4 clever places to hide your passport while sightseeing

When you’re on vacation and spending the day sightseeing, you should keep your passport with you. Many foreign countries have laws that state that tourists must have identification with them at all times. But keeping your passport safe while sightseeing can be challenging. Here are some clever places to hide your passport while walking around.

1. Inside your hat

If you happen to be in a chilly climate, the inside of your hat can be a safe place to hide your passport. Just make sure it’s the kind of hat that can’t be blown away in a gusty wind. A tight, knit cap is the best hat to wear for storing a passport.

2. Around your neck

For a small investment, you can purchase a plastic case with a ring on it for hiding your passport. Just slip the passport inside the case, and attach the whole thing to a long necklace or chain for your neck. Your passport will be safely tucked up against your chest, inside your shirt. There’s no way anyone can take it without you knowing about it.

3. Inside your scarf

If you are handy with sewing, you can sew a hidden pocket on one side of a scarf. Just open the scarf seam with a seam ripper, sew in a pocket and add a small zipper that’s the same color as the scarf. Now when you sightsee, just wear the scarf around your neck, and your passport will be safely inside it the whole time, without anyone else – including passport thieves – suspecting.

4. In your shoe

If you’re not planning on doing a lot of walking; for instance, if you’re taking a bus or boat tour – you could conceivably store your passport inside your shoe. It won’t be the most comfortable hiding place, but if you’re traveling in a country with high crime, the minor inconvenience will be worth it.

These four clever places for hiding your passport will help you to keep your most valuable traveling possession safe and sound. Even if you lose your wallet, your passport will enable you to get back home to your own country.

5 tips to help you reach your holiday destination on time

Preparing to head out for the holidays? Travel can become a headache very quickly if you haven’t accounted for the necessary variables. Make sure everything goes smoothly and you arrive at your destination on time by keeping these five holiday travel tips in mind.

Plan in advance

A good plan wins out over no plan every time. Even a bad plan wins over having no plans at all! Take the time to think things through a little in advance, and you’ll be far less likely to run into a surprise when it’s time to get on the road.

Pack for every eventuality

The better you can pack to avoid delays, the faster you’ll reach your destination. While it’s impossible to really pack for every eventually, you can at least make sure you’re well-prepared for the likely suspects—flats, messes, hunger, etc.

Consider your best route, not the best route

While an unfamiliar drive through complex terrain may be theoretically faster, and a dizzying mess of flight transfers may look faster and cheaper on paper, you need to think carefully about whether that’s the right route for you. Sometimes discretion wins out over ambition.

Make sure your passport and other paperwork is in order

If you’re crossing a border, make sure you have your passport and any other necessary documentation ready for the trip. The same goes for tickets, baggage claim slips, hotel packages and anything you might need to get to your destination without headaches. Be especially aware of potential delays; if you don’t have your passport in hand already, don’t be confident you’ll have it on time, especially if you’re still waiting to find out whether your passport photos and applications were acceptable.

Stay on top of travel changes

Weather changes, flights get delayed, roads have accidents – there are plenty of things that can change the rules for your trip at the last minute and derail your plans. That’s okay! Just make sure you’re paying attention to relevant news sources and are staying flexible, so you can account for problems and eliminate them ASAP.

These won’t guarantee your arrival on time—nothing can do that—but they’ll greatly increase the odds you get where you’re going without too much delay.

The 5 things you need to take good passport photos at home

It’s not difficult to take your own passport photos, but you do need a few key items to make it happen. These items will help you ensure a painless passport application process.

1) A good camera. The vast majority of camera phones aren’t going to be good enough for passport photos. A real digital camera, even a cheap one, should be – so long as you take the time to configure it properly. Do your homework on the specific requirements for passports from your home nation, and make sure the camera you have can manage.

2) Good lighting. Shadows or poor contrast can ruin your passport photos as easily as anything else, so make sure you have decent lighting where you’re taking pictures. A good camera can make up for a lot of the problem, but there are limitations.

3) An outfit that doesn’t break the rules. Anything that obscures your face or head is against the rules, barring a few exceptions for religious or medical needs. Most uniforms also violate the rules for passports–so do your homework and make sure you’re set.

4) A neutral expression. Easy enough if you’re taking your own photos, not too bad for older children, but potentially a major headache for young children or baby passport photos. Figure out a good way to get a neutral expression – or watch carefully for one and seize the moment before it passes.

5) An online passport photo service. While there are other ways you can use your own photos to put together a passport application, you’ll find it easiest to use a passport service online. With the help of such a service you can push your odds of being accepted on the first try to their maximum. Issues of size, quality, etc. will be addressed before your photos move on to the final application process. It makes things a lot easier.

Get these five items together, and your photos should pass through the applications process without a hitch. When you pay attention to the details, there’s not much risk of rejection – especially with an online passport service on your side.