I'm going to be going to Amsterdam for a week starting February 25. This will be my first time out of the country (other than Canada a couple of times) since 1981. Am I suppose to carry my passport with me at all times? If not, where do I store it...in my hotel room or in the hotel safe if they have one?

You will get various opinions on this subject. I believe that technically, a government official (ex. policeman) may demand production of your passport at any time. You could also need it if you are using credit cards, as a form of id, checking into hotels, etc. Therefore, the safest thing (from these perspectives) would be to carry it securely on your person. Some will tell you to leave it locked securely in the safe in your room because of the risk of pickpockets. I generally leave my passport locked in a bag in my room. The only time I ever needed it and didn't have it was in London at a restaurant where I was using a credit card and didn't have another form of id. The waiter simply took my word that I was who I am and didn't make me go back to retrieve my passport as I had offered.

In about twenty trips to Europe, I have been asked for my passport exactly NO times, except when arriving or departing, or occasionally when booking into hotels. Leave your passport in your bags in your hotel as capkirk1 suggested: it will be safest there. Should you ever need ID, then a driving licence or similar with photo thereon will suffice. (At least it has on the two occasions where I needed to get involved with the local constabulary.)

I leave it in the hotel in a suitcase in my room. Once - almost 5 years ago - we had to check out of our hotel in Paris much before our flight left so I put the plane tickets and passport in my backpack and left the luggage behind the desk at the hotel.

NEVER AGAIN - the passports and plane tickets were "gone" from my backpack 1 hour later and we had to call the embassy and were lucky to make our flight. For myself, my baby, and my husband we had to pay $100 each for delta to reprint our tickets plus we had to pay to have our passports reissued. So I think it cost me about $900 for the security of carrying around my passport. LUCKY we had copies of the passports in our suitcase.

Of course a money belt would have prevented that, but I am not such a money belt person.

Everyone age 14 and above is required to carry identification at all times while in the Netherlands. Accepted forms of identification for U.S. citizens are either a Dutch residence card, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or a U.S. passport.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...s/cis_982.html

I have yet to be asked for ID in Europe EXCEPT on a couple of occasions when a merchant asked for it to cross-check against my credit card.

I rarely ever carry my passport with me during the day unless I think I might have the "shopping incident" occur again; I usually leave mine in the hotel room safe.

If there are regulations requiring ID then I would inquire locally. These days I have less confidence in ANYTHING the US State Department puts out as accurate "local" information from their "head" right on down.

http://english.justitie.nl/themes/identification/faq/

Gee, I've been buying fire insurance for my house for over 30 years and never used it. I guess I should cancel it?

I live in Belgium and I've been asked for my ID often - ok some examples -

Hiring Ice Skates
Before the firemen would consider putting out the fire raging in my apartment block
When I was robbed - (the police seemed a bit put out that my ID card that I'm supposed to carry was in my handbag when I was mugged).
Buying stuff with credit card - (more particularly in Paris - even spending a few euros in FNAC)
Renting a bicycle

I find it hard to believe that anyone thinks there is security in hiding valuables in luggage in a hotel room. There are plenty of ways for a thief to get into a hotel room. Luggage in that room is certainly the first place a thief would look, and if it is locked, he will either break it open, or steal the luggage.

A room safe, or the hotel desk safe, is far more secure.

Years ago it was quite common that one would be asked to show identification, and I think that is why the common belief that you should always carry your passport arose. In recent years, it is, in my experience, rare that you are asked for identification. When you are asked, however, a passport is universally accepted, while a foreign driver's license may or may not be acceptable.

My practice is that anything of great value which might have to be used, such as wads of cash, credit cards, and passports, should be carried on your person in such a way that they cannot easily be snatched; that means a money belt or equivalent pouch that is worn under your clothes. I know that some who are very concerned with their appearance don't like to wear a money belt, for example, but a pouch worn inside your shirt or pants is not that much of a bulge, and the security is well worth the small sacrifice of your appearance.

If you keep your passport in your person, make sure its in a place where it cannot be snatched, i.e. money belt under the shirt.
If you keep your passport in your hotel, make sure you keep it in a safe (and make sure not to forget it when you check out).
Whatever you do, make several copies of your passport--keep one in each of your luggage, and one with you.

Some are in the money belt camp and some are in the hotel safe camp -- both options are fine. I personally almost always carry my passport - usually in my money belt.

But NEVER leave anything valuable in your room unless it is in the safe. Not in the luggage, not in the drawers, or anywhere else.

When I use a hotel safe it will normally be the main hotel safe, not an in-room one.

We carry a color copy of our passports on us, but keep the originals safely stored at our hotel. Never been asked for a passport in Europe, except once when we were trying to rent a car in Munich.
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Hi KN,

>Am I suppose to carry my passport with me at all times?<

You should have some ID on you. A passport is the best form.

A US passport is very valuable. I wouldn't leave it in my hotel room. Even in the room safe.

http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number3.20/ID

Ira: 'A US passport is very valuable'?
How much does it cost? Is it irreplaceable? Is it difficult to replace? I'm not suggesting that one should be careless, but, from personal experience, I know that the loss of a passport while overseas is not catastrophic, though certainly inconvenient. However the time lapse between my informing the Australian Consulate in Frankfurt that my passport had been stolen, and my being in possession of a replacement was exactly three hours. Is the process more complicated for US citizens?

could be.. if you lose your passport in a place where the IS NO consulate to make you another one.. you must then travel to a consulate to get the replacement document.

I think they're worth about USD 600 on the street. Of course, the new ones with the electronic chip in them can be "snooped" with a dollar's worth of gear from 50 feet away, and duplicated, so the price of the paper ones may go down.

Lincasanova: I understand your point, but is getting a replacement US passport a complicated process AFTER you have notifed the consulate of its loss? By the way, my passport was stolen in Nice where there is no Australian consulate, but my next port of call was Frankfurt where there was.
Fnarf999: I really meant to ask how much the loss of the passport cost the passport holder, apart from the inconvenience factor which I found to be relatively minor.

Yes, I see your point. But the other point is, if it's valuable to SOMEONE ELSE, to steal, that makes it more likely that it will be stolen. If the street value was a dollar, you could leave it on the counter without worry; if the street value was a million bucks, you'd have to have an armed guard with it.

I think they're valuable enough to steal, and thus valuable enough to go to modest lengths to protect. Like, say, a digital camera or a fancy watch, say.