<p>My s will very soon be traveling in Europe and Asia (if…he manages to tame his very wiley passport). I have no confidence that he will keep track of it and keep it safe. Where/how do you (esp. you guys) carry your passports? In your backpack, pocket, security belt, shoulder pouch? I want something that will work (and that means something he’d actually use). Ideas from experienced country-hoppers would be welcomed.</p>
<p>My daughter is currently traveling in costa rica with a money belt. You might stress to your son that a US passport is worth about $10,000 to a thief and that he should treat his passport as if it were cash.</p>
<p>Our travel agent gave each of the pboys a nice zippered travel doc case.</p>
<p>Looks similar to this one.</p>
<p>Their itinerary, their lounges cards and their passports stay in there and go into the hostel safe.</p>
<p>They carry their driver’s licenses for ID.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/MEA33696-Document-Zipper-Closure-Pockets/dp/B0006OF4LU[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/MEA33696-Document-Zipper-Closure-Pockets/dp/B0006OF4LU</a></p>
<p>If he ahs time, make sure he has enough pages for visas and stamps. He can have extra pages added.</p>
<p>Oh!!!.. I’ll definitely cite that statistic.</p>
<p>Cheers, where do they actually keep the case?</p>
<p>They keep it in their backpacks on the plane and transfer it to the hostel safe or room safe when they arrive.</p>
<p>They have lost many debit cards–but no passports to date. <em>knowck knowck</em></p>
<p><a href=“Rick Steves Europe: Site error”>http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=124&id=32</a></p>
<p>what my H used, its easy, light, adjustable and safe</p>
<p>carry a bit of extra cash in a pocket, and everything should be in a front pocket</p>
<p>if using atm take card out as soon as it pops out of machine, they will suck them back in if not grabbed fast enough, which is a good thing</p>
<p>make copies of everything, he takes a set, you have a set, with BACKS of cards as well, with all those phone #s, so you can call immediately</p>
<p>My kids have not traveled on their own as much as Cheers’ kids, but they’ve followed CGM’s system of having a fanny pack. This is easier to use at airports than having to unload the knapsack in search of the passport and ticket. I also have them carry a copy of the front page of the passport and other important information somewhere else (as well as having this information at home). So far, nothing has been lost. S1 had a duffel bag that was taken by mistake by someone else on a bus between London and Manchester, but he had his knapsack with him and his important documents were in his fanny pack. He just lost a lot of clothes.</p>
<p>what I like about the money belt (egad, don’t tell a guy its a fanny back) is it goes under the clothes, but is really soft, so you barely know its there</p>
<p>If its really hot, put your $$ and such in a plastic bag in the belt</p>
<p>My H who is really fussy, liked it and took it on his last trip</p>
<p>my Ds both have gotten used to a shoulder pouch, especially when at the airport, no digging in big bags</p>
<p>As a precaution, have him scan the front pages (with photo) and e-mail it to himself on some Internet accessible e-mail (gmail, Yahoo, etc.).</p>
<p>This can speed a replacement, should it be needed.</p>
<p>The problem with money belts is they can be hot and uncomfortable - especially in southern Europe in the summer or parts of Asia any time. At least they are for me.</p>
<p>I’m not necessarily recommending this but I’ve always carried my passport in my pocket - generally a front pocket. It would be even better if the pocket zipped but mine weren’t. I’ve never had a problem but I’ve traveled a lot and am generally very aware of my surroundings. </p>
<p>Maybe there should be a new line of travel clothing with comfortable inside zipped pokets or even a normal front pocket with a small lockable zipper or perhaps velcro plus a zipper. Not all hotels have room safes available and I’m not always comfortable leaving important items in a safe at the front desk.</p>
<p>Very helpful thoughts/suggestions. I’ll scour stores tomorrow and will encourage s to take these safety precautions VERY carefully (and I agree re: the clothing line). Thanks all!</p>
<p>UCSD:</p>
<p>If guys are like my son, they live in pocketless T-shirts, no jackets. Hence the money belt. His cell phone often drops out of his pants pockets. I don’t know what else has been lost that way, nevermind the pickpocket problem.</p>
<p>I’ve been told that money belts are uncool, cause you know, that wouldn’t occur to anyone my age. We own a bunch but the boys aren’t having any of that.</p>
<p>
Yup - either no pockets or huge pockets in very baggy pants that one could probably pickpocket a bowling ball out of without the owner feeling it. </p>
<p>I do think a special pocket sewn on the inside of the pants/shorts would be nice so the PP can be kept on one’s person, would be comfortable, and would be fairly safe. It might even work with guys who are only wearing a couple of different pairs of pants on their 3 week journey. It might look a little odd when they reach into the inside pocket though.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>ummm… yes. :)</p>
<p>We took D’s new shoulder bags to the tailor and had a hidden pocket sewn in and lined so it is hard to get at for anyone who doesn’t know it’s there.</p>
<p>Jasmom – If you can’t find anything that works in the shops, try Travelsmith.com or Magellan.com. LLbean has travel stuff too. I’ve seen a flat pouch that goes around the neck and hangs under clothes that’s big enough for a passport. Works best if they tuck their shirts in so that if it comes undone (with or with help) it just falls into their stomach area. There’s also pants with extra deep front pockets…down the thigh…to hold items out of reach of the average pickpocket. (I guess if somebody had their arm into your pocket up to the elbow you’d notice…) I also like the bags with steel cable running through the strap so a thief can’t cut the bag off your shoulder. There’s lots of clever merchandise available to keep stuff safe.</p>
<p>This may be an obvious question, but are money belts and stuff for tourists who don’t want to leave passports in their hotels, or do you need to carry your passport around at all times while in another country? I’m a total novice to travelling of any kind, but I’ll be studying abroad next semester, and I guess I was just planning on leaving it in my room (I’ll be staying with a hostess in Paris). Would it be needed for everyday life or just for crossing borders, travelling and such?</p>
<p>Bing- when my teenager went, the group leader collected the passports for safekeeping, and gave the kids scans of their passports for identification on the subway etc.</p>