Should You Carry Your Passport Everywhere While Traveling?
One of the more stressful parts about traveling is figuring out how to protect your stuff. Not only things like your phone or wallet, but your most important personal document: your passport!
The main question travelers have is: should I bring my passport with me everywhere, or should I leave it behind in the hotel?
If you bring it out with you, how do you keep it safe from pickpockets or damage?
If you leave it behind, where do you hide it so opportunistic thieves can’t rummage through your stuff and take it from you?
As a full-time traveler for over three years now, I’ve handled the passport problem in a few different ways. It honestly depends on which country you’re visiting and how risk-adverse you are.
This post will go over the different options you have for carrying your passport or not, storing it safely on your person or in your room, and some ideas for alternatives to carrying your actual passport.
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When do you need to carry your passport with you?
Assuming you know that you’ll need it for international travel and crossing borders, here’s some other reasons you might want to take it out with you:
- Some tourist attractions require foreigners to show their passport for the foreigner ticket price. I’ve run into this in Japan, for instance, where I needed to show my passport to pick up a foreigner-only train pass. Apparently China also checks passports for entry to museums and things.
- Some countries do random passport checks of people they think are foreign. This could happen on trains, buses, or just walking down the street. Malaysia, for instance, wants to see your original passport with the entry stamp on it.
- If you’re on a tour that’s going to a restricted area (especially a government building), you might need your passport to get in.
- You’ll need to show your passport to get tax refunds at stores!
- You’ll need your passport to register for SIM cards in some countries like Thailand and Malaysia.
And then you’ll also need your passport for things like getting money from a bank or doing a money exchange, checking into hotels, or picking up tickets at train stations, theaters, and so on.
Generally I end up taking my passport out with me everywhere, especially in Asia.
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Pacsafe is my preferred anti-theft travel gear company. Their stuff is very well-made, holds up to the rigors of travel, and doesn’t look too much like you obviously have an anti-theft bag.
What you’ll need to protect against
Just so we’re all on the same page, here’s the typical dangers regarding your passport:
- Theft, either from your person or from your hotel room
- Hacking, from RFID scanners taking your info
- Damage, from water, sweat, food, etc.
- Losing it somewhere
While I don’t think it’s necessary to be fanatical about protecting your passport from theft, as most times even thieves just want money rather than your ID, it IS a good idea to create and maintain procedures about where you take your passport and how you store it. That way you aren’t panicking about losing it or damaging it, and you always know exactly where it is.
Keeping your passport safe while on your person
Okay, so you decided to take your passport out with you. How do you keep it safe from pickpockets, and potential damage?
First, I highly recommend putting your passport into a cover. You can even get a high-tech RFID blocking cover and stash it in there. The cover will keep your passport from getting worn out, and it’ll keep it from bending if you have it in your purse or pocket. (Many countries have strict guidelines about the condition of your passport. If it’s “too damaged,” even if it’s just a small crease, they won’t let you in!)
An alternative (or additional) protection is to put it in a plastic bag, like one of these silicone quart sized bags. This’ll give you the same protection as a regular cover, plus water protection! But it’s not great for keeping it from bending, and you obviously won’t have the RFID blocking stuff.
Second, you need to figure out where to keep it.
If you have an anti-theft purse, like the Pacsafe CitySafe, then there’s a few good pockets inside where you can stash it. This is what I do normally, and I make sure to never let it leave my sight or take my hand off it when I’m walking around. The CitySafe has an RFID blocking pocket, too, though on mine it’s a bit too small to fit the passport when it’s inside a cover, too.
Don’t carry a purse or prefer to keep it even closer? Use a money belt like this one. It goes under your clothes, so it’s only good if you don’t need to be digging into it all day– otherwise everybody will know you have one and negate the purpose of wearing it in the first place.
An alternative for women is this little pocket which hooks onto your bra. I’ve seen similar ones for men that go around a belt.
Some travel clothing brands make clothes with hidden pockets in them. For instance, all my Columbia long-sleeve shirts have a little hidden pocket on the side (though they’re not big enough to hold a passport). Enterprising travelers have sewn their own hidden pockets into their clothes as well, which is a fantastic idea.
Alternatively, you can try forgoing carrying your actual passport with you, and just take a photo and/or a photocopy. It’s a good way to have it with you without actually needed the real thing! However, most places don’t accept copies like that as proof of ID, so keep that in mind.
Keeping your passport safe in your hotel
If you don’t want to take your passport out with you, then you’ll need to stash it some place safe in your accommodation. How you’ll do this depends totally on what kind of luggage you have, what kind of hotel you’re staying at, and how good you are at remembering your own hiding places.
If someone is determined to get to your passport to steal it, they’re going to find it eventually. There’s only so many hiding places in a hotel room, and a determined thief is going to check all of them. The goal here is to deter the opportunistic thieves who just want a quick grab.
What I DON’T recommend doing is hiding it “in a good place” in your actual hotel room and then walking away. That’s a great way to forgot you put it behind the headboard and only realize once you’re at the airport trying to go home.
Pick somewhere in the room that’s unusual, but easy for you to get to. For instance, inside the minifridge, under a lamp with a big base, or in the closet under some extra pillows. TAKE A PHOTO OF THE LOCATION, and set a reminder on your phone to get your passport before you check out of the hotel!
Another thing I don’t recommend is keeping it in the hotel safe. Those safes have global entry keys and anyone can get into them, staff or otherwise. While most hotels are okay, in sketchy places you’ll want to be more cautious of using things like that.
Instead, what I recommend is hiding it in your luggage (or in the room elsewhere as mentioned above).
If you have a suitcase, then put it in there and lock it. But! Don’t just put it in and wander away. That’s just as bad as using the hotel safe, because all suitcases have TSA-friendly locks…which means anyone with a TSA master key can open them.
Instead, check your suitcase lining for a zipper. Usually you can open it, stick something behind it, and then close it again. (That’s actually where I keep my Apple Air Tag in my suitcase for when I do checked baggage on flights.)
For those who are only traveling with a backpack: most modern travel backpacks have a little hidden pocket somewhere. You can hide it in there, and then lock your backpack to a sturdy part of the room.
Or you could try hiding your passport in the closet! Zip it into a pair of pants and hang it from the hanger as normal.
The idea here isn’t to build an impenetrable fortress, it’s to make it inconvenient and unlikely for someone to walk off with it. Whatever you choose, I recommend picking ONE way to do it and make that your standard procedure. You’re less likely to forget your passport if you know you always hide it underneath your underwear in the hotel dresser, for instance.
Portable safe?
Some people, especially those who travel with a lot of expensive gear like laptops and cameras, travel with one of these portable travel safes. You can get them in different sizes, including larger ones that are big enough for laptops.
There’s also this backpack net which was very popular a few years ago
Personally I’ve never used one, and I’ve never felt the need to use one. And honestly they scream “I have something valuable here” which just seems like it’d attract more thieves. But if you’re particularly nervous about keeping your things safe, then one or the other might be a worthwhile investment for you.
Final thoughts: Passport safety
Traveling with your passport doesn’t have to be complicated, or nerve-wracking. Just pick one way to keep it safe when you’re out and about, and pick one way to stash it in your hotel when you need to. If it doesn’t work for you, you can always try something else.
Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer—it’s about finding what works for you and your trip. Assess your needs, stay mindful of your surroundings, and focus on enjoying your adventure. Safe travels, and may your passport always stay exactly where you left it!
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