<Wastes time - takes forever to get the money to pay for anything more than a soda. Makes you look like some sort of pervert - always fumbling inside your clothing>

For the billionth time, the money belt stays UNDER your clothing, there is no fumbling to access it during the course of the day!!

The money you need to spend is somewhere else on your person, easy to get to... your pocket, a coin purse, pocketbook, whatever.

Suze -

that may be your theory - but I can;t tell you how many people I have seen pulling out belts and bags and things from under their clothes to get their money or credit cards in stores, museums, cafes and even train/subway stations. It's like some sort of bizarre group striptease!

If all you want is a safe place for your cash/valuables - leave them in the hotel safe - there's no need to drag them all over hell and gone with you.

And if you don;t think that these bobos are being marked by thieves you are very naive.

We've never felt the need for one either and have had no troubles. Passport and tickets go into either the hotel safe or in my suitcase that has a hidden security pocket that took me a year to find!

I did notice in the new Travelsmith catalog , men's and women's socks with a zippered pocket. I think that would be even more comfortable than the ankle money thning.

I, too hate wearing a moneybelt, but what if you are in a country that demands identification be carried at all times? We'll be in Germany this summer, so we will have to figure out a safe way to carry the passport everyday. In the past, I've worn the neck pouch, and as Fainaagain says, the square pouch is visible through a thin cotton t-shirt, besides I find it a bit cumbersome. I subscribe to the theory discussed above, that you carry a second purse with a day's supply of money. In fact my husband and I usually just carry one credit card between the two of us and leave the second one in a safe place. It cuts the risk factor down. But carrying and worrying about the passport is the real worry. If it were not for the passport, I would not bother with a moneybelt. I, also only wear the moneybelt in what I consider high risk areas, like the airport, train station, a high profile tourist spot like Versailles or the Paris metro, otherwise if I am in a small town or more off the tourist track, I do not bother to wear a money belt. I hate them.

If you don't wear a money belt at home then there's no need to wear one when away.

I don't understand this idea of changing one's entire wardrobe, and habits all for a trip. I wear the clothes I wear at home, and carry my money and/or bag(s) as I would at home too. If you're aware (no more aware than normal, but have some sense of the surroundings) then there's no problem of pickpockets. Carry bags on your inside, and wear them across the body if you're nervous of them being snatched. You don't need a money belt, and I can imagine that they're a lot more pain in certain situations.

More generally... don't walk around carrying passports/all your cash. Just take a small amount with you, say under 500EUR, if you need more then you can pay on card or return to your hotel to collect some more. Cards (especially the new Chip and PIN variety) can be cancelled instantly and are insured against fraud. There's no need for this money belt nonsense.

Socks with a zipper pocket? How can you put a passport it a female sock pocket? And what else - sandals? Now this is really concealing!

JLM, this is my problem too. The solution: Antarctica :) Nobody will see it under a dawn jacket!

Mowmow, why did you have to transfer the money out of the account linked to your ATM card? The thief didn't have the pin to access it.

I included a thorough discussion of the moneybelt/neck-wallet/human anatomy issue in my trip report on this site (search under my screen name. Title is "Mom and Teens etc"...it's in the installment about Venice, I think). My preference, after our travel experiences, is those special travel clothes with hidden zipper and velcro pockets for valuables. Distribute your valuables into several of the pockets, then just put a few euros in a small purse or backpack for easy access in public. The money belt is the next best secure storage place, but it doesn't work with the way I dress, and the last thing I'd want to do is look extra fat. The neck wallet is the invention of the devil. Especially in summer!

Faina - :D No socks with sandals! :p And I already feel like I'm in Antarctica. Here in southeast Michigan it's snowing today. Spring my $@#!!!! :D

You asked about pinning a money pouch inside your bra. My big-busted grandmother used to do that and it was not at all noticeable. When I took my first trip to Europe she tried to tell me to do the same, until my aunt LOL'd and said that if I do that, I will be lop-sided. The truth hurts sometimes, but to this day I still can't do that without looking badly misshapen. :-[

So, I wear the money belt. I hate it, but it's worth it for the peace of mind.

Well, two money pouches...

Some very interesting discussions here. I've never used a money belt, though I've never been to Europe. I've always secured my passport, extra credit cards, and money in a safe and have been extra careful if I was using public transportation.

I was thinking about whether I should get a money belt for me and my partner for our trip to Spain, and now I'm not so sure. We won't be using public transporation that much (a couple of days in Madrid) and most of the time we will be in places that are somewhat off the beaten track. I think I could handle the discomfort of a money belt (if they are as uncomfortable as some say!), but I know my partner could not!

Would people here say it is different if traveling with another person? Sort of being able to watch out for each other. (Though, admittedly, my partner is far more observant and has more common sense than I do!)

OK, there's my good laugh for the day. Thanks, Robespierre.

(good idea too)

:-))

annetti,
Are you really required to carry an ID at all times in Germany? I've traveled through Germany many times and have honestly never even thought of it. Do they specify what type of ID? Would a copy of your passport suffice, or even a driver's license? In any case, I think that it would be only under extremely rare circumstances that you'd be required to produce ID.

I don't wear a moneybelt either preferring to leave passport and extra cash in the hotel safe, carrying only what I need for the day. I only carry a passport on travel days but I generally don't take public transport to/from airports. Plus with the clothes I wear, it's not possible to conceal one anyway.

..Would you wear a money belt in NYC?? I wouldn't. I would be prudent as to what I carried in my purse and careful where I walked.

JLM, you broke my heart! I was picturing myself parading through Zurich in white tube socks and green sandals (to match my green baseball cap) with a neck pouch hanging over my T-shirt. Try to stay fashionable on vacation!

Travelbunny, good point, but the main thing that inspires me to wear a money belt in Europe and not the US is the need for a passport. If I get robbed in the US I will have an easier time getting home.

Neither I nor my husband have ever worn a moneybelt. I don't think we ever will--but OTOH, we have been pickpocketed (once each in summer). In cool/cold weather, it's not a big deal, as both of us have securely closed inside pockets in our coats and that's where we keep our wallets when we're traveling. My husband's coat has a generous sized inside pocket that holds both his wallet and his digital camera. We don't usually carry much else of value with us. My purse is more valuable than its normal contents...if someone wants to steal a pocket hairbrush, a portable toothbrush, a free city map, and some used kleenex, well, let them.

If your hotel room has a safe, use it religiously. It's your valuables' best friend. The only problem is after you check out and that's the time where I could see a moneybelt making sense.

In the 2003 heatwave in Europe, it was harder to keep moneybelts or under blouse pouches hidden--everyone was wearing the absolute bare minimum of clothes they could get away with.

One final note: when public announcements are made in metro stations, etc., about being aware of pickpockets, try not to instinctively put your hand where you valuables are! I see that happen all the time in London, Paris, and Brussels...as soon as the announcement is made, people start patting their waists, their coat pockets, etc. Thieves must love those announcements.

Of course, we could all limit our travels to Switzerland, where pickpockets are rare. When I worked in Basel, the local women thought nothing of leaving their purses (with all their valuables) on the table while they went off to the restroom or to get something from the buffet. I could never bring myself to be that relaxed.

Patty: I just finished reading the intro to Germany in the Fodor's Germany (or it may have been another travel book, since I have several guides)and they said 2 types of of ID were required to be on person. I hate the idea of so much bulk. I was considering just carrying photocopies of the passport and taking my chances. Usually, all I carry are some Euros, sunglasses, some photocopies of the city I'm visiting and a photocopy of the passport. I have a very, very light handbag to put everything in. Carrying less is important for me since it is less fatiguing. I sling the light handbag across my chest and hope for the best!

A money belt is soooo bush league. How in goodness name can you strap one of those oddities on your body and go out in the public?