which of the types of money belts is preferable, not IF you should have one. That was a smart question. I strongly urge you to ignore all the people who are so sure they don't need one.

I prefer the waist type, and usually wear it with the pouch in the small of the back - this way it doesn't show. After the first day I don't even notice I have it on, even in hot weather. Unless you wear midriff exposing tops it doesn't show, even under fairly tight tee shirts and tank tops.

There are pickpockets in every country on the globe. To say some 'countries' are safe is just stupid. The cross body bags with the wires in the straps are not a bad idea but they are not as safe as an under the clothes money belt. And if you do use a money belt then you are not confined to a certain type of bag. Hotel room safes get broken into all the time. Do a search for some interesting reading. People are always forgetting their passports in them when they check out as well.

Use the money belt for the passport, credit cards and ATM cards and extra cash. I carry one credit card and a small amount of cash in my pocket or bag, the rest goes in the money belt which I only access in private (hotel room, or a toilet stall or someplace like that - not standing at a cashier or anywhere public). I always travel with at least two credit cards and two ATM cards. Even if you tell your bank/credit card company that you will be traveling they can still put holds on your accounts, and ATM machines do sometimes 'eat' cards, etc. Taking out a few hundred euro at a time saves on fees so the money I don't need that day goes in the money belt.

To all the people who say they don't use a money belt and 'never had a problem'. Has your house ever burned down? Do you have house insurance? You don't get house insurance after your house burns down. You don't start using a money belt after you get pick-pocketed. You do it before.

Only you know if you want to risk spending precious vacation time getting passports, credit cards, etc being replaced and if you can afford to loose money - because what - you are too cool to wear a money belt? That's fine if that's what you want, but don't tell others to do the same.

jamikins

Has nothing to do with being too cool. I live in London and carry a purse every day and many days bring my camera. Travel the tube and buses all the time. I have had my wallet stolen out of my purse once - at a pub in Vancouver, Canada.

I dont let my purse out of my sight at home or on vacation, I keep it around me or on my lap when sitting down. I take regular precautions so I am not vulnerable (like stepping to the side to discretely look at a map and not bringing out my iphone in crowded areas etc).

I just dont see the need and have yet (knock on wood) to have any sort of issue. I started out wearing a money belt but hated it and so just treat all cities like I do London. I even felt safe (very safe actually) in Naples where I expected roving gangs of pickpockets to chase me all over (they never did).

Its a personal preference and no way is better than another way. If it makes you feel more secure - by all means wear whatever is the most comfy!

But it is certainly not because I am a fly by night person that doesnt believe in house or car or life insurance or that I think I am cooler than anyone else. Thats just silly.

isabel

That's an excellent website posted by constant above. If you think you don't need to 'bother' with a moneybelt spend a few minutes on that site.

keroauc - you LIVE in Paris - that's the difference. I spent the weekend in NYC and did not have a money belt. But I don't need a passport in NYC and if I had been pickpocked my bank is right there, in the same time zone and much easier to get replacements. Using a money belt when you are on vacation on another continent (or even country) is not the same thing as when you are at home.

jamikins

I live in London and I just cant imagine going on vacation to Vancouver or New York and feeling like I need to use a money belt. But like I said, its a personal preference and if someone wants to then great!

texasbookworm

Most of the above covers valid points for several sides of the discussion.

I opt for a neck pouch whenever traveling overseas. In it go passport, all "plastic" (usually 2 CC's and 2 debit cards--If traveling with DH he has same), and most of the cash. In my travel pants with lots of zippers and/or small backpack go day's worth or so of cash and travel tickets, etc.

I cannot use a one-shoulder/cross-body bag due to neck health issues, so the above configuration works for me.

I find a neck pouch easier for me to access than a waist pack(although yes do it in private as much as possible, or with someone "watching my back" if not).

A neck pouch is somewhat visible/obvious--the strap itself usually is visible, and unless your clothes are quite loose, it will probably show. I have sometimes minimized this by something silly--I have pinned the strap to my underwear in front and then had the pouch hanging down my back. This actually feels even better and looks better than when it's hanging on the front, but it does make accessing it a teeny awkward!

One of the main reasons I choose to use a neck pouch (which would be same reason for using a waist pack) when traveling overseas is that I'M TRAVELING OVERSEAS-I'm in an unfamiliar environment, probably either jet lagged or distracted, busy looking and listening and taking pictures. I'm moving from place to place and not in the city with my bank or at my home to receive new cards in the mail. I'm a pretty hyper-vigilant, very aware of surroundings person, but having the stuff I wouldn't want to have to mess with getting replaced in a more-secure-than-usual place gives me some peace of mind. Nothing is certain or thief proof or loss proof. But the neck pouch thing works for me and my DH.

SaffyRose

I carry a daily amount of cash in an across the chest handbag and my husband carries an equal amount in his normal wallet in a front pocket. We leave passports in our hotel safes. Our local maps, water bottles and extra camera batteries are in a small backpack that my husband carries. We are aware of our surroundings. This is the system we have used in Europe, Britain, Turkey, China and Hong Kong. Maybe we are just lucky but we have never had any problems overseas. The one time my husband used a neck pouch he only used it for one day then just went back to his normal wallet.

laurie_ann

I wear a waist pouch but it is very thin silk fabric. I wear it with the waistband low so the entire thing is below the top of my slacks or skirt, sometimes in the front, sometimes in the back, depending on what my outfit is. If I need to get into it while I am out I step into the ladies room somewhere.

Mimar

I want to re-iterate what texasbookworm said. When you're traveling, you're in a strange country, where you probably don't speak the language, where you don't know your way around, and can't understand all the signs. Plus you may be jet-lagged and sleepy. It's just better to be safer. And have more peace of mind.

I use an around-the-waist money belt; it's silk, which is cooler.

I would add that I don't think hotel rooms or hotel room safes are necessarily safe places for your valuables. Too many people have keys. Use the hotel safe at the front desk if necessary.

amer_can

Same as laurie_ann. Also, I never feel right without my passport. Have needed it often in Spain in order to use cc at stores..(Zara, H&M, El Ingles,etc.) Also needed to purchase Senior discount cards for trains. Always glad I had it if needed and knew where it was all the time..

thursdaysd

I do exactly what isabel does. I travel for months at a time, and when I get home I feel undressed without my money belt.

Some points:

What makes sense when you live somewhere is different from what makes sense when you are traveling.

Wear the waist belt with the pouch at the back, and get one with just one compartment.

The money belt is NOT for cash or a card you are going to use that day, so ease of access is NOT relevant.

I was hit with the black water (actually yellow goo) scam in the Buenos Aires metro last year: I was wearing a money belt, I kept tight hold of my day bag (which I was carrying in front of me) and the thieves got nothing. A few years back I was pickpocketed in Rome, but the thief only got one day's supply of cash and an expiring bus pass.

A waist belt is much more secure than a neck pouch. I ran into a woman in BsAs who had had her neck pouch and shoulder bag stolen. She thought that the thief had cut the straps.

Michael

I've been using an Eagle Creek pouch for years looped into my belt and have never lost anything. It is just large enough to squeeze in the passport and IDP. It includes my wallet, my small address book, a folding knife with a 4" blade. It is 6"X6"X2.25". If anyone wanted anything valuable from it, they would have to lift the flap and unzip the pocket containing the wallet; otherwise they would have to cut my 1.25" wide leather belt to get the entire pouch. It has been the my everyday pouch at home and abroad for years--I'm on my third pouch. My pockets contain only my keys and loose change.

StCirq

Peace of mind for me means not changing my regular habits and then being unsure of how to deal with some newfangled thing I'm not used to using. It doesn't matter where in the world I am. I cannot stand money belts, sock inserts, waist packs, neck pouches, whatever...I have a relatively small cross-body bag with lots of zippered compartments, I know exactly what is in each compartment, I can deal with it totally blind if need be, and it's what I am completely used to using, so my attention can be on where I'm going and what I'm seeing, not on whether my valuables are at risk.