Heimdall

BTilke, fortunately I live in a country (UK) where it is not compulsory to carry ID at all times. Can't you get a Belgian ID card? To replace the visas in my passport would cost me around $1,000, and for that reason I'm not going to risk losing it by carrying it around all the time. And I'm sure not going to wear a moneybelt every day!

Sorry if I offended you - that wasn't my intention.

isabel

Some things to seriously consider - when you are traveling in a foreign country you need a passport in order to get home. Not so in the country in which you live. So the responses that say they do the same thing they do at home are irrelevant. Even if I am traveling a thousand miles away from home in the US I would not need to waste one or more travel days, money and headaches to get my passport replaced before I could go home.

Second, a hotel or rented apartment (not your own apartment in a foreign country or friends or relatives who live there) is less safe than your own home. How many people have a key to your house? A hotel/rental will have housekeepers, managers, owners, etc who all have access to it. Not to mention since hotel guests/renters are relative strangers it's alot harder to spot a theif who might be wandering around hotel/rental hallways than it would be in your own home. There are thousands of posts over the years here about hotel rooms being broken into. If you are smart enough to tape your passport under a lamp don't you think a theif if smart enough to look there. It's their livlihood, they know where to look.

Third, while a copy of the passport may be good enough in most cases, sometimes there could be a time when you'd need to show ID (as BTilke said).

It's just common sense to wear a money belt (or pouch or whatever) for your passport and extra credit cards,etc when traveling far away from home, on a short trip where both time and money are valuable to you. Unless you think standing in line for hours at the embassy to get your passport replaced sounds like better use of your vacation days than sightseeing.

ipod_robbie

isabel writes "There are thousands of posts over the years here about hotel rooms being broken into."

Please isabel, do post a link to one of those "thousands" of posts, specifically the ones where passport was stolen from a hotel room.

lvillinois

I have been known to misplace things, you know, (Part-timers disease!)So, when in Europe, keep passport, CC, and tickets in a money belt. I just put it on in the morning and don't think of it again all day! Not much in it so it isn't bothersome and I don't waste any time wondering "now where did I put that!"

Sue_xx_yy

I won't get into irresolvable arguments about what is safer to do, but if your husband feels more relaxed if the passports are with you (we do), this is what you should do. (You should however each carry your own passport, and have a photocopy of your spouse's, in your respective neck or waist pouches.)

Pickpockets generally go for just that, pockets, not pouches/moneybelts that are tucked inside clothing.

Just be sure that whatever you do, you are consistent. Hotel safes may or may not live up to their name, but what people have been known to do is to forget to empty the safe when they check out of the hotel room or apartment. As lvillnois point out, one advantage to the travel wallet system is that you get used to strapping it on every day, just like a wristwatch.

eliza3

Rightly or wrongly and stupidly or otherwise,I carry the same things with me overseas as I would at home - which does not include my passport, a money belt or anything hanging around my neck.

I stay aware in train stations, tubes etc but I would be at home as well.

I also fall into the camp that believes things in hotel rooms and apartments are as safe as they would be in my own home. That said,I don't have any expensive jewellery etc but regularly leave my laptop computer (which is more important to me than many other belongings) in hotel rooms and apartments.

nytraveler

We always carry our passports with us. I carry both in my purse (Sportsac parachute nylon with heavy duty strap worm bandolier style.) I carry all my valuables in this; the beau carries his credit cards etc in inside jacket pocket (or front pant pockets). No hidden belts or straps or pouches/pockets or anything necessary.

Our perspective is if we have the passports with us and anything happens we will know at once and can fix it. If you put them in a hotel room safe (or someplace in an apartment) you may not notice they are gone until you're ready to leave - and it's too late to fix it without a huge mess.

(And in more than 100 trips to europe between us - we've never had any problem with these arrangements.)

Heimdall

For those of you living overseas who need to carry ID, I wonder if the new wallet-size US Passport Card would do the job? It's really intended for crossing the border into Canada, Mexico, etc, and you would still need a full passport for European travel. If it would suffice as a means of identification, might be worth having, and be a lot better than carrying around the full passport every day.

See http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt...card_3926.html

chartley

"bullsh*t fine". That must be a technical phrase. Is it OK for me to use it in the USA if stopped by a cop for speeding?

My wife carries both our passports in her bag. We usually have a photocopy in our suitcase because it takes up very little space and it would make things easier if we needed to get a replacement. We rarely go to the sort of places where pickpockets hang out, and in over 60 years of living and travelling in Europe my pocket has never been picked.

I am always more concerned about losing my passport, credit cards, cash, etc, than having them stolen, and so try to buy clothes with zipped pockets

PegS

We do the opposite of most people here: we leave our passports in the apartment/hotel safe and carry copies. As djkbooks said, thieves are looking for money/credit cards, not your passport. The risk is in having your passport in the same place as your cash (purse, suitcase, etc.) and having a mugger or thief snab the entire thing. The passport copy is a "just in case" and also serves as official ID if necessary.

I also never use a money wallet or anything like that anymore. We mostly go to cities and suburbs, so I usually carry exactly what I carry at home. I'm used to being vigilant in a big city, since I live in one, and half the battle is not looking like an easy target.

gomiki

I never carry my passport with me. Once in Paris, my TC took the RER and did not have the correct ticket. Or his passort. He was trying to use the Carte d'Orange pass. The Metro Police gave him a VERY hard time and he was threatened with arrest. The gendarmes were called. When they did not arrive the Metro Police let him go. It was not fun!

Bloom

This is my favourite reply to this question:

<i>Author: marginal_margiela
Date: 11/29/2007, 09:08 pm
I keep my passport in my room safe. What kind of horrid hotels do you people stay in?

The maids do not go through your valuables at the Ritz-Carlton or Crillon.

Thingorjus</i>

(hehe)
Bloom

WillTravel

But apparently robbers do go through your things at Rome's Hotel de Russie, as Dionne Warwick and previously Camerson Diaz found out.

I haven't read thousands of posts about thefts in hotel rooms, but I have read dozens. I have read a few posts about apparent thefts from in-room safes, but I have never read a post about a theft from the hotel's locked safety deposit boxes. I've read hundreds of posts about people being pickpocketed, and a few dozen posts about people suffering muggings outside the hotel. Some of these muggings specifically resulted in the loss of their moneybelts.

I can't say it's logical, but if I am just going about the city, I leave my passport in a hotel safe. If I were in an apartment, I'd try to find a way to conceal it. If I am going on a daytrip, I take my passport.

Jim_Tardio

Chartley...I say bullsh*t fine because we were able to pay a highly reduced fine, once they realized they couldn't hold our passports hostage.

We were told later by our hotel staff that that is a common occurrence in Budapest with tourists.

You could try the same approach in the states, but somehow I don't think it will work

suze

I carry my passport with me. If you do decide to carry them, please each person take their own, don't have your husband carry both of them.

You can always lock things into your suitcase, if there is no room safe. Obviously not perfect, but someone would have to steal your basically empty suitcase to get the passport, paperwork, whatever you choose to lock into it.

bozama

It is in the hotel safe. It is safe enough there and I couldn't be bothered to wear a money belt everyday, never had a problem in my many years either.

Funny, when people( Canadians I mean) go to Hawaii do you think they bring their passport to the beach, Ha Ha.

I have never heard of anyone been thrown in jail for not having their passport on them as they walk down the Champs Elysees, but I'll be sure to watch for it now,, LOL