5 ways to keep your valuables safe while traveling
By Aimee Heckel
It’s a bad combo. When you go on a special vacation, you want to pack your best clothes and favorite jewelry, so you will look your best. You need your money, ID, passport and credit card more than ever.
Yet you put all of these important objects in a suitcase and hand them over to strangers, or leave them in a new room that other people have keys to.
Losing your valuables while traveling can be heartbreaking and scary. Here are five ways to keep your goodies safe while you’re on vacation.
1. Make photo copies of your ID, passport, credit card and anything else you pack in your wallet. If they are stolen, this makes it easier to report it and replace them.
2. Don’t bring more than you need. Only pack what you know you are going to wear and use. No need to bring every Visa card. Just pack one, or opt for traveler’s checks.
3. Use the hotel safety deposit box. And not just for your cash. Even jewelry with sentimental value, your travel itinerary, your car keys, cell phone — anything that would be upsetting to lose.
Hide larger items that don’t fit in the box, such as your laptop. Tuck it in a drawer under your clothes or zip it up in your suitcase, rather than leaving it out on the table for passersby and employees to see.
4. Carry your passport and ID in a special passport bag around your neck that you can slip inside your shirt while you’re in the airport. Beyond deterring pick-pocketers, this keeps your passport readily accessible.
We love this stylish, striped Liz Claiborne passport holder from JCPenney, complete with a matching luggage tag. Another way to safely store your passport is in a passport case, like this one from JCPenney for under $20, which comes in a variety of different colors — hello, hot pink!
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5. Don’t flaunt your wealth. Don’t count cash in public. We know you want to look nice, but dressing too flashily can make you a target, especially in foreign countries. Store your money in different places, too. Don’t put all your Benjamins in one basket.
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