Same experience in Austria 'tho we look Bavarian, are 60 something and speak German.
M

when i was Amsterdam, they held my passport at my hotel until checkout. So, im not sure how that would work..wouldn't a drivers license work fine?

I carry my passport with me at all times when I travel, under my clothes..I always thought that it is a must when travelling, just in case of an emergency and you have to evacuate..Or just because you don't want to leave it with anyone..I carry my passport on me and a copy in my suitcase....

Not every hotel in Italy hold your passport overnight.
Usually when I check in the desk clerk asks to see my passport to fill the police report, however, he/she always gave it back to me right away..

Hello gentle readers. Since it seems that some posts are directed to me let me restate what I posted.

I said "I have often had hotels keep my passport until the next morning as they fill out the report for the local PD late at night".

Did I say ALL hotels. No I did not.

I said "often".

And yes, often I have had this happen.

Why? Probably because I am in very small towns not the three touritst centers (Rome, Florence and Venice).

I am talking out of the way small towns where Americans are not usually visiting.

No doubt the employees of these small towns are not as sophisticated as the employees of the large cities.

If I sound crabby my apologies. But it is because as of late it seems to me so many posters want to argue and debate about others experiences. It, IMHO, gets so tiresome.

Maybe a lot of people are tired from the holidays. Or upset about all the bad news in the world. Or credit card bills too high due to holiday purchases. I sincerely do not know.
But wish that one could post their personal experience without having a disagrement about it.

To all of you I wish a beautiful 2005 with wonderful journeys. And may we all be respectful and just enjoy learning from each other. I know for sure I sure have learned a lot from a lot of Fodorites. Peace.

I don't have a problem keeping my passport on my person, I usually do. I'm old fashioned and still use travelers cheques and need it to cash them. Also, you need a passport for other things like validate rail passes, etc.

What I have a problem with is the idea that a railroad conductor or hotel clerk might want to hold it for any period of time, I don't let it out of my sight.

<<Regarding Italy. I have often had hotels keep my passport until the next morning as they fill out the report for the local PD late at night.>>
Either they assume that you won't go out at night (and if you do, you have the right to claim your passport!) or that you have another piece of identity, like a driver's licence.

If you're a law-abiding tourist, it is unlikely that your passport will be asked on the street. It is also unlikely that they will throw you in prison for it. It's not impossible though; I've had friends who were held in jail overnight because they couldn't produce ID in Belgium, but this was late at night, many years ago, and they did have a lot to drink.

It is also a requirement that you have your original car registration papers with you when you drive. I'm not very comfortable with that, since a car of mine was stolen, and it makes it easier for the thieves to sell it. I once showed police a copy of the documents, and they asked that I go to the police station next day to show the originals.

And not knowing the law doesn't exempt you! On my first trip to the US I was amazed that I had to be 21 to drink alcohol. No-one points this out to you either!

Christina, in Belgium, at least, everyone--and that means tourists too--is supposed to carry their original passport or Belgian identity cards (which tourists wouldn't have). In Belgium, the law is not new, it's been around for some time, but perhaps was not enforced with "ordinary" tourists. It doesn't mean the law wasn't there.
I have heard of some tourists getting detained for producing copies.
The problem now is that with Photoshop etc. it's pretty easy to carry a copy of something that looks real but could have fake information on it. Somebody could take my passport and in the copy, put their own photo on it. An official looking at the photocopy would not be able to tell that it was a phony. Hence the ever more strictly enforced requirement to carry the original.

The situation in Germany is similar: everybody has to carry an ID and the police has the right to take you to a police station to determine your identity if you haven't got an ID.

But: in 34 years, I have been asked exactly once by the police to show an ID and that had to do with alcohol and the question whether I was under-age at that time.

Furthermore, it isn't a crime not to carry an ID but a misdemeanour which carries a fine of 10 Euro or so.

If you don't want to carry a passport, take the driver license instead. As long as there isn't a very special situation, it's fully sufficient to establish the ID (if it has a photo on it of course).

Hans' post made me think ... my driver's licence has a photo BUT the photo is more than 30 years old (Belgian driver's licences remain valid forever) and the person on the picture doesn't look like me at all.
I should do a little test next time a police officer asks for my ID.

It was my post about almost being arrested: no money or passport. He was on the RER and his Carte Orange pass was not valid. The fine was 28E and he did not have enough on him - or his passport. I think it was the money not the passport. The Metro Police let him go because the gendarmes (sp?) didn't come to get him.

You must carry your passport (which must be registered) and visa with you at all times in Russia, and the police do stop people at random and ask to see them. So just having to have the passport with you at all times doesn't seem so bad to me.

Just a question? hopscotch post of 1-10-05 states "As far as non-Dutch and non-EUcitizens goes, that means your passport. A copy is not acceptable.

I do not believe a citizen of the EU needs to carry a passport on their person when in the NL. And I.D. card yes, but their passport?

LoveItaly, I think you're right. Anyway, in Belgium we have to carry an ID but a passport is only needed for travel outside Europe (mainly). People who don't travel don't have a passport but every citizen has an identity card (that looks like a credit card).

Wouldn't Brits have to carry their passport? They may be in the EU, but they don't have national identity cards.

BTilke; yes, they would have to carry their passports. A friend of mine couldn't even rent a go-cart on the boulevard in Knokke without it. She had her driver's license, but that didn't have a picture on it, so wasn't acceptable.