EWojo

Hello Everyone,

This will be our first time in Spain and France (for 3 weeks), and we will be staying in apartment rentals throughout the entire trip. Where would you suggest we keep our passports and larger sums of money since we won't have a safe? Should we just carry the passports and money in our money belts, and only leave what we need on a daily basis in our wallets?

Thanks for the help,

Elizabeth

sparkchaser

I wouldn't carry around your total vacation fund on you. That's just tempting fate.

Use ATMs and your <b>debit</b> card to get cash.

You could only stay at apartments that have safes. Or pretend you're a spy and keep your large sums of cash and passports in a gallon-sized ziplock bag and tape it to the underside of the toilet tank lid or under a sink.

Mimar

What you said. Carry your passports and extra credit card and debit card in a money belt on your person. Don't carry much cash at all; I usually have my small stash of US money there. Keep local money for the day and one credit card in your wallet. And maybe a debit/ATM card in another place.

If you need cash for the apartments, get it from an ATM. Or make several withdrawals from several ATMs. Ask your bank to raise your daily withdrawal. Remember European banks do not charge withdrawal fees.

Mimar

Also don't bring any other valuables like expensive jewelry.

dulciusexasperis

Do you wear a money belt at home and carry large amounts of cash around in it?

Use debit and credit cards and only withdraw as much cash as you need every couple of days.

Find a place in the apartment to stash the passports. Under the mattress or whatever. The chances of someone breaking in and stealing them is next to non-existant. Just be sure you have travel insurance and a copy of your passport information page kept separately.

I am not a money belt fan. I have never used one. I keep my money and cards in my wallet just like I do at home. Why someone from say New York would use a moneybelt in Spain or France when they don't use one at home always baffles me.

You do realize that when a tourist from Spain or France decides to visit your home country(wherever that is) EWojo, they ask the exact same person. Where should I hide stuff in this country where I'm afraid of being robbed?

Yes, if someone is stupid enough to carry large amounts of cash around, they might have cause to worry wherever they go but since there is no reason to carry a big wad of cash, there is no more reason to worry than you would at home.

Goldens

I lock mine in a compartment of my suitcase.
The problem with hiding them in the apartment is that you might forget them when you leave.

Pegontheroad

In Barcelona, my sister--for the only time in our eight trips to Europe together--gave me her passport and debit card to keep in my money belt. A few hours later, a clever thief masquerading as a waiter in our restaurant made off with her purse. However, all she lost was the camera that she had in her purse, rather than her passport and debit card.

Another time in mittel-Europa, my wallet disappeared with a small amount of money and my driver's license in it. I don't know whether I lost it or it was stolen, but it was gone.

I always keep my passport and big cash in my money belt under my clothes. I generally have some dollars with me, and I generally withdraw $500 in euros, since my bank charges $5 per withdrawal, no matter how much I take. I keep walking-around money in my purse.

I've never had any problem with the money belt, and I feel more secure knowing that my stuff is safe. It would not be out of character for me to forget that I'd left money or my passport under the mattress if I'd stored them there. Once I left my extra credit card and debit card in the safe in the hotel office. Fortunately I was on my may to a place where I planned on staying for a month, so getting the cards back wasn't a problem.

I live in a town where street crime is rare, but I travel in places where it's not uncommon.

EWojo

Thanks for the help everyone!

rialtogrl

I do what Goldens does, lock valuables into my suitcase, but I also lock my suitcase to something unmovable with a bike lock.

sarge56

Buy a small box of tampons and keep your valuables in that, in your suitcase. Nobody is going to look for it there, trust me.

29FEB

Absolutely agree with Sarge - I remember reading that in one hijack situation, cell phones (or was it weapons?) were smuggled into the hostages hidden in boxes of feminine protection.

NYCFoodSnob

When you rent a vacation apartment that does not offer a safe, the only theft protection you may have is through insurance. It's really difficult to know if a particular apartment has been robbed or is vulnerable to robberies. There is always risk. Even if you lock your bags and them lock them to anything in the apartment, professional thieves have tools to render all that stuff useless, even though it may slow them down a bit.

I travel with passport copies, but I am in the habit of carrying the original with me at all times. I also feel very comfortable carrying what some people might call large amounts of cash in a money belt. It feels safest there. I have a lot of experience purchasing items in the $1,000 range, and it's not unusual to for me to pay in cash to get a better "deal." Early in my career, I toured with a recording artist pop star, and her company paid the crew in cash. So I spent weeks on the road, staying in hotels, with thousands of dollars on my person. I only got robbed once, at a five-star hotel in L.A., but that was my fault. My insurance policy covered the cash loss.

29FEB

Now we want to hear the 5* robbery story!

NYCFoodSnob

I think I mentioned this story on this board before. I can't remember if I'm repeating myself. Yes, I'm getting older.

I won't name the hotel (management was very helpful). I left my money belt in my room unsecured. I hired an adorable hotel porter to assist me on a job. I left a tool in my room and sent him to get it, not thinking, trusting. He took 6 $100 bills and left 10. I didn't notice the missing bills until I went to check-out. Had to call the police and file a report. The hotel employee got fired. This lesson has stayed with me ever since.

annhig

I lock mine in a compartment of my suitcase.
The problem with hiding them in the apartment is that you might forget them when you leave.>>

same here. and I never have $1600 in my room. probably £100 at the most.

Michael

We never leave cash in our hotel room, or B&B, or in our house in Europe because we never take out more than 200€ at a time. ATMs are ubiquitous and we pay only the 1% Visa conversion fee when using our credit union ATM card.

As for passports: I would never consider a copy of a passport to be acceptable as official identification. It's either carry the passport itself (which I do all the time when in a foreign country) or leave it in the room and do not bother with a copy. I do have a copy on my web e-mail in case I lose my passport and need to replace it while abroad.

29FEB

Thanks for the details ~ it's hard not to trust adorable men.

hetismij2

I leave my passport in my room/apartment/holiday home. It isn't locked up in my own home and it isn't locked up when I'm travelling. I have other ID which I can provide if needed in Europe.

In the US I may carry my passport with me just to prove I am in the country legally and as ID, but more than likely it is in the hotel room.

I never use a money belt either. If I have taken out a large amount of cash for any reason it stays in my room/apartment/holiday home. Out of plain sight, but in the room, same as I would do at home.

Hotel safes are a joke and easily broken into.

Ackislander

I never carry more than 100 units ($,£,€) at a time, at home or abroad. My wife carries a similar amount. We have never needed more. We use credit cards for restaurants, admissions, etc. No charges on CapOne.

We top up our cash every couple of days at an ATM in the local correspondent bank to Bank of America, so we have minimal cash to lose, plus no fees and reasonable exchange rates.

We do not have a debit card, only an ATM card. The bank hates like hell giving you one of these because they don't generate merchant fees, but if you insist, they will give it you. If it is stolen, no one can go on a buying spree.

We generally have our passports with us. I don't feel they are less safe than my identification would be in NYC, Boston, or Washington.

cmeyer54

Sorry - I find money belts to be today's fanny packs. Carry your wallet in your front pocket if you're a guy; I have a 'healthy back bag' that I use istead of a purse. It has enought inside pockets with zippers for anything of high walue and would challenge a thief to get to them. I also keep the bag's zipper turned toward me with the pulls together in the center for a little extra sense of safety. Take out the cash you need each day or two from the ATMs; use credit cards when possible and avoid being a target whether its at home or abroad. My MIL used to carry large sums of cash with her to shop in the chicago area as she was not a credit card person. Only took one loss to convince her otherwise.

we did leave our passports in the hotel safe but also had copies in our suitcases. No issues in any of our trips with that. I don't take expensive jewelry - if I'm not prepared to lose it, it stays home.