So I'm going on a Contiki tour next month and I'm bringing my iPad to keep in contact with people at home, we're staying in budget places such as campgrounds and hostels. I was just wondering whether I'm better off keeping my iPad with me at all times in my backpack (worried about thieves) or leaving it in my luggage in my room (with a luggage lock on my suitcase). I'd feel more comfortable carrying it with me at all times but many people online warn of people taking bags. I've never been out of Canada so I'm a bit clueless of what people are like in Europe.
I'll be in London, Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Munich and Amsterdam.

If you're staying in budget properties, then yes, you should keep all of your valuables, including the iPad, with you at all times, unless they provide secure storage. Carrying it around in a backpack or shoulder bag shouldn't be a problem.

<< I'm a bit clueless of what people are like in Europe >>

Much like the people in Canada. Some are good and some are bad. You find all sorts in Canada just as in Europe. I think you need to change the perception that there is something different about Europeans and that you're going to another planet. I'm curious as to what you think Americans are like LOL.

If you're staying in hostels they usually have lockers - bring your own combination lock. Will you have single rooms? Most hostels are dormitories or quads. Don't know about camp grounds. Do they have single rooms?

I don't think a lock on your luggage will deter thieves. They can cut into the luggage or just take it with them.

If you carry a pack you cannot take it off your body when you're walking around. Do not leave it any place such as hanging off your chair in a restaurant or on the chair next to you, or on top of the restaurant table, or lying on a church pew, or on top of your suitcase, or at your feet etc.

Lock or tie your backpack zippers..They are easy to undo and you won't even know it has happened..Metro in MAD was the site of the missing IPAD from DD's backpack and I was standing right beside her. Shocked was not the word. Be sure also that your insurance covers travelling. Hers did, fortunately. In crowded metros ,buses etc, turn your backpack to your front. A ounce of prevention etc, etc.. Hostels run the gamut from very safe to pretty scuzzy. Just be cautious.

On a Contiki tour you will hardly meet any Europeans among the participants, so you should just as well worry about what people from the rest of the world are like...

Do not leave valuables in hostel rooms, not even in lockers. Enquire at the reception desk if they have a safe where they can keep things for you.

I would suggest to carry your iPad with you instead of leaving it locked up. But, they can be heavy to carry after a while. Do you have an iPhone that you can take with instead. Much, much lighter!
Oh, and you should be aware of the roaming costs attached when using the iPad abroad outside of a wifi zone.

Sorry to hijack the thread - but do no valuables in hostel rooms include travel documents like passports? I guess my most valuable possessions will be my passport, identification cards (student passes etc), money, and credit/debit cards!

<i>do no valuables in hostel rooms include travel documents like passports? I guess my most valuable possessions will be my passport, identification cards (student passes etc), money, and credit/debit cards!</i>
Yes absolutely - do not even think about leaving such items unattended in a hostel (or even a hotel) room unless locked in a safe.

If your lodging has a secure locker with YOUR lock on it you can leave an iPad there. Otherwise carry it with you - but not in a backpack- which are easy to slit open. You shoud have a cross-body bag you can wear on your chest so all o fyour things are in FRONT - not behind you where you can;t see what's going on. Make sure the bag is sturdy with zipper comparments and keep pasport, CC and ATM care inside in a secure pocket.

Sorry - never let go of your bag = even in a restaurant or on the bus - and definitely NOT in a bar or club.

Wear a messenger bag, cross body, instead of a back pack. Much safer and easier to get your own items out of it. Find one that has a flap that goes down over the whole bag and that fastens at the bottom. Keep it on at all times while out and about. You don't have to worry about leaving it anywhere, or taking it off every time you sit on a train, or want your camera or water bottle or guide book.

"pasport, CC and ATM care inside in a secure pocket."

Better to keep them in a money belt worn under your clothes and not accessed in public. I use this kind: http://www.ebags.com/product/lewis-n...st-stash/51759

chrysalis, get a money belt for your documents and keep it on you. If I was in a multi-person room at a hostel, I'd be inclined to sleep in my money belt.

Keep out one credit card and one ATM card -- or better one debit card that does both -- as well as enough cash for that day. The rest stays in the money belt.

There are different styles of money belt. I wear a silk one around my waist.

Oh, BTW, don't bring any valuable jewelry or watch.

I enjoy traveling more when I don't have to worry about losing my valuables.

Also copy all documents and leave home to be accessed by family and on Ipad "just in case".. You probably don't give things out to strangers at home so don't allow the euphoria of travel to change your M.O..

"If I was in a multi-person room at a hostel, I'd be inclined to sleep in my money belt."

And take it to the bathroom unless you can lock it in a locker (as opposed to a backpack).

To me what is really "valuable" is your passport, your money, credit or debit cards. While an iPad has monetary value, nothing really horrible would happen if it got stolen on a trip. Lose your passport and you're scr*wed.

"nothing really horrible would happen"

That depends on how careful you are about passwords. It could easily give access to bank accounts and info for identity theft if the owner isn't careful.

thursdaysd. Point taken, But I guess if my laptop/iPad whatever was filled with confidential financial information... then no I wouldn't travel with it at all. I'd have something "clean" just to use for the trip.

It helps if the hostel or campground you`re staying at has lockers for valuables and luggage. For me when I book rooms in hostels, a locker is a prerequisite. You just bring a combination lock along with you

Do you really *need* to bring an iPad? I must be getting old...I think a smart phone would do just fine in terms of keeping up with what's going on...