Packing for Tropical Travel

Step 11: Stash stuff!

It's a good idea to stash a copy of important papers and some money somewhere in your travel pack. That way if you get mugged or your daypack gets lost or stolen, you have something to fall back on. I keep this stuff in a zip-lock bag hidden in my luggage.

I pack:
- Copy of the identification page of my passport
- Traveler's checks
- Spare credit card
- Some cash
- Some extra passport-sized photos of myself

Make sure you note the customer service numbers of any credit cards that you're carrying, so that you can call them if the card gets lost or stolen. I like to leave a list of the important details with a trusted friend at home. That way I can call them and ask them to report my card lost or fax a copy of my passport somewhere.

I leave this stuff with a friend:
- Emergency contact info for my family
- Information about my health insurance
- A copy of my immunization record
- Information about my credit cards
- Information about my traveler's checks
- Serial numbers for my electronics
- Scan of my Passport
- Scan of my Driver's license
- Scan of my Scuba diving certification card

It's also a good idea to keep your important documents in a plastic bag, when you're carrying them around, to protect them from rain, sweat, and mud.

Comments

[jackq7a]

I see you have traveler's checks. Be wary of them, they can be very very hard to cash these days. You can spend a lot of time trying to cash them when you go internationally. A few hundred in clean, crisp $20 bills is a much better backup.