Passports... Where to keep them??

You'll get half the people saying they keep their passports with them and the other half keep them in the hotel safe.

You can bring a driver's license as ID or a copy of your passport with you during the day.

You will find a lot of disagreement about that question on this board. My prediction: about half will say keep them on your person at all times (some will recommend an under-the-shirt passport holder); the other half will say keep them safe at the hotel (some will say in a safe).

It is always a good idea to take along a photocopy of the main page just in case it goes missing, so you can get your replacement from the embassy more quickly.

Wow adrienne we must have the same psychic!

The advice here on Fodors is usually split ~50:50 - keep on you at all cost, or leave in hotel.

There are those that will try to convince you that you're a fool if you leave it in your hotel, as it's likely to get stolen. And what if there's a major crisis and you need to leave the country in 15min, so it's far better to carry it on your person at all times in a steel belted money belt tucked under your clothes.

Then there are those that will try to convince you you're an idiot for carrying it around with you all day - the risk of losing it from your person is far greater than from your hotel room. They'll tell you to stop being so paranoid, and to relax and enjoy life.

There is no right answer - just the same old argument on both sides.

3 for 3

Unlike our continental friends there is requirement in the UK to carry ID.

Many of us don’t. The only times that I can see it being required is in changing large amounts of money (because of our money laundry laws all transactions over £500 should be recorded).

As to where to put them? Yankee passports have a substantial black market value, so thieves will want to nick them. So keep them in the safest place – they’re not called “safes” for nothing you know!

Having been searched out in the Oxford Road Marks and Spenser by the extremely polite London police and queried about my picture-taking at the US Embassy, I was more than glad to have my passport with me (in a little bag thing I wear around my neck under my top). I think the "successful stop" souvenir paperwork was the result of, or at least expedited by, having the passport on my person. My husband also carries his with him overseas. We leave a photo copy in our luggage and in our email accounts for digital retrieval.

If our hotel has a safe, we keep it there. If it doesn't, I carry ours in an under-shirt pouch. We also travel with a couple photocopies as mentioned.

I never stay in the posh hotels with safes so I lock mine in my suitcase.

capxxx - I guess we've both read all the previous posts with this question.

Now we can have another "disagreement" as to whether or not only "posh" hotels have safes LOL

I keep my passport with me - usually in a "money-belt" that is worn on my waist, wallet part on the back. In this I also keep a spare credit card or two, excess cash (you don't want to go into your money-belt every time you need cash). I do this because:
• I always know where it is.
• I usually don't stay at places with a safe.
• If I did make use of the hotel's safe, I would likely forget the passport and have to waist time backtracking to pick it up.

Correction to the last bullet point: I would "waste" time as my passport wasn't around my "waist."

We are British and usually carry our passports with us. We have not yet been pickpocketed, nor had anything stolen from our hotel room. We have occasionally needed them, perhaps as a backup ID when using a credit card, and it's good to have them handy when booking into hotels.

The majority of British people have passports, so they have become the standard form of ID when doing things like opening a bank account, or carrying out some high value transaction. We don't think twice about letting someone make a copy for their records.

I don't think an out-of-country driving licence would be as acceptable a form of ID as a passport.

A passport is the only thing that proves who you are and that you are legally in the country.

A passport is the only thing that proves who you are and that you are legally in the country.>>>>

Not for us pesky yurpeens. We don't need them in other bits of yurp.

Keep in my pocket, inside leather holder. If I have paper airline tickets, also put in there. Never used a hotel safge

I've not used money belts in a long time. Maybe I've been lucky. If I have a zippered jacket or pant pocket, put stuff in there. Camera also goes into pocket.

I try to minimize obvious targets for a pickpocket, never travel with back pack or waist pouch (f. pack). If I were in the business of stealing, I would assume the good stuff is in there.

I've never been asked for my passport in my daily wanderings around London and Pairs. Customs and hotel.. sure.

I always leave it in hotels in my luggage....I just don't want to loose it somewhere. But it probably depends where you go, sometimes if hotel does not look so safe just keep it with you or if streets look dodgy and too crowded maybe better to leave it at the hotel.

I would like to know - has anyone posting here ever had their passport stolen from their hotel room? - posh or not? I have been pickpocketed so you can guess which camp I am in. It feels a whole lot safer to have it in the hotel room, usually inside my luggage, than being toted around. I do usually carry my driver's license for ID purposes (in case of accident, I suppose).

And beware of room safes. If you want to leave valuables in a safe, use the hotel safe. Room safes are vulnerable to employees, whether ex- or just opportunistic.

As a Britisher, whenever I travel in Europe I normally leave my passport at the hotel or wherever I'm staying, usually on the bedside table under a pile of coins that I always seem to bring with me in my wallet from the U.K. and my house keys. I've never put it in a safe and (perhaps luckily) have never had it pinched, lost or waylaid.

However, when I'm in the States I always have it in my trouser pocket, next to my wallet, as I apparently still look young enough to get ID'd if I fancy a drink. I've (thankfully) never lost it in the States either or had need of it urgently, other than for the purchase of an emergency mint julep.

Well we have a third option. I just carry them in my purse. (I like having them with us - so if anything happens you know at once - not find out 3 days after they disapper from a room safe.) And I don;t believe in money belts or neck tags or whatever people wear. I use a purse - just like at home - and have never had a problem in more than 70 trips to Europe.

Room safe or just hotel room. Copy in my purse. I have never needed a passport while staying in Europe other than to get on a plane.

What I do with my passport depends on how long I'm staying in one place.

Moving around a lot, just staying one or two nights: it stays in an inside zipper pocket of my messenger bag daypack.

Staying on one place for a while: I put it in my suitcase.

I've never put things in the hotel or room safe simply because I know I'd forget it. I do also tend to think that sometimes people are just paranoid about a hotel maid stealing their passport. Could an employee get into the room safes? Yes. Do they? Probably. Do I really think that one will and will take my passport? No.

An old airline crew trick for leaving things in your hotel safe is to put one of the shoes you plan on wearing in the safe with your valuables-you will remember everything the next morning when leaving,trust me!

As for carrying passports-sometimes in London and Paris they want to see your passport so that you can get the VAT papers done and money back at the department store ie Printemps,Harrods,etc.

Make copies of your passport and the front and back of your credit cards and keep them in the hotel safe. Hubby and I always keep our passports on us....feels safer to me.

I've never been pickpocketed from underneath my clothing.
I have been pickpocketed from my purse.
I have had small amounts of US cash stolen from backpack left in my hotel room.
So, I guess you can figure out which 'camp' I am in.

From the time I leave the USA to my return, I carry with me in my front pants pocket.

Mine is in my 'moneybelt' when I travel UNLESS the hotel has a good safe in the room.

For example, my next trip includes a stay at a Marriott in Paris. Having stayed at this hotel several times and having used the safe, that's where the passport will go while I am there (unless I decide to shop then it goes in the money belt, there's a Longchamp purse I want that would get me the VAT deduction so... )

Well, when I had a pedestrian accident in Rome, they needed my passport at the hospital. We had not carried them anywhere in Europe, but had left them in our hotel rooms. Fortunately, this was the day we were leaving Rome and had already checked out (leaving our bags at the hotel for later pickup), and so had the passport on me.

I suspect a copy would have been fine, though. So next trip, same gig. They stay in the hotel room in the luggage and a copy goes with us when we leave the hotel.

Have a wonderful trip!

Well as far as the UK goes, there is no requirement to carry passport or ID on you.

So it's entirely down to whether you fall into the 'if I leave it in the safe it might get stolen' camp or the 'if I carry it around it might get stolen/lost' camp.

Your only valid ID when you are overseas is your passport. Do you normally carry your drivers license with you (even when you don't plan to drive)? If so, why?

I rarely "need" my passport. I haven't been in a traffic accident or had any run ins with local police that prompted them to ask me for identification (true at home with drivers license too). I carry my passport because it's a lot better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

I normally carry mine with me on holiday. I'm glad I do, because in Switzerland travelling with a Swiss Pass I was asked for my passport my the train conductor. Only the once in nearly 40 years of going there. I like others perfer this I always know where it is.

We carry ours on our person all the time we are out of the hotel. I have needed it when making a large purchase with a credit card at the perfume shop at the Louve. Same at Harrods. I have a jacket with a hidden pocket that it fits in nicely. Wife has hers under wraps. I also have copy in my luggage and on my web site. My plane tickets are with my passport. Take them with us also.

I carry mine in my money belt under my shirt/top/blouse. It sometimes gets a little damp, but I always know where it is. I once left extra credit/debit cards in the hotel safe and naturally forgot them and was a hundred miles away before I remembered that I'd left them at the hotel.

I was told in the passport office that passports are sometimes stolen, so I feel safer with mine in my moneybelt.

In Barcelona, my sister's purse was stolen by a very clever thief. Fortunately she had given me her debit card and her passport to put in my moneybelt, so all she lost was the camera that was in the purse. Of course, the camera cost $700 to replace, so she didn't get home free.

At some time in our trip to Central Europe, my wallet disappeared. It may have been stolen, or I may just have lost it. I don't think I'd kept any money in it, but it did contain my driver's license, so I had to give up the idea of renting a car.

If in the winter, I usually wear a coat that has a combination zipper plus velcro closure. Just the right size for the passport and/or wallet. Velcro makes lots of noise, zippers always get stuck, so I have a hard time getting to it myself.

In the summer, I carry it in my front jeans pocket with my wallet and rotate them sideways. Once again, I have a tough time extracting either.

Oh, and I do the same if walking around NY or any other major place. I only do this because I'm sure I'll end up forgetting it when I check out.

dave

I just leave it in my room whether I'm staying in an apartment or a hotel. I've never used a hotel safe, not because I think employees steal from them but because I'm very much "out of sight out of mind" and I'm worried I would forget about anything I put into a safe. No one's asked me for ID so far, but maybe I should carry my passport in my purse next time I'm in Paris.

Other than checking in at a hotel or airport, I bet when asked for a passport in a shop, etc. what is really meant is 'please show an id' and not literally a passport. So leave it in your room or in a safe or in a money belt around your waist or neck, wherever you like, but do carry some form of identification.

This is a very interesting topic, & one my partner & I have just discussed.
We have Pacsafe bumbags http://www.pacsafe.com/www/index.php
but they tend to be a bit cumbersome, so we only wear them for airports & in places where pickpockets may be a problem.
Other than that passports sit with everything else in a money belt around our waist, but at the back out of the way.
I dont trust in room safes, have you ever forgotten the code?
The staff have no problem opening it for you.
We do carry backpacks with a numbered lock, and just flick over the top number for easy access.

I have a microfiber money belt that goes around my waist under my clothing. I keep my passport there, along with a photocopy in my luggage, and a back up scan that I can access from a computer--never thought to do that until my husband had a colleague who lost everything on a trip. Debit and credit cards go in the money belt, but I try to have enough cash in my pockets or purse to get me through a day. If I need my credit card it's a little bit of a hassle, but at least it's in a safe place. If my purse is stolen, the thief gets a little cash, a comb, lipstick, and band-aids I wear my camera around my neck (yes...I look like an American tourist)

Always carry it in a money belt around my waist under my clothing. Have an additional copy left in room in locked
luggage and a another copy with me that I can easily reach
without going into money belt. I would be very uncomfortable
leaving my passport anywhere. However, we are often required to leave it for a small amount of time at check-in in some hotels.

dutyfree have made good point to leave one of your shoes in safe too...hopefully you will not change your mind next day to wear something else due to change in weather or anything else

You might not have a choice: I have stayed at pensions that required me to leave my passport at the front desk.

A story about someone keeping a passport on her at all times (I find it funny, main character does not): a former exchange student came back to visit a few years later, and spent a couple days at my college with me. When we went canoeing with a group, her canoe got tipped. I was glad to see her included in the fun...until she came up steaming angry about what could've happened to her passport. She kept it on her at ALL times, even on a canoe trip.

My preference is usually to try to find a good place to leave it at the hotel. I don't usually look like a tourist (inviting pickpockets) but I can be forgetful.

oh, and as for ID--take a good photocopy of your passport if you're not carrying the original document. Driver's licenses are issued by individual states and thus not accepted as ID in countries where residents are expected to register with the police and citizens are issued national identity cards (i.e. most of Europe)

Note: if you're carrying a photocopy of your passport, it might be advisable to get it laminated so your copy won't be damaged.
I also leave my original in the hotel safe - room safe or front desk safe - after check-in. I carry a laminated copy with me - I have large pockets. I also keep a digital copy stored online in an easily accessible email account.

I was mugged in Paris and my passport and wallet were taken. I was mugged at the Pont Neuf bridge by 2 young Asian girls acting like lost Asian students needing help (joke was on me!). At the consulate office, to get a temporary passport, there were tons of people that had been mugged. I would strongly suggest that you do not bring your passport with you and only carry a photocopy as these thiefs are pro's - you can't even feel their little hands rifling through your purse. Would I go back to Paris - yes - in a New York minute! Just don't let your guard down.

I carried mine with me at all times when i went to Paris last summer. I kept mine inside my purse in a zippered compartment and always kept my purse close to me.

I keep money, passport, and credit cards in a two zippered
"safe" that goes around the waist with an elastic band. Since I hate to look pudgy in the front I wear it at the small of my back.

Ever since I was told that American passports bring big money in Europe, I never leave it in a hotel room or hotel safe -

nor do I leave it at the hotel desk overnight. Had an argument with a young man at the desk about it - told him no American is separated from their passport. I refused to leave my passport and told him he could take a photocopy - he gave me an argument...I see no reason to leave a passport with an unknown desk person - and there's no reason why the photocopy wouldn't be just as good. I won the argument.

Actually dont carry anything of value in my purse, which I always carry under my armpit with my elbow pressed against (large purse) when in Europe.

Incidents of pickpocketing are a common everyday, many times a day occurrence in many countries in Europe..whereas in the states it is more of a rarity.

This is a very interesting conversation. Thanks. I wonder if I could add a question -- our children are young teens. I think they should carry ID in case they get lost. Should they carry a passport? Is there some sort of universal ID we should create for them? We are coming from the U.S., visiting London & Paris.

I rarely carry my passport around -- usually keep it locked up in the hotel (not the safe, but locked up in my room). I do carry my driver's license with me.

rbtraveler18 -- My son, since he was little, always had id on him when we were traveling, but more importantly, I always included a card with information regarding the hotel we were staying in, in case he got lost. This works well with teens (and even adults) who get lost -- at least they have a card with the name, address & phone no. of a hotel so someone could help them find their way back. California provides CA I.D.s to under 18's. Presumably id cards are also available to minors in other states.

rbtraveler, I wouldn't have your kids carry their passports, but you could very easily create an ID for them if you wanted. Get a passport'ish size photo (a school photo or simply print a photo) and attach it to a business card size piece of paper with their name, any critical medical information, your name and contact info. Go to Walmart and get a pouch to laminate the card and photo. You don't need a laminator or anything special, it's just a simply peel apart pouch in the office aisle. Have them carry their ID card and the hotel business card. If you're not staying in a hotel, simply write out your own business cards for the apartment or B&B you're staying at.

Your kids are young teens, they should be fine with a basic ID (school ID, non-driver ID from the your state, or a homemade one) and a card with the lodging address on it. Simply set up a plan that if something happens and someone gets lost they are to go to a designated spot each day (front gate at the Tower of London for example while you're there, ground floor cashier at any large stores) or if they really get lost out and about they can take a MARKED taxi and meet back to the apartment.

Don't worry too much about your young teens getting lost. If they don't wander off at home they won't do it on vacation. If you're truly worried, there's always the threat of a large dog harness and leash to keep them close if they can't stay close on their own.

Hotel rooms and suitcases are about as insecure as you can get for keeping anything of value! Not only do underpaid staff members have almost unlimited access to your room, but during the room cleaning process doors are often left propped open even when cleaning staff go on break or to lunch.

We had a small amount of cash and air tickets stolen from a hotel safe some years ago. It was a bit of a pain to straighten out the tickets. Of course now with electronic tickets that's not a problem.

Not that it matters for my passport as I would never go anywhere without my passport in another country anyway.

"Incidents of pickpocketing are a common everyday, many times a day occurrence in many countries in Europe..whereas in the states it is more of a rarity."

Strange that I can have lived in Europe for 65 years and have travelled to London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Barcelona and many other places and have yet to be pickpocketed.

Chartley,

I guess you dont look like a victim..or pickpocketable..

In Madrid I was meeting up at a hotel with several other gals, and they unfortunately took the train from the airport when we had been warned not to - one girl, and she was from London, so likely should have known, had the bottom of her pocketbook cut out - passport, money, credit cards - everything gone.

In Lisbon, fellow travelers on a guided tour yet, had their cameras taken, in Barcelona I watched as an obvious gypsy man walked up and down the "cue" ( how do you spell that?)
looking for a good victim...and he was very obvious about it..

In Barcelona, fellow travelers had cameras taken, and an acquaintance who lived in Barcelona was kicking himself because he knew better, but had his wallet pickpocketed.

In Paris at a museum, I had my big pocketbook on my shoulder but open and overflowing with newspaper and pamphlets - the museum guard warned me about my open pocketbook, kindly, and I assured him there was nothing of value in it....

The worst was in Rome. When I arrived at the hotel the concierge warned me to be very careful of pickpockets - that a gypsy pickpocket had tried to pickpocket another girl on the train platform - the girl was also from Rome and fought back - the gypsy girl took her umbrella and stuck it in the eye of the other girl and killed her.

So "spit" does happen

there are so many stories and posted on this site also - one just has to be aware and not have anything in your pocket or pocketbook that your not willing to lose. That's why I use a waist safe.

And I have heard of employees pilfering hotel safes also. After all they have access to the safe and have to in order to give you back whatever you have put in the safe. Just because they work behind the desk does not mean they're honest. And then you have no receipt for what you put in the safe, so if you call the police what do you have to prove it ?

Queue.

I always carry my passport. I wear a t-shirt/undershirt with a breast pocket. It is perfect for my passport, credit cards, and large bills.