Worrying things while traveling is not enjoyable. Whether you worry about money, camera, laptop, or even your phone. Sometimes I think to leave it at home. However, at some point it is not a solution. Here some to do list from professional film maker who travel a lot. She shares some tips what she does to protect her valuable things while traveling.

Minimize what you bring and lock the rest

Planning and preparation are the key. You should know what to do, where to go, so that you know how many things you bring. You should stay low. Leave your jewelry and big cameras at home if you are not professional photographer.

If possible, keep your things on your sight. Do not leave items unattended, like in a beach or in the backseat of car in a plain view where curious eyes may wander.

Lock up your things in a locker if staying in a hostel, exploring a museum, or going outdoors. Do not leave your valuable in a hotel room unattended. You better use a locked bag for traveling.

Split up and hide your cash and cards

Do not collect your cash on one place. Split your cash and cards. One you can keep at your wallet, the others keep in unusual places, like socks, hidden compartment at your bag, make up case, or feminine pad. Better to split your cash more than two places.

Your ID and passport are very important. You should give extra attention about things like this. Take it to your waist or little pouch, so that you can bring anywhere. Make a physical and digital copy of this documents and save it at your phone and cloud.

Use tech tracking 

One of the most important items you’ll want to protect on your travels are your electronic devices. Apple users can use the Find My app to track their devices (iPhone, iPad, AirPod, Mac, etc.), and Android users can install the Google Find My Device app.

In case you discover something missing, you can track through the apps and play a sound to find your device. If you sense something suspicious, you can erase personal data remotely or lock it down.

Keeping your camera safe

For you who should travel with sophisticated camera and lenses, you should invest in a safety bag to protect your camera. Invest in a padded camera bag to protect your gear from bumps along the way, which has customizable padded compartments and comes with a dedicated rain cover in case of wet weather.

Keeping your photos and videos safe 

Basically, it is the same with how to keep your cash. Do not save in one place. You can keep in a card reader, hard disk, cloud, or any storage you have. You do not need to wait until one memory card full enough to replace it. Before use underwater camera, replace the memory card with the new one. Put the old one in a safe place. Therefore, if one card error or lost, you will not lose the entire documentation.

Once you arrive at your accommodation, back up your data at two or more hard disk. Save your photos to your computer’s internal hard drive, and then copy the files onto an external drive for backup. If you have solid Wi-Fi, backup your memories to a cloud storage for extra security. Services like OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud and Amazon Cloud will sync your photos to the cloud and multiple computers if connected.

Prepare for the worst: Insure your valuables 

For peace of mind, make sure you’re covered by insurance to protect your valuables when traveling.

Check your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy to see what’s covered for your personal property. Double check your total coverage amount, the deductible in case you have to file a claim, and the level of protection.

For example, natural disasters and theft may be covered under your policy, however, coverage for accidents like dropping your camera may not. Also check the location, domestic travel may be covered differently than international adventures. Sometimes there are special clauses about being in aircrafts or watercraft.

You can also look into a valuable personal property policy for specific items like jewelry or cameras and lenses. If you’re traveling for business, consider getting a dedicated policy for business equipment in addition to your business insurance.

For specific items, like your electronics and camera gear, you might look into purchasing insurance at the time of purchase. For example, Apple offers support and repair options via AppleCare+, so whether you break your screen or need a more serious fix, they can help you. Most camera stores can offer individual insurance for those expensive items.

source: https://matadornetwork.com/read/protect-valuables-traveling/