I’ve heard all the horror stories. People losing their passport days before they were meant to go on their trip. Leaving it behind in Nicaragua and only realising when you’ve traveled 3 hours to the border. Vomiting on it past repair after a heavy night drinking in London. Having to stay an extra 2 weeks in Corfu after having it stolen (ok so their’s probably worse places to have to stay longer than a Greek island but still).
So how do I avoid losing it? (*touches wood*) These tips are not fool proof. You could follow each of these pieces of advice religiously and STILL wind up passport-less. They will however dramatically reduce the chances of ever winding up in one of these unfortunate situations.
- ALWAYS know where it is.
Don’t just shove it in your bag. Don’t put it in a different pocket every time. Don’t leave it on your hostel bed. Before even leaving home invest in a passport wallet or some sort of bag that will carry your important documents. This will honestly save you so much time and worry. You will always know that THAT is where it is. - Get a passport wallet.
I love my passport wallet so. fucking. much. This little baby makes it so easy to identify when I need it. It makes it easy to identify if someone forgets who’s passport is who’s if you’re traveling with a group. It just makes sense. Plus, it will make it look super cute. - Keep it on you when you are traveling.
Ok obviously you need it when you’re flying. But what about when you’re on a bus or train? Don’t just chuck your bag in the under carriage. Take out your important items- passport, wallet, phone, laptop.. and bring them in a little bag with you. Don’t let it leave your side! I know too many friends of friends who have chucked their bag on the bus only for it to suddenly have disappeared when they get to the other side. This would be devastating. But it would make matters so much worse if your passport was gone with it. - Where possible, don’t just hand it over to your tour guide/ bus driver/ hostel owner.
I’ve had it time and time before, ‘we keep your passport here until check out’. NO. WHY. Once when my sister and I were in Guatemala the lady at reception handed me back my passport and simply said to my sister ‘oh. sorry yours is not here’. WHAT. Obviously we gave it to them at check in and we forced her to check and check again which it did turn up. But it didn’t seem like she was going to do anything if it didn’t! Where possible I always tell them I will give them a bank card or a photocopy of my passport instead.
I also got very uncomfortable when bus drivers need my passport to cross borders. In central America we would disembark our little van to show our passports to officials. Recently in Eastern Europe however, the bus driver would take everyone’s passport and give them all to the border official. I really did not like this. Firstly I told the man I would hold onto it until the border (instead of giving it to him as we boarded the bus like he asked) and then made sure to get it back as soon as he came back onto the bus with them. You can never be too careful.
Remember, your passport is your lifeline. Other people don’t care for it like you do. Sometimes a lost passport will just mean maybe a bad review for them. For you however, it can really ruin all of your plans. So don’t EVER trust that someone will look out for it like you would! - Make a copy of it.
In case someone requests your passport as a deposit, you can offer the copy instead. A lot of places will accept this instead of the real thing.
Also, in case the worst happens and you do lose your beloved passport, at least you will have a copy of it to show to officials when you need to get a new one. Have a copy in your email account as well as a printed copy so you can always access it.
Passport, one of the main things you do not want to lose..