Packing Tip: Leave the Passport Lanyard at Home

In this day in age, with all the regulations and heightened security that go hand in hand with travel, keeping track of your passport, bank cards, hotel reservations, cash, and itinerary is usually at the forefront of everyone's mind.

However, one negative side effect of our preoccupation with keeping track of all these important documents is that we immediately mark ourselves as tourists, a sure-fire way to be hassled by vendors and given a "special tourist price" in many locales.

To better blend in with the scenery and give some other sucker a chance to be "taken for a ride," consider some of the following tips:

1. Leave the passport lanyard and waist bag/fanny pack at home. Instead, carry a handbag, shoulder bag, or small backpack (~5 to 20L volume).
2. Try to avoid wearing your camera on a lanyard around your neck, it screams, "I don't have any idea what's going on, but if something camera-worthy should appear, I'll be ready."
3. Business casual, rather than "vacation chic" will help you blend in more. You may be visiting a place where blending in is almost an impossibility, but at least your choice of clothing can give the appearance of someone who is there for a reason, rather than someone who is there to be taken advantage of.
4. Move with purpose in busy places such as train depots and airport parking lots. Even if you don't have plan of what to do, sitting around discussing it within earshot of eager vendors will make you an easy target for a scam or unreasonably high prices. It is very likely in most places around the world that locals offering services at such gathering places will be multi-lingual and will understand your whole conversation, taking away your bargaining edge.

Camelbak and Black Diamond Equipment both make a line of small backpacks with convenient pockets, which allow for safe stowage of important documents, as well as room for a few other small items.

All of Mountain Khakis' men's pants come equipped with a hidden 2nd pocket on the right hand side, which lies close to the hip and is perfect for passports and a money clip. For gentlemen who prefer more active travel or who are headed somewhere tropical, the Mountain Khaki Granite Creek pants have a zippered 2nd right hip pocket for added security and a zippered pocket on the left thigh as well, and have proven very convenient and reliable for me when I travel.

Pacsafe has a full line of travel-related bags and accessories which are incredibly well thought out. Particularly noteworthy are their women's hand bags and purses, which feature slash-proof straps and integrated RFID blocking technology, among other security features, while giving consideration to aesthetics rather than strictly utilitarian design.


Victorinox carries a line of travel products to help organize your documents easily, and none is better designed than the aptly-named Travel Organizer. This slim folder has enough pockets to carry all of your necessary travel, hotel, and banking information, yet can slip easily into a handbag or backpack.


Set yourself up for success by traveling wisely.