Carry my passport?
 

I've had two different suggestions regarding passport security. Carry the original at all times or leave the original in the hotel safe and carry a color copy.
Any other suggestions?

Depends where you are going.

I always wear a money belt with my passport and credit card. I leave a photocopy of my passport with a friend at home and another in my hotel room.

However when we went to Italy all the hotels required that you leave your passport with them when you check in.

I always stay in first-class hotels with room safes. I never, ever carry around my passport. What if you are mugged or lose it? Getting a new one is a big hassle. Keep a photocopy of your passport in your luggage.

I have travelled all over the world and have never needed to carry my passport around with me whilst in a city.

The Great and Powerful Thingorjus

Ditto TG's advice. I make a couple color copies of the page with the photo and ID info, carry one with me and leave the actual passport on the hotel safe. Never had a problem.

Nope those are the only two suggestions! You can read thru old threads on this exact question. And you'll see it is pretty much a split decision of the people who post here.

1/2 of us prefer to carry our passport at all times, the other 1/2 leave it locked in the hotel safe and carry a copy only.

Depends on where you are going and what you are doing on day to day basis.

In Italy or France I used my CC without my passport for paying for goods over €200. But in Spain, I had to show my passport: the real one - I had to go back to my hotel to get my passport as they did not accept a copy.

Even if you keep passport in safe, you still need a secure way to carry your passport during transit -- which can last a whole day.

I carry my passport in money belt both during transit and within cities if I plan on making major purchases.

Thanks for all your suggestions. It appears to be a matter of choice.

Swimming? Exercise? Massage? Sooner or later we will have implanted IDs and passports.

>we will have implanted IDs and passports.

That will make it a lot easier.

((I))

Once I stored two credit cards in the hotel safe and then promptly forgot about them until I was about a hundred miles or so away from them. For this reason, I always carry my cards and my passport in my money belt.

But maybe you're less flaky than I am.

non descript middle age American male sitting on platform waiting for night train in Berlin - station police come up and say Passport - look at it - scan the electronic code into device and say OK and go on.

Don't think a copy of my passport would have worked.

I say always carry your passport with you - always.

I don't agree, that isn't the norm. First, it was in Germany and they are into that stuff there, and second, you were in a TRAIN STATION where they have security guards/guys who go around checking docuyments and passports (yes, I've also been asked for mine by guys with guns in German train stations). Of course they may ask for your passport there. That's different than walking a block around your hotel going into a cafe.

I dont carry a color copy, either, there's no reason it has to be in color.

It's never occurred to me to carry a passport on me anywhere. I suppose if it were a requirement of the country I was in, I would, but otherwise definitely not.

I always carry my passport with me. I just know I would flake out and forget it if it were in a room safe.

However, I may re-think this as I was pickpocketed in May and the thief was dangerously close to my passport! To lose a passport on a trip would be disastrous if you were nowhere near an US Embassy (like me.)

In Italy the hotel never kept our passports for our entire stay. They only took them for approx 15 minutes when checking us in.

A passport is required to use computers at internet cafes in Italy, a copy would probably work but I always had the real thing with me.

As i usually ride the train most days from a base i carry the passport because with a railpass it is not unusual to be asked for the passport to match names.

But christina's right - rare to be asked elsewhere at least for a typical Anglo-Saxon person - those of Mid East or similar heritage should always carry theirs i guess.

But in 38 years now of annual trips to Europe i have been asked a handful of times only outside Customs checks.

Indeed at times it's hard to get the hotel to want to give it back to you - kind of an insurance policy for them i guess in case of damages, phone and minibar bills, etc.

see, like i said... 50/50!

I'm with PalenQ on this. I've said it before, but I have been asked for it by police and was glad I had it on me and not some copy that "might" be mine in the eyes of authorities.

In this day and age, when you don't know what's going to happen and when, and you might need it to get you some governmental services or out of some situation, wouldn't you rather have it on you than in your hotel safe? Put it in your money belt and rest easy.