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Anti-Theft Travel Wallet

Givesome

Cape Hiker
Time of past OR future Camino
CF 27 March 2017
The exchange rate from South African Rand to Euros is not in our favour and the exchange rate is 14 to one. For very Euro we had to exchange ZAR for every euro. I have a money passport cart and loaded euros for our trip. However I don't want to donate too much of our money to pickpockets and searched for a small secure wallet. I came across this one which is also available on amazon. Mine was bought in South Africa. See Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A66VWH8/?tag=casaivar02-20.

The wallet can take two passports, multiple cards, notes and coins. A very nice future is that it blocks out all RFID information and it will protect you from identity theft if your passport or bank cards have RFID information. It also has a very strong cut-proof shoulder strap long enough to wear around the neck and through your belt at the same time and it is lockable.
 
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Hi, may I suggest that you wear it 24 hours a day, every day, for a week before you leave, to get in the habit of wearing it, and what to do with it at night. The problem comes when you unwittingly leave it somewhere (e.g. on a hook behind the shower door), as you don’t normally have it with you at home. And then it’s panic stations when you rush back . . . to find it gone. I always take an over-the-shoulder little bag for my passports, credit card, credencial and guidebook. It’s easier for women because we are used to carrying a handbag at home, so we instinctively feel for it whenever we get up and go. My cash and cell phone are always in my pockets.
Jill
P.S. Make the most of R14 to the euro :). It was R18 to the euro a year ago when I walked the Rota Vicentina :(.
 
When wearing it for practice also practice pulling things out and putting them back in. I found that when getting the passports in the evening I would almost pull out the spare money. If you find this happening to you at home you have time to modify the wallet with combinations of extra pockets, zippers and velcro.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
When wearing it for practice also practice pulling things out and putting them back in. I found that when getting the passports in the evening I would almost pull out the spare money. If you find this happening to you at home you have time to modify the wallet with combinations of extra pockets, zippers and velcro.
I have a similar theftproof travel purse I love for normal travel, but for my Caminos I prefer my fanny pack/bum bag, worn in front. Hands free and shoulder free, so it doesn't interfere with taking your pack on and off throughout the day.
 
I wore a small cross body purse, and it went on before my backpack and was never in my way. I rigged it up so that I could also wear it on my waist, but only did that once.
 
Looks bulky to me. I carry my stuff in my cargo pant pockets, or Macabi skirt pockets. One side has a passport, credit card, credencial, and cash for the day. The other has the reserve, what I will not need that day: other passport, debit card, other credit card and extra cash. This way I only flash a portion of my valuables.
 
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St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Vigilence is the key on a camino. As @jsalt and others have recmmended, it’s a super idea to practice with your method of carrying valuables ‘before’ you start. Never ever leave your valuables unattended. There are lots of posts here on taking valuables to the shower with you (that’s why a drybag is useful).
It’s also a good idea to get in the practice of putting your money bag on before your pack so you don’t accidentally leave it behind in a bar or rest stop. It stays on your body.
 
Pickpockets are a real threat. The American embassy in Paris reports they replace 40 stolen passports a day. Public crowds (in front of cathedrals for example), trains and trams, train platforms, shopping streets - any place where people can brush up against you without noticing is a place for caution. I was pickpocketed while I was in the entryway of the Prague cathedral, trying to get my credencial stamped!

Heed all these comments about keeping your stash with you. I don't care how high-tech your travel wallet is; if it's not affixed to you (preferably hidden under clothing) then it is at risk.
 
Looks bulky to me. I carry my stuff in my cargo pant pockets, or Macabi skirt pockets. One side has a passport, credit card, credencial, and cash for the day. The other has the reserve, what I will not need that day: other passport, debit card, other credit card and extra cash. This way I only flash a portion of my valuables.
Me, too. My fanny pack has a hidden zippered area inside where I keep my passport and most of my valuables. I have a small coin purse in the front area that I keep a small amount of cash for food and daily lodging. I take the whole thing in the shower and it also goes in the lower corner of my sleeping bag at night.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
The exchange rate from South African Rand to Euros is not in our favour and the exchange rate is 14 to one. For very Euro we had to exchange ZAR for every euro. I have a money passport cart and loaded euros for our trip. However I don't want to donate too much of our money to pickpockets and searched for a small secure wallet. I came across this one which is also available on amazon. Mine was bought in South Africa. See Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A66VWH8/?tag=casaivar02-20.

The wallet can take two passports, multiple cards, notes and coins. A very nice future is that it blocks out all RFID information and it will protect you from identity theft if your passport or bank cards have RFID information. It also has a very strong cut-proof shoulder strap long enough to wear around the neck and through your belt at the same time and it is lockable.
These are not inexpensive, but I have worn the shirts and pants on several recent trips to Europe and love them. I intend to do my Camino in May using the convertible pants (as shorts) over SKINS compression tights. I will likely zip on the legs for the evening activities. https://www.clothingarts.com/?sessi...31231983dg31674&ces=94tff11099411093356014745
 
These are not inexpensive, but I have worn the shirts and pants on several recent trips to Europe and love them. I intend to do my Camino in May using the convertible pants (as shorts) over SKINS compression tights. I will likely zip on the legs for the evening activities. https://www.clothingarts.com/?sessi...31231983dg31674&ces=94tff11099411093356014745
These pant pockets are super! I will take my walking pants to my seamstress to see if she can adapt them with such "subpockets". A bit like the Macabi hidden pocket.
 
I opened up an account just for this trip. Put the amount I wanted to use. I got the credit debit card and wanted to have an image so had another one made. I took the first card and placed it with the daily cash I would be using and hid the working one with the rest of the cash in my boots underneath the liner. Thought if I was robbed the thief would think he had a working card and just a days worth of cash. They were always on my person in my cargo pants pockets or in the foot of my sleeping bag at night.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Hiding cash or Credit Card under liner in boot is a pretty well know tactic and may be a decent idea.

However...Do not fail to remove the valuable from under the liner in the albergues.
It is very simple for someone to check out all the boots in the racks...be warned

I did remove them when I took off my boots.
 

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