by Sue Langeder

Created on: June 02, 2009

Traveling is the ultimate experience and you want to get through your journey without any upsets. So what's the best way to hide your valuables when they are constantly on you or in foreign places? Here are a few tips for future travelers.

The best advice is take only what you need. There is no need for expensive jewelry, except your wedding band and engagement/eternity rings. If you want to dress up, take some costume jewelry for those special nights out, but keep the diamonds at home.

Get yourself a skin colored money belt. Keep your passport, cash and a spare credit card in there. Hide it under your clothing and ensure that it can't be seen as an extra bump in your layers.

Use the hotel safe. Most, these days, have a code that only you can pre-set. If you are staying in the same place for a few nights, it's possibly the safest place to hide your valuables including money, jewelry, passports, travel documentation, iPods, cameras and cell phones.

If walking around a lot doing the touristy thing, keep your cameras, phones, iPods and wallets in front of you - never in a backpack, in your back pocket or on your side. Have your camera on a string that is securely attached to your wrist. Do a mental check of everything you have on you every half an hour or so, so it's easy to retrace your steps if something is missing.

Buy a carry bag that has loads of pockets in it or secret compartments and has a zipper so that your valuables can be out of sight always. If ever you are in a position where you could be mugged, they will only look at what's on the immediate insides of your bag, not to open every pocket. Make sure the immediate insides include things like a hair brush, tampons, a notepad or some ruffled up brochures. The personal items will turn them off digging deeper.

Keep some cash hidden in a sock or inside your bra. You'll never know when you may need it.

If you are planning to back-pack or travel for a few months and then coming back to the same terminal, think about hiring a locker to put away your summer/winter clothes or maybe your sporting equipment. It always helps traveling a little lighter.

Don't lay sunglasses, wallets/purses, hotel room keys, cameras or phones on a cafe table and turn your head away from them. Ever. In a foreign country, you don't know how trustworthy even the waiter is, so best not to leave temptation in the open. Always keep your bag at your feet with all your necessary items and ensure that your bag is between your feet or somehow the handle is looped through your foot so no one can snatch it. Always keep it zipped up.

Hopefully these few tips will keep your traveling days safe and trouble free giving you the freedom to be able to share fabulous stories of your travels when you arrive safely back home.

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