Will my stuff be safe?
 

Hi folks,

I'm going to wander around the west coast of Ireland for a couple of weeks in late February. My main interests are trad music and photography, so I'll be traveling around by car with my camera and several lenses, as well as a fiddle and mandolin.

I'll be traveling solo, and though I'm pushing 50, I'm thinking of staying in hostels, as I'll only need a place to sleep and freshen up. I don't plan on sitting around a hotel. I won't book ahead, so if I find the hostels unbearable or uncomfortable, I can always upgrade to a b&b.

The big question I have is will my stuff be safe if I leave it locked up in a compact rental car? Are there any tips or alternatives I should consider? Traveling without the instruments and camera are not options, but I would like to bring them home, too. :)

Tim

Not an answer to your question, Tim, but that sounds like such a lovely trip, and I wish I could go, too.

It's about as safe (or not) as leaving it in the parked car in the US.

One thing I would do is read the small print on any insurance you have - are the instruments and camera/lenses insured? Will they be insured if you leave them unattended in a locked car? Frequently that is an exclution clause.

I always carry my camera with me no matter where, but my OH takes his (Martin) guitar on holiday sometimes, and that stays in the car when we are wandering around, locked out of sight. It is well insured, however he is very attached to it (more in love with it than me I sometimes think :)) and would hate to lose it. It usually goes into wherever we are staying the night, but not always. If thieves don't see it being moved, they don't know it's there.
It is always a tricky decision. If you leave it at home you may find your house broken into when you come back and it missing anyway.

Will you be using a hire car - one with an Irish registration? Or will you be driving in a car from another country which will signpost you as a visitor?

Hi Tim - An Italian friend had a camera stolen from a car in Ireland.

Leaving anything in a car is always a risk ...

Steve

There are two possible answers to this query:
1* Yes! Your stuff will be perfectly safe in a locked car.
2* I might be wrong.

Hostels generally are in the towns and do not provide off-street parking. Even though I expect that you would leave everything out of sight, you will be observable putting them away (after all, you do intend to play the instruments and take pictures, don't you?).

I presume these things would be very expensive to replace.

The risk is not as low as I would like, and the potential loss seems high.

I suggest that you go the extra and use B&Bs with off-street parking.

A couple of thoughts about protecting your music and camera equipemtn.

Rent a car which has a boot which cannot be entered from the central part of the car. Most cars will fold down the back seat, available to take your possesions easily. Some cars do have a metal plate between the two places and protect the items inside the boot.

Another thought. If you are going to park somewhere, make sure your possessions are already put into the boot. Make sure your items are already inside when you park. DO NOT OPEN THE BOOT TO NEITHER PUT IN OR TAKE OUT ANYTHING. MAKE SURE THIS IS DONE BEFORE PARKING ELSEWHERE.

Good luck and have a nice holiday.

Blackduff

Most cars also have a control on the dash to open the boot.

If someone has, presumably, broken into the body of the car they can use this as easily as flipping down the back seat.

"If someone has, presumably, broken into the body of the car they can use this as easily as flipping down the back seat."

Not in my (exceptionally modest) car you can't. The security system immobilises remote boot unlocking if the car's broken into.

Getting into the boot on a 5-door car from the back seat is then a messy and time consuming job. The tricks from the car hirer's point of view are (if possible):
- park your car where it's really well-lit
- check the real security features on the car
- keep real valuables out of the car
- stuff the boot with bulky, cumbersome stuff. If they break in from the back seat, they'll have to fight through layers of old coats and boxes of rubbish to get to the Stradivarius. And they just won't have time for that.

Hi IT,

>will my stuff be safe if I leave it locked up in a compact rental car?

Maybe.

Enjoy your visit.

"I'll only need a place to sleep and freshen up."

No you don't, you have unique storage needs there. A fiddle, a mandolin? You plan on leaving those in a car in February, even in Ireland? There will be humidity and temperature changes inside that car that will be hard on those instruments. At the very least you need a BandB with an owner sympathetic to your needs.

As for your camera and lenses, etc. at the very least you need accomodations with lockers or luggage checks.

Enjoy your trip.

(P.S. How do you plan on shipping your instruments to Europe, given that a prospective hostel-stayer likely will be flying Economy with especially tight carry-on restrictions? I've heard that airlines are generally fairly sympathetic to owners of small instruments, <i> provided </i> there is enough room in the overhead bin/under seat - which there might be if passenger loads are down in February. But...I'd check your airline. Especially as you want to take two instruments.)

The same problem applies to the camera equipment as to the musical instruments - how are you going to cope with them getting damp or possibly frozen if you leave them in a car.

I'd also check whatever insurance you have as any decent insurance company will deny your claim if you leave valuable things in a car overnight

I think some hostels offer lockers for storing items during the day.

I'm not sure how (in)secure they might be though, maybe someone has more experience?

I would plan to stay in more secure places like B&amp;B or basic hotels, for the safety of your camera and musical instruments.

I would check your home insurance policy if there is any coverage you could take out specific to these items for this trip.

I agree with those advising you to take the B&amp;B route, rather than chancing it in a hostel or your car. Hostels are iffy - some have lockers, some don't; some have off-street parking, some don't; some are in busy parts of town, some aren't. When researching for our trip last summer, I found tons of B&amp;Bs for 35&euro; (although some had a single supplement). For me, the modest increase in cost is totally worth it for a better, private room, storage for your valuable posessions, and a much better breakfast than you'd get at a hostel. And I'm definitely a budget traveler!

I think you're being penny-wise and pound foolish, as they say.

I come from a musical family, BIL has music store selling these instruments, I play piano and have other relatives who play the violin and mandolin, etc. == and I am surprised any musician would think of leaving their instruments in a car trunk for various reasons. Okay, maybe you have cheap instruments, but even then, they must be worth at least several hundred dollars each at the low end unless they are absolute junk. But I don't think any professional would recommend keeping instruments in the trunk of a car for storage for long periods for humidity and temperature reasons. I can't imagine doing that myself -- it could affect the pegs, general tuning, as well as both becoming over-humidified if my ideas about Irish weather are right. I mean, it's not exactly a dry climate. People carry on these instruments on a plane for various reasons, and fear of theft or damage are only a couple.

Thank you all for the replies and suggestions so far. This will be a nice trip for me. The last time I made it to Ireland, I never got outside of Dublin.

My biggest concern remains with the possibility that if I use a car as my lock-up, then there is a danger of someone breaking into the car. The question remains &quot;how much danger&quot;? My gut tells me that outside of the major cities, there really isn't much of a chance unless I make it enticing by leaving even lesser things like music CDs or a backpack in plain sight. It actually feels less risky to me than leaving something in a hotel room while I'm away.

I do appreciate everyone's concern for the abuse I might cause my instruments, but fear not. Many musicians I know travel 100k miles per year with instruments in their trunk, and don't carry their instruments on-board flights due to baggage restrictions. My cases have hygrometers to monitor moisture content in the air, and suspension to minimize vibration. I definitely know what I'm doing in that department. I have travel-worthy cases (designed to survive drops and shocks) and plenty of experience hauling them around--even strapped to a motorcycle. Also, I won't be bringing my best instruments--I can deal with a little risk, it's not the family heirlooms.

The tips on how to keep from being obvious with my stuff are great!! Also, the comment about checking with my insurer. I will follow up on these, and if necessary, I'll take out an extra policy for the trip, as several thousand dollars of property will be many miles from home.

My attitude is, &quot;take precautions, but don't be paranoid&quot;. If worrying about my stuff gets in the way of having a great time, I might as well stay home--but then I'd miss all the fun!

Thanks, and feel free to add some road trip tips for the coast from Cork to Galway.

Tim :)

I still echo what others are saying:

Don't leave stuff in the car, and don't stay at hostels.

From what you're describing, those musical instruments are not inexpensive. Just think about how you'll feel if they're gone.

If you're going to haul all that stuff to Ireland and tour there, spend some extra money to stay at safer place. To do otherwise is raising the risk factor by many folds.

I hope you are not those who've made up your mind and hope we'll make you feel better. Because we won't.

Do the instruments have sentimental value, in addition to their monetary worth? If yes, I might consider buying others to travel with.

No real sentimental value for these instruments, Suze. My best will stay home. In fact, the mandolin and fiddle I'll bring will both be sold someday.

And no, my mind isn't made up ahead of time. I'm inclined to play things by ear. I don't even have a particular itinerary. :)

Tim

Many trips to Ireland and no problems with car break-ins. Suggest staying at B&amp;Bs instead. I consider the contents of my room much safer than in a hotel since it is someone's home and the only people in it are guests and the family. Most have private off-street parking. Lock your car. Lock the door to your room. Do not leave anything visible in the car.

It's impossible to predict the risk.

Every country has places you could leave the car unlocked with valuables in plain sight in almost certain safety and places that if you left the car unattended for 5 minutes you'd come back to an empty shell because they'd gone as far as stripping the wiring out. And all point inbetween.

I'll bet you know a few of each place in your local area.

It can be difficult to tell these places by sight and even a few streets over can make a big difference.

Like I said up thread, it is as safe or not as back in the midwest. If you are lucky on that day and if you pick the right car-park you'll be fine and I don't think anyone here can predict how (un)lucky you'll be.

I agree with those who have questioned the priorities here.

I was concerned when you made the comment about &quot;I won't be sitting around in a hotel&quot;

Look, it is irrelevant that you are planning to sell the &quot;not the best ones&quot; instruments...you're gonna feel pretty stupid if those instruments are STOLEN half way through the trip..whether they were the best ones or not.

It's amazing what can be found on the web: There has been a comparative study of the EU re. crimes in the different member states. As most big studies, the figures are not for very recent years, but for 2004.

Among other types of crimes, the study also gives an assessment on &quot;thefts from or out of cars&quot;:

<i>Having something stolen from or out of a car was much more common than having the car
itself stolen. The mean European victimisation rate was 3.5 %. Prevalence rates were highest
in Estonia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Portugal. The lowest risks were in Hungary,
Greece, Germany, Denmark and Finland: two percent or less were victimised.</i>

The full report via:
http://www.europeansafetyobservatory.eu/

Well, IndianaTim, dunno if we helped address your concerns, but in the course of researching your instrument problem, I ran across this site with the following thread: &quot;Will Somebody Think of the Violins&quot; ? The exchange about the problems encountered by travelling musicians is hilarious.

http://tinyurl.com/24opfv

Last year in June I spent about two weeks using Hostels in Ireland with my family traveling in a rental car. We were usually able to get a private hostel room with a locking door by calling in the morning to reserve one for that night. The local schools had not let out then so the hostels were usually only about half full. Unless there is some sort of festival or school group, I would assume that they would be almost empty in February, at least out side the cities. We didn’t stay in Dublin, but the one in Belfast was the only one that didn’t have a parking lot.

A few that were memorable were;

Foulksrath Castle Hostel near Kilkenny. That was in a Castle(actually a tower house)

http://www.anoige.ie/hostels/foulksrath-castle

Whitepark Bay in Northern Ireland near the Giants causeway. A great facility, but we has good weather then.

http://www.anoige.ie/ezine/0109/whit...orthen-ireland

Glendaloch International Hostel, sort of like a college dorm, but in an unbelievable location.

http://www.anoige.ie/hostels/glendaloch

FYI, I booked by rental car directly with on the Irish Thrifty car rental web site because the would accept the car insurance that a gold MasterCard comes, but not Visa for some reason. Most of the other companies wouldn’t take the credit card insurance and their daily insurance was very expensive. This was over a year ago so be sure to read the fine print.

Greg

Both my children are musicians and often travel with 2 violins and sometimes a trumpet... I know airlines are getting stricter, but so far they've had no problem carrying them on flights in addition to a medium-sized handbag. We usually check our luggage even if it's carry-on size. We're petite and it's one less thing to lift into the overhead.

Beyond your obvious issues with the equipment, I only recommend parking in a very visible place. In a small town, see if this can be opposite the constable, or another place with traffic, even if it's further from your rooms - whatever they turn out to be. Leave nothing tell-tale in the car (maps or car rental folder, etc - anything that says tourist). Instead, leave an Irish newspaper on the seat.

Assuming you'll be meeting other (local) musicians in your travels, take advantage of professional courtesy and let a new friend store your instruments overnight.

If I were you, I would book rooms in small family-run b&amp;bs with good reputations. Fewer strangers in the house means fewer people with opportunity to run off with your stuff.

It is not safe anywhere to leave things in a car. Someone could be watching you lock your things up in the trunk of the car.

I have never had anything stolen from me or my family out of a b&amp;b room (or even a hotel room). But we have had several cars broken into and stuff stolen.

Good luck. Have a look at Michele Erdvig's Best Little Guide to Ireland for recommended b&amp;bs and guesthouses with good reputations, which are family-run. See her web-site at IrelandYes.com. You'll also get excellent advice right here from fodorites of course!

Tim,

I appreciate your frugality. However, in the month that you are looking to travel, February, the cost difference between Hostels and B&amp;B will be minimal at best. In addition, the breakfast that you will enjoy at the B&amp;B will be ample neough that you will more than likely forgo lunch, which also is a cost saver. I would never leave my equipment and instruments in a locker at a Hostel. However, we have left these items in our rooms at B&amp;Bs throughout Ireland and never had a worry or an issue.

I travel over to Ireland frequently with a guitar, mandolin, banjo, several harmonicas and two bodhrans. I also travel with a professional digital camera and all of its necessary accessories. We have left these same instruments &amp; photographic equipment in our vehicle when going in to eat, check out shops or wander some ruin or picture worthy site. The only precaution that we have ever taken was to drape our coats across the top of the boot. We have traveled all of Northern Ireland and Ireland and never had an issue, ***Knock on Wood***.

To address your photographic needs, I am thrilled to see that you are visiting the West Coast,as its ever changing topography and scenery, from South to North, will provide you ample opportunities.

When you have an idea of dates, I would be happy to suggest some very affordable B&amp;Bs for your perusal.

Slan Beo (Take care),

Bit