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Informative Articles

Getting a Bargain Vacation: Travel at the Off Times
For many people, a vacation is just too expensive. They don't think they can afford to go someplace nice because they don't have the money to do it. But often, this is just because they are looking only at the "peak" times to travel. What is a...

How To Be Safe While Traveling
The most dangerous time in your life, when you are most likely to be attacked is when you are traveling in an unfamiliar area. Tourists are the favorite prey of the goblins of the world for the following reasons: They are easy to spot....

Traveling and Playing Golf Today
Taking the family out for a holiday and you play golf! If you're a golf enthusiast, you will know that golf is all about who you play golf with and where you play golf. It makes a world of difference! In fact, it's a good idea for you to take your...

Travelling to and within Ireland.
To enjoy travelling in Ireland one has to have first travelled to Ireland. As Ireland is an island nation, travelling to Ireland means arriving by either air or sea. One also has to consider the modes of transport on offer to travel around...

When Traveling Abroad, Use Your EQ
What do you do when you don’t know the language or customs? That’s when your EQ, or Emotional Intelligence, comes in handy. On my recent tour to Russia, the people in large cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg) knew English, but not in the small...

 
Travel Money Belts - Travel Security

Travel money belts are still a good way to carry cash. They're common, and thieves know of them, but it isn't easy to tell if your belt has a hidden compartment, and it isn't easy for a robber to get at it quickly. It is a good way to carry SOME of your cash when you travel. Here are some more ways.

Losing Money In An Ecuadorian Disco

Travel gets me thinking of ways to hide money. I had the idea that a hundred dollars, wrapped up in an ace bandage on my leg, would be safer than in money belts. It worked for ten days on our trip to Ecuador, until we went dancing. The cash danced to its own tune, which I didn't even notice until morning. The lesson is to wrap it up tight, or don't go dancing.

Hiding Money And Documents

There are travel options other than money belts for hiding cash and important papers. Use several of them, rather than putting everything in one place. Don't carry too much cash. It's easy now, almost everywhere, to access your money using an ATM, so carry enough for a few days, or a week at most.

There are pouches that hang under your shirt to carry your passport and other papers. They're obvious if you're wearing a light shirt, but then it is always hard to thoroughly hide a passport on your body. In any case, it isn't easily accessible to pickpockets.

I cut a pocket from some old pants and used a safety pin to attach it inside my travel pants. This has worked well on several trips. It's not noticible, and would be difficult for a thief to get at without taking off my pants. However, it is inconvenient when I'm asked for my passport,


since I have to reach into my pants.

Hiding Money In Shoes

If the inner soles of your shoes are removable, put twenty dollars under each one for emergencies. This works well for me, but then I don't have expensive shoes that could themselves be a target. It is just another place to hide cash, and you should always have several different ones when traveling.

Think creatively. Roll up a bill and put it in the handle of a disposable razor. Just don't throw it away by accident. Find or make other hiding places. If your money is in several hard-to-find places, it will take a persistent thief to find all of your cash. Make robbers truly work for their living.

Hiding money in your hotel room requires some thought. There are many good places. Ask any thief, and he'll tell you the best ones. Just choose a safe hotel and be careful. Of course, hiding things will at least reduce the temptation for bad employees and lazy thieves.

I once had a wallet stolen from a zippered back pocket. It was a decoy wallet, so the pickpocket's skill earned him a few pieces of paper. Another time I had to drag a robber off a bus and wait for police, but his accomplice escaped with our money. Travel is about adventure, but fortunately we can avoid this kind most of the time.


About the Author

Steve Gillman hit the road at sixteen, and traveled the U.S. and Mexico alone at 17. Now 40, he travels with his wife Ana, whom he met in Ecuador. To read their stories, tips and travel information, visit: http://www.EverythingAboutTravel.com