First off, if it's important to know this, I'm a male. I'm trying to take precautions about going to Amsterdam since I've heard there are a lot of pickpockets there. I have bought both a leg money belt and a regular (around the waist) one. My question is about the regular one. Am I suppose to wear it right along my waist or can I wear it slightly higher (so that I could pull up my shirt a little and get go it). It just seems a little odd to me if I'm digging into the front of my pants to get something out. Maybe there is no right way to wear one or maybe there is. I'm just looking for answers. Thanks for assisting this dummy.

Whatever style of money belt you have(aound the waist, hooked on a belt loop, around the shin, etc) you should NEVER reveal its existance.

Think of it as a safe - it is locked and away from sight at all times. Put enough "walking around" money, maybe a credit card and/or ATM card in your pocket or wallet just as you would normally. The back up cc/ATM, excess money, passport, etc are what goes in the money belt.

If for some reason you would need to access it you would go into a restroom stall and access it there - not in public.

Well, you do bring up a mental image of digging in the front of your pants to bring out your money!

Wear in in the small of your back and just put items in it that are valuable but that you won't necessarily need to have at hand so to speak.

Most men I know wear the one with the loop over their belt and it is worn under the pants on your hip side.

Donot think the whole town of Amsterdam if filled with pickpockers.....
but if you wear a moneybelt inside your clothes in front of you, it will be fine.
Also keep some small change handy in your pockets.

Amsterdam, like Barcelona, was yet another city in which I wasn't pickpocketed, but then I was only there for five days. Had my wallet in my pocket too, same as at home. Took the same care in Amsterdam as I do at home which does NOT entail wearing a secret moneybelt. A small percentage of travellers lose their possessions this way: It COULD be you, but it probably won't be.

I -was- picked in Amsterdam, and hubby 'lost' his passport in Amsterdam, so it is wise to take some precaution.

We both wear the leg safe as it feels better and is easy to reach (in *private*) if necessary.

I used to wear the waistbelt - I turned it around to the small of my back and it rested just below the waistline. I never tried to access it in a public place. Definitely prefer the one over the calf these days.

If you're travelling in February, just put your money & credit cards in the inside pocket of your jacket.

In warm weather, I put the large bills in my socks/shoes if I'm in a questionable city. I know what you're thinking, simply buy foot deodorant spray for around one euro in Alberthijn or V&D if you have that problem. It helps if you wear new clean shoes. In any case, it's better to reach in your socks than in your pants.

DH always wears a money belt UNDER his shirt when we travel. And yes, it can be a bit cumbersome at times getting to it, but less cumbersome than being robbed IMO. (I usually don't carry a purse, but have a small amount of money and CC in an inside pocket of my jacket or a side pocket of my pants.)

Would you wear a money belt in NYC? These things are IMO a really ridiculous item in Europe. I deal with my valuables exactly the same as I would in any major US city.

"I deal with my valuables exactly the same as I would in any major US city."

Well, travelbunny losing your passport, credit cards etc in your home country is not quite losing it in a non English speaking country you're visiting.

I have always worn a money belt around my waist tucked in at the front of my shorts/pants. I only carry cash in my pockets required for the day, preferably in small bills. If I need more I use a lavatory or other private spots to access my belt. I know it's a little uncomfortable but alot less so than losing your bank cards, cash or passport. It's also a good idea to leave expensive watches, rings etc. back home. No one is interested in them anyway except thieves.

Have a great trip!

travelbunny--

Years ago my husband was a naval officer stationed in the Brooklyn naval yard. He used to put his money in his sock. When walking through a really, really sketchy part of Chicago, I put my money in my bra. So, to me the answer is yes in certain places in the US a money belt would be a nice thing to have if one will be visiting for a number of days.

Now for the original poster. My husband wears his money belt just on top of his underwear in the small of his back. If he ever needs to access anything in it during the course of the day, he goes to a stall in a restroom. He also has a pocket travelers money holder that hangs from his belt loop and goes inside his trousers. We just returned from a trip to Vietnam where we had to take large amounts of cash for use later on in the trip. We purchased a belt that has a long zipper on the inside. By carefully folding $100 bills, we were able to get quite a bit of money in it. But, my husband's favorite of all is the pants he has with zippers inside the side pockets. That's where the day's supply of cash goes.

And, we are really, really, really cautious when on public transportation and in the usual places where there are pickpockets, but I got hit last year in a scam in a Paris metro station where some guys came running up and stopped the gate from releasing after I had inserted my ticket, thus wedging me in the turnstile. Luckily my purse had so many interior zip pockets that just getting the main one undone yielded nothing.

julies: Tell me a little more about that scam. I'm kind of confused about what happened. Did a policeman come before the thieves got any money?

Pickpockets in Amsterdam can be found in crowd situations and in some rail stations. The station at Duivendrecht used to be notorious for them.

I think the issue is also about what you put IN your money belt...I use one in some instances but I also keep a little pocket money elsewhere at the same time. Also depends on what kind of clothing you are wearing it UNDER..some waistbands are easier to deal with than others.

1) Pickpockets target tourists, and among this group those who look the most gullible and afraid (the ones who, like knmusic, think that Amsterdam is among the same category crimewise as Baghdad or Johannesburg)
2) By wearing a moneybelt, you SCREAM: a - I'm a tourist; b- I'm an American tourist; c - I am totally insecure and therefore all the more vulnerable; d- come and get me, I am the ideal target to be pickpocketed.

No European tourist visiting another city on his/her continent would ever wear a money belt, an item that never ceases to surprise us when we see it sold on tacky US inflight magazines. As adeben and DAX wisely remarked, just do like all the people around you will, and the way you would at home: a wallet in your jacket, your passport and ticket in your hotel, the usual common sense, and Bob's your uncle.

And BTW, worldinabag, the Netherlands could almost be considered an English speaking country, at any rate, much more than some areas in the States.

Yeah I know Art but it's not the native language. All I'm trying to say is a money belt avoids potential hassles.

"By wearing a moneybelt, you SCREAM: a - I'm a tourist". Art, are you talking a money belt (which is concealed) or a "Fanny pack" as the Americans call it.

"..a wallet in your jacket.." I know OP isn't going there but try this at the Naples train station

I think that it's an exaggeration that no European tourist would ever wear a money belt when visiting another European country.
But otherwise I pretty much agree with Art. If you're staying in a sensible hotel, leave the passport, the tickets and a credit card at the hotel. Don't carry too much cash, have the numbers for cancelling cards ready and if you then have the bad luck of a pickpocket hitting you, the damage is limited. I travel quite a lot both privately and for business and often don't even follow these safety standards.

My wife and I both wear one around our waist and we wear it in the small of our backs. Wearing it in the small of your back is very easy and you will forget that it is even there. I will carry the cash that we may need for the day in a front pocket so we never have to get into it. In the waist bekt we carry our passports and cash.

"By wearing a moneybelt, you SCREAM: a - I'm a tourist". Since my money belt is under my clothes, whoever is doing the listening would have to have X-ray vision. When I lost my wallet to a pickpocket in Rome, I was very glad that all that was in it was one days' supply of cash and an expiring bus pass. Admittedly, my money belt was locked in my hotel safe that day, but most of the hotels I stay in don't have safes, and I wear the valuables. But this is a vanilla and chocolate argument that is never resolved.

I honestly do not see how using a money belt screams tourist or anything else. Money belts are hidden - no one can see them (if worn correctly)

Now if you are dumb enough to wear one so it is visible (as I have seen) or haul it out to pay for something (which I have also seen) then nothing will help you.

But used correctly they are invisible and don't scream anything.

The main reason I use one is because losing something at home is easy to deal w/ . There is a branch of your bank on every street corner, the DMV is down the street to replace your DL, you aren't normally carrying your passport, etc, and you are in the same time zone (or at least w/i 3 time zones) so the people you need to deal w/ are accessible.

Overseas you have none of those conditions and losing something can REALLY screw up you trip.

I always wear a shirt with a collar, and have found a neck wallet to be more comfortable than a money belt. I wear it under my shirt (also wear a t-shirt, so no direct contact) and keep my passport, ATM, large cash, and spare credit card in it. I carry any cash that I think I'm going to need and one credit card in my front pants pocket (usually wear jeans--would think otherwise if wearing dockers or something with pockets that provide easier access for thieves).

Now, the safest yet reasonably convenient place to keep things that I've ever used is the top of my cowboy boots, but my feet don't handle walking in those things like they used to, so that isn't usually an option (and, I don't care if they mark me as a tourist--I am a tourist. It's often a good conversation starter).