Storing Laptop and Camera... Hostels or not?
#1
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Storing Laptop and Camera... Hostels or not?
I will be traveling for 20 days in August before starting a study abroad program in Germany. I plan to visit Italy (Cinque Terre hiking and kayaking and Florence) and either Spain, Greece, or Ireland. I MUST take my laptop and SLR digital camera with me
My question is: is it safe to leave my laptop and camera in Hostels/Hotels/Apartments? Or should I invest in a backpack that carries both to take with me every day?
My question is: is it safe to leave my laptop and camera in Hostels/Hotels/Apartments? Or should I invest in a backpack that carries both to take with me every day?
#2
Join Date: Nov 2008
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Hostels - not safe. Generally, there aren't private areas to store things.
Hotels - generally safe in a private room. Even better would be using the room safe or hotel safe.
Apartments - same as your apartment at home.
Even if you got backpack and carried both around (which sounds painful!), what would you do with them, for example, while kayaking?
Hotels - generally safe in a private room. Even better would be using the room safe or hotel safe.
Apartments - same as your apartment at home.
Even if you got backpack and carried both around (which sounds painful!), what would you do with them, for example, while kayaking?
#5
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The best you can do is to control damage.
When I take my computer on a trip, I go with an assumption that the hardware can be stolen.
However, I can take steps to protect my DATA. I don't put personal/confidential data on my disk drive even though I put a hard drive password on it. I keep my data on my SD card and keep it with my passport - either with me or in a safe . You can get an SD card up to 32GB capacity. I have a USB adopter, so on computer without a SD card slot, I can access my SD card using the USB adopter.
If I create a document I don't want to lose, I email the document to myself or upload to my google doc area.
When I take my computer on a trip, I go with an assumption that the hardware can be stolen.
However, I can take steps to protect my DATA. I don't put personal/confidential data on my disk drive even though I put a hard drive password on it. I keep my data on my SD card and keep it with my passport - either with me or in a safe . You can get an SD card up to 32GB capacity. I have a USB adopter, so on computer without a SD card slot, I can access my SD card using the USB adopter.
If I create a document I don't want to lose, I email the document to myself or upload to my google doc area.
#7
Join Date: Jan 2004
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Just a word of caution regarding storing your laptop in hotel room safes. first of all, not all hotels, esp the lower star hotels, do not have in-room safes. So you need to research the hotels to make sure they offer in-room safes before booking them. Second, many of the 2* hotels I've stayed in, the in-room safes is pretty small. The safe is plenty big enough to store things like passport or camera or cellphone; but many of them will not fit a regular-sized laptop. (Many of the safes I've seen are about size of 8x11, with the door opening even narrower.)
#8
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You can also buy a security locking cable that you attach to a port in the laptop body and wrap around a fixed object, so nobody can just walk away with the laptop itself. (unless they also have a nice bolt cutter or something!) The locks run around $30US.
#9
Join Date: Jun 2006
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If you plan to prebook your hostels, I would ask whether or not they have private, lockable lockers/cabinets, especially if you plan to stay in a dorm room (as opposed to a private room). The ones I've stayed in recently had lockers of some sort, although you might need to provide your own lock.
I can't imagine carrying both of those around with me all day, every day.
I can't imagine carrying both of those around with me all day, every day.
#12
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Most hostels will have a safe storage area for things like laptops and cameras. It usually costs a few bucks though to utilize these areas. On the other hand, I usually carry my laptop with me while I'm touring because I consider and extension of myself...