BumbleB6

Carry the purse across the front of your body, not shoulder, is what I meant to say.

thursdaysd

Nyet may work better than no, lol.

doug_stallings

So funny thursdaysd ... I was going to say the same thing.

sparkchaser

<i>...I cut them off mid-sentence and said, in a firm voice, No.</i>

If that fails to achieve results, try it again but reinforce the "NO" with a rolled up newspaper to the nose.

DJCat

I use a cross body purse that is slash proof and all of the pockets close with zippers that can be clipped. Of course, this can be a pain when you are trying to get at something in your purse and can't get the clip undone.

kja

Unfortunately, the things dljonesaz are describing are simply NOT always going to be possible and will NOT provide the security of an under-one's-clothing passport pouch. Why would anyone not take advantage of an easy, safe, and inexpensive way to keep key items secure?

RajatMakar

In our recent trip to Paris & Venice, we came across 2 close pick-pocket cases.

The first one was at the escalator in Saint Michel metro station. One young guy was trying to lift my wallet from my hip pocket while another younger girl tried to block my wife's vision. His 2 fingers were already lifting the wallet and I hardly realized anything. My wife noticed it at last moment and shooed them away

After this incident, I started keeping my wallet in a zipped side pocket of my jeans.

The other incident was in a Venice vaporetto stop. 2 girls, hardly 13-14 years old took the purse of a chinese tourist and were about to leave. The chinese tourist noticed and simply snatched it back. No words exchanged, the girls ran away scared.

girlonthego

In Paris, near the Eiffel Tower, a gypsy asked my husband if he spoke English and he said no I don't and walked away. LOL

I use a pac safe purse. I always take a taxi to the hotel and then put everything in the safe. I take only a small amount of money and one card that I keep under my clothes. My purse has nothing of importance in it while sightseeing. If I am taking trains, sometimes I don't even carry a purse.

girlonthego

On the Italian trains, we all had backpacks and we had little locks with keys to prevent someone from unzipping and taking things out.

aliced

I have a Travelon purse, not too large, but with a slash-proof cross body strap. The zipper clips to a latch. But last summer I bought a 12-pocket Magellan black windbreaker which carries everything imaginable instead of carrying a purse. My husband wears his Scottevest. Both of these have mainly inside pockets. If too warm to wear these, we have pants w zippered front pockets (North Face, Ex Officio and the like). No problems in Paris, Rome, Barcelona or other sites frequently mentioned herein. We also have elastic moneybelts to wear underneath our shirts if necessary. Yes, we have it all. If you don't want to invest a lot, many of these can be found at TJMaxx, Marshalls. Or, borrow from a well-travelled friend.

Whathello

I love the locks on backpacks or luggage.
I remember seeing a guy in the metro (Paris I think) with his briefcase sliced open. the leather had been cut on three sides - not difficult then to steal what was in it.

So I wear my chainmail, and beware of can openeers.

blaire25

I have heard pick pocketing has become quite a problem - some being so good at it there is no "accidental" contact at all. Since there is some limited protection in getting fraudulent credit card purchases reversed would you say it is a better idea to carry credit cards vs. cash? I have limited experience travelling abroad, but have not run into a situation that I couldn't use a card instead of cash.

suze

No, I would carry cash (not huge amounts). There are lots of places in the world you can't use a credit card especially for smaller purchases, public transportation, etc.

I'm not sure where you "heard pick pocketing has become quite a problem"?

Are you going to Paris specifically?

janisj

>>would you say it is a better idea to carry credit cards vs. cash?<<

A LOT depends on where you are talking about. If in most of the industrialized/first world there is no need to carry wads of cash.

But in some other places cash is king.

girlonthego

In Paris, I would have one credit card and 100 euros at the most if I were out for the day.
The credit card would be under my clothes somewhere. No more than 20 euros in the front pocket to pay for small things. I would distribute money in different places/pockets. I am a big fan of the slashproof pocket books, bra stash for credit card, bags with locks, etc..
Leave everything that is important to you in the hotel room safe.

Take more than one credit card with you to europe. We usually take two or three different ones between two of us, and that's it. Leave the rest at home. The card you take out for the day, make sure you have the numbers and phone number to call if it gets lost or stolen.
I opened a new bank account at a different bank that has atm capabilities worldwide, so a large bank. I put 2500 in it and that is the atm card we take to europe or travel outside the US. If it gets stolen, it has no link to our accounts that we have money being deposited in or bills being paid from.
I have friends that bought a AAA prepaid money card and used that as their ATM card while on a river cruise through europe.

I always land with money for the country, Paris=Euros. I get them from the local bank or AAA. AAA can sell you a pack of 100 euros in all denominations which is great to land with some local money.
Alert your credit cards and the bank that you are going to such and such countries or they will deny your charges while in Paris. You can do this online.

Take credit cards that do not charge foreign transaction fees. Many cards today are offering no ft fees. Amex is not wildly used, mastercard and visa are preferred.

Hope this helps.

LionsTail

Common sense & awareness of your surroundings. seems like most of the advice falls into this category.