Security of valuables (cost, hotel, hotel, vacations)

[AksarbeN]

Security of valuables while traveling seems to be an issue whenever I’ve talked with friends who have been to foreign countries; however that doesn’t discount the many major cities within the US that are also of concern when visiting them. Pickpockets seem to be around any tourist city or area, so what are the best things to do with your valuables while walking around? What is the best thing to do with valuables that you need or have to leave in the hotel? You can’t protect yourself against everything but are there some reasonable things that can get listed for our own protection? I always feel uncomfortable leaving things in the hotel room so how should I get around this problem?

Have you been a victim of a pickpocket or a hotel thief and how did you handle the problem?

[Alaskan Mutt]

Have had a pocket picked once. However it appears the person picking pockets was doing it for the challenge rather than actually stealing something as once he managed to get my passport he handed it back to me and walked off.

[Mattie]

Our vacations are usually to Caribbean beaches, not cities. I leave my jewelry home, and pack costume stuff that I don't mind losing. But, as soon as we get to our hotel, we place passports, tickets and wallets inside the safe and set a combination. They can remain there for the rest of the trip, we charge everything to the room, even off site in many cases.

[John7777]

It's easier not to bring too many valuables in the first place. For example, you really don't need an expensive watch on your vacation.

[scgali]

I don't bring any valuables such as jewelry (not even wedding ring) when going abroad. But for items like a passport or money, they make little fanny packs that are to be worn under your clothes instead of over. So they don't hold much but they do hold a passport and some money/cards and a pickpocket won't have access since under your pants. It wasn't uncomfortable or anything either. This was handy when I was in China and stupidly left my little travel bag that had my wallet in the cab. Obviously never saw the cab again but luckily my passport, cash, and important cards were on me.

[Bakeneko]

Like above posters, I don't pack any expensive jewelry when I travel. I don't want the hassle and feel very self conscious wearing the "good stuff" in poorer places. For resorts, etc - I have decent fakes including a gold plated/CZ wedding set

[Nodpete]

First of all, use a money belt for your cash and passport. I also put 2 rubber bands around my wallet and carry it in a front pocket. That makes it almost impossible to get the wallet out without some effort. We put any valuables in the room safe or the hotel safe. We had our luggage gone through in our hotel in Rome once when we went down for breakfast, we noticed that the "cleaning gal" was watching us and when we got back to the room, our passports and airline tickets were gone. This was on Easter Sunday. Later that day, someone from another town called the hotel and said that they had found our papers laying on the floor of a commuter train. So we had to hire a local person to drive us to that town and to the police station to pick them up. The policeman wouldn't give them back even though we had photocopies of our passports and he could see that we matched the passport photos. He kept hemmin & hawin until after about 20 minutes he slid them over to us and walked away. Later our tour guide said "If you'd have slipped him a few Euros, you would have been out of there in 1 minute." Should have realized how things are done there. But it sure was a learning experience.

[spiderbytz]

I travel light...extremely light. Disposable phone, nothing expensive.

[Chava61]

Usually I don't travel with many valuables except what is necessary and then usually I try not to leave anything of value in a hotel room. The only valuable thing I found was stolen from me weeks later was a check from a spare checkbook that in a travel bag that I left in my hotel room. During that trip I was actually moving back to the USA from Ecuador and stopped on the way at a conference in Orlando and that is why I had the spare checkbook (which normally I wouldn't be traveling with). I only realized that the check had been stolen when I got it back with a bank statement a couple of months later made out to unknown person with a signature that wasn't mine (as the bank didn't bother to check the signature as sum was $600 and the bank only checked signatures for checks above $1000). So I did complain to the bank and after an investigation I got my $600 and was told it was scam by some hotel employees (maids?) to steal one check at the back of the checkbook assuming the person wouldn't notice it when cashed.

[pvande55]

Don't take anything along you are not prepared to lose.