How to Carry Valuables While Traveling

The rule to follow when traveling with valuables is to take what you need and hide it well. Leave the rest - including irreplaceable treasures and excess credit cards - at home.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Money Belts
• Travelers' Checks

1. Carry traveler's checks and one or two major credit cards instead of cash.

2. Create two lists of the serial numbers of your traveler's checks. Leave one with a friend or relative at home, and carry your copy with you. Cross the numbers off as you cash the checks.

3. Make two copies of your passport identification page, airline tickets, driver's license and credit cards. Leave one photocopy with family or friends at home; carry the other in a place other than where you carry your other valuables.

4. Lock your passport, cash and credit cards in a hotel safe, whenever possible. If you have to carry them, keep them in your inside pockets, in a money belt around your waist, or around your neck and tucked under your shirt.

5. Avoid storing valuables in handbags, fanny packs and outside pockets; these are easy targets.

6. Take small amounts of money from automatic teller machines. Avoid taking out large amounts for all to see.

Tips & Warnings

• If traveling for an extended period of time, think about renting a safety deposit box.
• Try to travel light. You'll move more quickly and will be more likely to have a free hand.
• Avoid standing out as a tourist, which will make you an obvious target. Dress like a local, if possible.
• Pickpockets target wallets kept in the back pocket or in a backpack.

[bipbop]

on 11/5/2009 FYI: I always thought Traverler's Cheques were the best thing to carry when traveling. However, I have never had so much trouble cashing one as I did last December, (2008). No one, including the bank where my brother has an account, wanted to cash them. (I live in OH and was visiting my brother in FL.) I'll be carrying cash and credit cards on my person, (FRONT jeans pockets!-I buy jeans with big front pockets), every where I go from now on because I thought I was never going to be able to cash those checks! Even the grocery store where I shop in my home town wouldn't take one of them before I left town! I am serious-if you think you're going to need cash, do not count on Traveler's Checques any more, even though they're supposed to be just like cash because you pay for them with cash, no one wants to cash them because they are evidently easy to "make" on a printer at home these days...

[eabrennan]

on 11/4/2009 All good suggestions, thank you.

[extremecommute]

on 6/29/2009 If you're traveling in a high-crime country such as Venezuela, it might be a good idea to carry enough cash for the day and perhaps one credit card. Avoid debit cards, because if your number is stolen, you can be liable for fraudulent charges.

[sallu8]

on 4/24/2009 The key is not to put all your eggs in one basket, keep the minimum daily needed cash in your front pocket and your passport, caredit cards and cash in an inside pocket or a safe.

[duncandr]

on 4/15/2009 Why not email yourself scanned copies of your drivers license, credit cards, passport, etc and then store it in a folder that you will remember. You can then retrieve and print them from anywhere in the world where you can find an internet connection and a printer.