Last updated on April 8, 2025 by Shannon Losing your passport while traveling is a nightmare, especially if you’re on a business trip or a short vacation. Running through your mind is surely if you can get a new passport in time for you flight home. Not only would damaging or losing it upend your … Read more This travel story (A Little Safety… How to Properly Pack Your Passport for Travel ) first appeared on the A Little Adrift Travel Blog, thank you for following the journey. 🙂 Last updated on April 8, 2025 by Shannon Losing your passport while traveling is a nightmare, especially if you’re on a business trip or a short vacation. Running through your mind is surely if you can get a new passport in time for you flight home. Not only would damaging or losing it upend your travel plans, but it’s pricey to replace a passport while overseas. While it’s fairly fast and doable if you’re in a capital city, it’s no fun if you’re anywhere else. Your best bet is to keep it safe in the first place. I left to travel the world for a year way back in 2008, and I never moved back to the States. Instead, I traveled for a decade before settling in Barcelona, Spain since 2018. In all of that time, I’ve never yet lost my passport or had it stolen (knock on wood!), and I’ve learned a number of ways to keep it secure on the road—everything from money belts to fanny packs to hotel safes. I know not only the best ways to carry it on your person, but tips that ensure you don’t lose your identity or find it dripping wet after an exploded water bottle. Do You Need RFID Protection for Your Passport? Digital identity theft is not on most people’s radar, but buying a passport wallet with RFID protection is your best bet to protect yourself and your family. RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification, and it refers to the technology used in modern U.S. passports (and most other countries) to store personal information. Your RFID passport contains a wealth of your personal information that you don’t want to fall into the wrong hands. Here’s what you should know: Passports with RFID technology can be vulnerable to skimming, which is when someone uses a device to read the information on your passport without your knowledge. An RFID-blocking passport holder or sleeve prevents skimming by blocking the radio waves used to read the information on your passport. The U.S. Department of State recommends using an RFID-blocking passport holder or sleeve for added protection. This RFID-blocking passport holder is a simple and effective way to help prevent unauthorized access to your passport information. If you’re traveling as a family, this larger four-passport holder will change your life and ensure you never lose a single passport or boarding pass—my best friend travels as a family of five and has raved for years about this even larger one saves her sanity getting them all through passport control. How to Carry Your Passport When Traveling Let’s talk about the most underrated gear you’ll take on your trip: your passport holder and your purse or day pack. Nailing these two items represent a great investment for frequent travelers. A passport holder protects your passport from damage and digital identity theft. A good day pack (or a purse or fanny pack, whatever you use for your water bottles, hats, sunscreen, etc) keeps all of your gear, wallet and passport included, close to you and prevents pickpocketing and theft. How to Pick Your Passport Holder For overland travel: I’ve tried a lot of options over these years on the road. I used this slim neck undercover wallet to travel the world for the first few years. These types of passport holders go under your clothes as a neck or waste wallet. Let’s be honest: Neck and waist wallets can be a bit bulky and peg you as a tourist when you whip them out in public, but they’re ideal if you’re traveling overland on long train or bus rides. These are also the only types of passport holders that also function like a day bag—you won’t need a second way to carry your passport if you use one of these. My dad favors a waist belt while traveling, and a 30-something male travel friend swears by his neck wallet. For plane travel: If you’re traveling Europe or similar places, you likely want a passport holder with additional pockets and compartments for storing boarding passes and travel documents. This is particularly true of the larger ones intended for families (they also come in six-passport sizes for really big families). When choosing a passport holder or protector, look for one made from high-quality materials and with a sturdy zipper closure. And as noted, since they cost about the same, pick a passport holder with RFID-blocking technology. How to Find a Great Fanny Pack or Day Bag My fanny pack in action while hiking Cinque Terre. Because we had to leave our hotel room before our hike , our baggage was left in a general luggage storage room. I was happy my fanny pack was big enough to safely carry two passports (my son’s too!) during our hike. Even though I had this great crossbody purse on my original round the world trip, an Ameribag, I always carried my passport and credit cards in a money belt. The purse was for enough cash to get me through the day, water, and essentials. The passport wallets discussed are good at keeping your passport from getting bent or damaged, but it won’t prevent physical theft. For that you need to have your carrying game on point during your travel days. Avoid keeping your passport in your pocket, a random shoulder bag, or your carry-on luggage at all costs. While it may be convenient to keep your passport in your carry-on bag, it’s not ideal. You never know when you may be required to check in the suitcase, or leave it behind in an emergency. The only place you should carry your passport is on your person in a bag or pouch that also carries essential items like your wallet—things you’ll never forget to pick back up. Here are three options: Fanny Packs I’ll admit that after a few years of bucking the trend (my failed style in the 80s still haunts me), I have traveled with a fanny pack for a few years now and I love it. Traveling with a fanny pack is the only way I survived a two month European train journey with a toddler. It’s accessible and I never worried about setting it down somewhere and then getting distracted. I own several Herschel products and its Seventeen fanny pack wins my vote—it’s the perfect size for travel and it’s about as stylish as you could ask for in a fanny pack. Crossbody and Messenger Bags A travel-friendly crossbody bag or purse is another solid option. This is what I used for 10+ years of travel. Here I break down my favorite crossbody purses and why I love them, but the short of its that the Travelon Anti-Theft Cross-Body Bag (about $46) hits all the points you want in a travel bag for women: slash proof, roomy, and there are pockets to store your passport away from your water bottle. From the men I’ve traveled with, the equivalent of a crossbody purse is usually a messenger bag, or they invariably use a neck wallet or waist belt as their primary carry method. This works! Then you limit the extra gear you have to buy. You need packing cubes in your life. Here’s why. I’ve traveled for 15+ years—here’s how packing cubes will dramatically up your packing game. Why You Need Paper Copies of Your Passport with You In Guatemala, you must carry your passport with you at all times. Police usually accept a photocopy so that you can securely store it at your hotel or guesthouse. But you’ll be riding through the country on chicken buses, so you also need a safe place to carry it with you on travel days. Always keep several photocopies of your passport with you when you travel. This way, if your passport is lost or stolen, you’ll have a backup. Keep an extra copy of your passport in your luggage, your carry-on bag, and even in your pocket. Make sure there is always a copy stored in a bag you’re not actively carrying once you’re settled in a new place. You should also leave a copy of your passport at home with a trusted friend or family member. And scan your passport (or take a photo of it) and either email it to yourself, or store it in Google Drive or some such. Note: You must carry your passport or a copy of it in some countries. And nearly all countries require that you always have an
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