happytoes

My husband and I are visiting Paris, Amsterdam, and London. He purchased a money belt and planned to carry one. Can I put all my ID, credit card in his or should I have my own? Do you think it is safe to carry it in my cross the body messenger bag that I plan to carry?

I honestly don't understand the money belt either. If you put your credit card, money, ID, and train ticket in it, you have to go under your shirt/pants each time to get it. Seems quite annoying and if you have to dig in there to get a train ticket or ID then someone will know you are carrying one anyway.

travelbunny

would you carry a money belt in Chicago, NYC ot SF? If so you might consider a money belt on Europe. I have never carried one nor have I ever considered one in NYC, SF or Chicago.

teacherCanada

Fair questions to ask. Lots of information on the topic is available if you choose to use appropriate search words. My advice is as follows: each of you needs a money belt (there are lots of different types available), it always goes under clothing (to make it inaccessible), carry your daily cash and/or credit card somewhere accessible. If you desperately need to access your money belt, you can use a washroom stall for privacy.

Some experienced travellers leave important documents in a hotel safe, others never let it leave their person.

Many recommend carrying photocopies of passports if you need to provide evidence of who you are. Most people who ask will accept a photocopy (except government types).

Good luck with your travels happytoes.

karens

I really felt safe walking around London, and I would say in Paris you dont' need one, except be vigilant on the metro.

In Rome I was happy I wore one.

Can't comment on Amsterdam.

happytoes

we planned to leave copies of the passport in our hotel room and carry the passport with us.

I nearly got into an argument with my husband. I told him I should carry one also and he said no just one is needed. I said what if we are separated. He said we aren't going to be separated where are we going by ourselves.

Would it be ok for him to carry our reserves and I carry some necessary money/credit card?

travelbunny, no I would not carry a money belt anywhere in the US, not even New York city. I did not even think to carry a money belt in Puerto Rico either when we were there. I actually have carried my one shoulder Coach handbag to all these places. I just hear about more pick pocketers in european cities than I do in the US.

nycgirl1

I've never understood the money belt thing. I've always traveled with a purse or bag that zippers shut, which I always have one hand on at all times. You just have to be aware of your surroundings as you would be anywhere else.

happytoes

I have a bag that goes across my body that has a zipper, a flap, and a buckle on that flap. Inside there are several zippered compartments, including another outside one that is closest to my body.

I hear stories of people cutting the straps on bags, too. Are these just the extremes? Do I have more of a chance being shot in a major US city?

ggreen

I think you just answered your own question with that last one!

Really, if you don't use a money belt on your other travels, why would a cosmopolitan European city be any different? I don't ever use a money belt in the cities you are going to, just as I don't in my place of residence, NYC.

I just spent a month in Beijing. I'd heard stories of pickpockets, and from a native of the area that they'll cut the bottom of your bag out to get at your stuff. Having rarely travelled to Asia, I let the stories affect the types of bags I brought - and kicked myself about that decision every day that I was there. Because guess what? Beijing is just another large cosmopolitan city, and the leather, zippered purse I carry in NYC worked just as well there as it does here.

The *most* important thing is that you're *comfortable* with what you carry. If it's the bag you use every day at home, you'll be more aware of how it feels carrying it, and how it feels if something's going wrong. Then of course be aware of your surroundings, and relax: fear and awkwardness make you stand out as a tourist more than anything else.

Those are three wonderful cities. Have a great time!

StCirq

Yes, those are extremes and yes you are more likely to be shot in the USA. You do have to be aware of your surroundings, particularly in places well known for petty crime like Barcelona, Madrid, Naples, Rome, etc., but your chances of being a victim are slim if you look like you know what you're doing.

I've made 100+ trips to Europe and never took anything but a purse, same as when I travel around the USA or anywhere else. The whole concept of fumbling around with a money belt ooks me.And those things we call "fanny packs" are downright ludicrous IMO.

nytraveler

Have been to europe 70+ times and have never had a problem. Have never used a money belt or fanny pack or neck thingy or anything else.

If it's a business trip I use my regular (large) leather purse. If it's a vacation I use a Sportsac (so I can carry umbrella, guidebook, camera, sweater, water bottle etc as well as all my purse stuff.)

But - I am a native New Yorker - and safety measures that are everyday routine to me seem to be unknown to some posters from other places.

Only you can judge how comfortable you will be with a purse. BUT - if you use a money belt it goes under your clothes and you never pull it out during the day. It is to hide valuables. If you keep pulling it out, not only do you look silly, half-undressing all the time, but everyone can see where your valuables are stored.

What you do is carry your money etc for that day in your pocket or purse - with all you other other credit cards, ATM cards, passports, tickets etc in the money belt - which you never access during the day.

Frankly, I would never bother unless I were going to spend a lot of time wandering the streets in especially high crime areas (higher crime than NYC that is - like some cities in SA).

nycgirl1

"But - I am a native New Yorker - and safety measures that are everyday routine to me seem to be unknown to some posters from other places."

I have to 2nd this - I have literally tapped people on the shoulder on the subway in NY before and told them to zip up their purse because their wallet was about to fall out or was in plain sight. I'm always tempted to just grab it, THEN tap them and hand it to them and say "seriously? let's be a little smart here."

NeoPatrick

After months and months in Europe over the years, I can say I've never done the money belt thing and hopefully never will.

greg

One role of a money belt is to limit damages. Suppose you put some credit cards and money in your money belt and other credit cards and money in your body messenger bag you mentioned. If your messenger bag got pickpocketed, you lost what was in your messenger bag -- not what was in your money belt. You can continue your trip with what was left. On the otherhand, if you put all valuable in your messenger bag, you are betting that your messenger bag will not get picked. Of course, there are odds that nothing happens to you. But if you get pickpocketed, the assurances from others who have yet been pickpocketed mean very little to you.

Another role of a money belt is to relieve you from having to figure out what it means to be "aware" and "vigilant" enough in risky places. First of all, what does being "aware" and "vigilant" mean? Would you know what precisely you need to do with each situation to remain aware and vigilant? Secondly, even if you are trained to be aware and vigilant, would you be able to remain that way against seasoned thieves who know tricks to direct your attention elsewhere? There are no shortage of stories in this forum by those who thought they were vigilant, yet became victim themselves. There are seasoned travelers and those who already live in risky cities who have learned to protect themselves. But how do you know you are at their level?

There are many postings on this subject. Here is a recent one:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35020827

Travelnut

"which I always have one hand on at all times" - this is impossible to do in practice.

I was pickpocketed on a tram in Amsterdam. My coin purse with about 30 euro was taken from my daybag, which hung in front of me. My passport, credit card and excess cash was underneath my clothing, in my moneybelt. I had to use both hands to hold onto the pole when the tram rounded corners, and the guy sitting down next to me surely opened the daybag and lifted the coin purse. I didn't know until we got off the tram and I 'felt' my bag was kind of hanging open. I was glad I used a moneybelt.

These days, we use the 'leg stash' variety - very comfortable to wear. Of course that style won't work if you don't wear long pants.

I love it when people say, "well, do you wear one when you're in your home town?". Of course I don't- but I don't walk around my hometown with $300 from the ATM, carry two credit cards, or my passport, without which I can't leave the country to get home. Didn't your mother once say "it's better to be safe than sorry"...?

fmpden

Had a good friend who has made sox trips to Europe over recent years. He used to make fun on our instance on wearing money AND USING THEM PROPERLY. I said, "Used to" on his fifth trip just as he was boarding the train in Paris to Luxenburg, he lost everything -- and I mean everything -- money,cc, passport, train tickets -- he stood helpless in the door of the train as it pull out of the station and he watch the theft thread his way through the platform crowd. Talk about a nightmare. On his sixth trip this summer he wore a money belt.

happytoes

If I clutch my handbag is that good? My husband plans to stand close to my side the entire time.

What I am also asking is if BOTH of us need a money belt? He says no only one of us do.

girlonthego

I would have at least your husband wear a moneybelt.
It is better to be safe than sorry.I plan to purchase one for next summer. I grew up just outside of NYC and worked there for ten years. I did not wear a money belt ever. I once grabbed a man's hand out of my purse while I was trying to eat my lunch. He got away, but without my paycheck.
Crime happens all over the world. In Europe, there has been much discussion all over these boards about certain countries having a terrible pickpocketing problem especially on public transit. Now, they may not be violent crimes, but they will ruin your vacation.
Also, in a country where you most likely are a visitor and do not know your way around or the language, you become the target of the day.
When I worked in NY, I was very familiar with my downtown area. I probably walked with a certain confidence. Besides, I am always aware of my surroundings especially in cities.

takemealong

Both my husband and I use money belts. I prefer to carry my own money, credit cards, etc. He carries his. I don't understand why your husband objects to you wearing one as well.

janisj

whether you use a money belt or not is your choice -- but just a few comments to help you decide

1) only use one IF you plan on using correctly. It is NOT a substitute for a purse/handbag. You don't access it anywhere in public - and 90+% of the time you don't access it during the day at all. Consider a money belt a "body safe" It isn't to hold day to day cash/ATM/Credit cards. It holds the extra money/cards/passport etc that you don't plan on accessing that day. Your regular purse/wallet is where you put your "walking around money", cc(s) you plan on using etc.

2) I don't use one when I travel to Denver or Boston or anywhere in NA. But I usually do use one when traveling overseas. Not because it is more dangerous over there -- it is often safer. The reason is, there is a huge amount more hassle if you lose a passport or credit card when you are 8 times zones away and your local bank branch is closed when you are awake and open when you are asleep in Paris.

At home, if Ilose my ATM card I can walk into a local branch and have a replacement in a few minutes. If I lose it in London or Oxford -- I'm SOL . . . . .

grapes

If you have a meet and greet with a pickpocket, will you be unhappy you did not lose your cc, money and passport?