Where do you keep your passport?

[megde34]

I have been wondering for a while where is the safest place to keep my passport while I am travelling on my upcoming trip to Africa. I suppose the options are:

1. on your body
2. in your big luggage bag
3. in your day pack
4. left on the bus/hotel

Where do you feel most comfortable keeping your passport?

[Zuleika]

on your body 1000%
Never never never in my big pack and usually not in my day pack either - both smack of tourist pick me!!! 1000% Never left on a bus either - why would you????
its always in my money belt inside my clothes - who would trust it anywhere else?
If your on safari then they may have a lockable place on the truck that is acceptable, but bear in mind if it is a locker that has your own padlock then most of those small suitcase padlocks the keys are generic and fit any locks and open all of them as easy as pie!
The only time I may consider parting with it is at a trusted hotel when Im about to go out on the lash - then I have to think its safer if its NOT on me lolol

[DanielBMe]

"its always in my money belt inside my clothes - who would trust it anywhere else? "

~cough cough~

[IncaTrail50]

Always on my body. I wear convertible (zip-off leg) hiking pants. They have a few sizes of pockets, one which fits the passport exactly and it zips for added security. The passport fits so snugly it's unlikely anyone could pilfer it without me noticing! I can barely get it into and out of the pocket myself.

[megde34]

Wow pretty strong response for option 1. then huh.

See from what I had read a bit on this forum I thought most would leave theirs locked on the Gap Bus safe/lockable draw thing?

What do you do if you always have it on your body, but then decide to go for a swim? Where you cant first go back to the hotel/bus? Do you counter this with a waterproof sleeve?

I am going to Africa in 6 days (just a little excited) and I thought mugging is a possibility, do you think it is less probable then my bags being taken or rummaged through?

Thanks for your responses!

[kateyb]

I left mine in the safe in the bus along with everyone else. Never worried about it being in there. Other times I have traveled I have left it in the safe at hostels behind the front desk, which you usually have to pay a few bucks for but worth it to me. And other times I have carried it on me. I have some travel pants with a small enough pocket to fit my passport by my shin and a travel shirt where the passport fits nicely in a deep pocket that sits by my stomach. I have tried numerous money belts and I really don't like wearing them, so now I buy clothes that have discreet, semi-hidden pockets on them.

[ExplorerWannaBe]

It depends on what you're doing. In the cities in Africa, I had it on my person. On the truck for the overland expedition I kept it in the safe on the truck except when we got to border crossings.

[barbara9909]

I guess the one question is if you go for a swim. You might with a Gap tour and then probably you'd leave it with the bus or trip leader if everyone was at the same place. It becomes more of an issue if you are traveling alone and want to swim. You could get a waterproof diving bag for it and take it with you? Any ideas on this? I'm going to Greece later this year by myself and will want to swim

[kateyb]

if your hotel/hostel has a safe I use it. Never had any issues.

[courts09]

I keep mine in the hotel safe or if traveling between towns in my day pack. Generally when it's in my day pack it's in an internal pocket in there so I'm not too worried about it. I don't like wearing money belts or those neck pouches so the bag works for me.

I figure if someone is going to pickpocket me they are more likely to go for the SLR or my wallet and if they do get my passport that's pretty unlucky.

[marion123]

Carry copy of your passport. If you are a women then use Bra cups as pockets for passport, cash.
You can keep your passport in big bag. If you are in Hotel Room then ask the manager of the hotel
for safety passport locker. Mostly I like the 4th Option.

[kcupp95]

I kept mine in a secure pocket in my handbag in USA/Canada (you would have to have tried really hard to pickpocket or steal the handbag). I liked keeping it on my person as I was very wary of USA security especially at museums/tourist attractions and wanted to be able to produce approved government id if ever asked by police, or even just using my credit card when shopping which did happen a couple of times. I tried using my driver's licence (Australian) at a bottle shop in Canada as ID and just got laughed at. Definitely made sure to keep my passport on me after that.

[Kardvark7]

I usually keep it in the hotel safe, and just carry a photocopy of the relevant pages tucked in a hidden pocket. When I first started travelling I was warned to always carry my passport on my body at all times, but I found this to be quite inconvenient, and the passport wound up getting slightly bent and wet when I got caught in a sudden downpour once. When I started travelling more, I met a lot of people who assured me it was perfectly OK to keep your passport in the hotel safe or with your tour guide.

[pancake]

This is more applicable to Turkey, but I have read that you must have ID on you at all times so if you don't have a driver's licence I'd make sure you have your passport on you. Worth having a check on the embassy websites to see what's acceptable in the country you're traveling in.

[nytim]

I use Pacsafe products for my valuables unless the hotel as a rom safe.