A money belt will give you peace of mind

October 24, 2009

By Sid Kaplan
Travel Writer
Troy Media

Sid Kaplan

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Oct. 24, 2009/ Troy Media/ – When people ask me for travel advice, the first thing I tell them is to wear a money belt.

What kind of travel advice is THAT?

The best kind, because nothing ruins a trip faster than to lose your passport and credit cards or cash. The best way to protect them is to wear a money belt.

You’ve probably seen leather belts with a little zipper in them and wonder how can you get anything in there? But that’s not what I’m talking about. Travel money belts are small, zippered nylon pouches that you wear under your clothes. They’re usually about five inches by 12 inches. (12 cm x 30 cm). You wear them around your waist, either in the front or in the small of your back.

Its little compartment is big enough to slip your passport in. Paper airplane tickets fit as well. You should put credit cards, debit cards, and your driver’s license in there. Once you’ve gotten cash from the ATM, keep just enough for one day in your wallet and put the rest in your money belt.

My wife and I use them anytime we go away from home for more than a day trip. When we’re traveling, we put them on when we get up in the morning, and we don’t have to worry: all those valuable documents are safely tucked away with us all day.

Once you arrive in a foreign country, and after you’ve gone through passport control, you’ve probably found an ATM for money. Now, before you do anything else, find a toilet or WC (in most countries they are marked as Toilets or WCs not restrooms). You can put that passport, ATM card and most of the money away in your money belt in privacy.

Don’t say you’ll put it away later. Wear a money belt now and USE it. On first arrival is the one time when you’re most vulnerable because you’re jet lagged, taking public transportation into town, juggling your luggage . . . You’re a prime target for a pickpocket. If you stop and tuck everything away, you’ll have greater peace of mind.

If you need more money or a credit card during the day, there will always be a restroom or a private corner where you can dip into your money belt safely. Once you’re done with your transaction, put your credit card back in your money belt.

Keep a good photocopy of your passport with you. Sometimes that will be enough to show to the hotel desk clerk. If they need your passport to register you, you can always get it out for them in a lobby restroom or in your hotel room and bring it down later.

We put our passports, money, and paper documents inside a plastic zip-lock bag. If you get hot and sticky, you might sweat through those money belts. The plastic bag will protect your documents and money.

Once, when we were in Gombe National Park in Tanzania, we were having a wonderful two days observing chimps in the wild. But on the boat trip back to Kigali to catch our flight, a storm sprang up over Lake Tanganyika. Waves started crashing on the beach where we were supposed to wade ashore.

To cut the drama here, my spouse ended up in the water. The good news is the airline tickets and passports were just fine because of that zip-lock bag.

There are neck pouches that some people prefer, but whatever style you choose, wear a money belt. It will give you peace of mind.