Even My Swim Shorts Have a Secret Pocket
There is a small chance you could get robbed or pick-pocketed on the street while traveling around the world.
I’ll be the first to say that the odds of this happening are slim. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared for the worst.
Getting your wallet stolen when you’re in another country can be bad. Really bad. It’s a lot harder to replace things when you’re 4000 miles away from home. Spending a few bucks to sew some secret pockets on the inside of your pants & shorts can save you a lot of inconvenience should it ever happen.
Money belts are uncomfortable & awkward to wear. Plus most thieves know about them. An interior secret pocket is much more comfortable, and because its part of your clothing, you can’t lose or forget to wear it.
How To Do It
Find a local seamstress or tailor to add an interior secret pocket to all your pants & shorts. Depending on where in the world you hire them, it can cost between $2-$10 per pocket.
Or if you know how to sew well, you can do it yourself.
My pockets are 7″ by 5″, with a velcro strip at the top to keep it closed. This size lets you keep your passport in it if you need to (I usually only keep my physical passport on me when I’m actually traveling between towns).
Why To Do It
Most days I use the hidden pocket for my drivers license, my passport (or a color copy), $80 in emergency cash, and my ATM card. They’re kept in a small ziplock bag so I can swim with them if I need to.
I keep local currency for the day in a dummy wallet, along with an expired credit card, business cards, and an old drivers license. This way if someone decides to rob me, I can hand over the dummy wallet and walk away without losing everything.
The $80 US can be used as emergency money for a taxi to the police station, buying food & water, renting a hotel room, etc.
General preparedness for the unexpected will make your travel experience much more enjoyable and worry-free. Odds are you will never get robbed, but if it does happen, you’ll be ready. 
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That is good advice! Im going to look into doing that.
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i was robbed once when i was travelling, and i couldnt go back to my hostel coz i didnt have money to go there. i had to walk and i was fortunate to get help in the end. i agree money pockets are a great addition. also dont walk with any valuable documents only copies
I’ve never been held up, but I’ve had things stolen. Swimming in the ocean at night in Honolulu, someone went through our stuff on the beach. Losing a credit card, ATM card, or ID can be a big pain in the ass when you’re away from home. That’s why I swim with them from now on!
This is a really good idea. I’ve never been pickpocketed (knocking on wood right now), but I have had a bag stolen when it wasn’t on my person. I was lucky to still have all the important items–such as my passport, credit card, and cash, but it would not hurt to prepare for the worst in the future.
Thanks for posting
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Mmmn… posted a comment once – maybe I deleted it before posting..
Well, I have been robbed when I left money in a hotel. So the big decision for me is whether to keep the main stash on me or to leave it ‘safely’ in the hotel. I use a belt. I recall someone I met who had a thing like a shoulder holster under his jacket. It looked a bit too obvious to me. A pocket sewn in is a good idea as long as you can get to what you need – to show a policeman on a bus or something – without getting half-undressed.
My favorite hotel rooms are those with big hasps for my own padlock, no way for someone to unscrew the hasp, and solid walls and ceiling.
Keeping all my money on me is a damper for some adventures but it also keeps me from getting too drunk or senseless to take care – leaving it in the hotel keeps me anxious about what may be happening back there.
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Hotel security is another problem. I’ll be posting about how I deal with it in the future. I like to bring my own hasp.
I keep thinking of doing this, but so far I’m in a comparably safer places. Thanks for reminding me though, I think I need to actually do this for my next trips. You are right, money belts are not very comfortable and it’s kinda bulgy too (too bad, it was not that cheap to buy).
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It’s been pretty convenient so far, and helps me worry less in certain areas.
Maybe it’s a dumb question but as you carry around only copies of important documents when you travel, where do you leave the real documents, like passports?
I’m asking cause we’re going in Thailand next May and I don’t know what’s the best strategy…Keeping passport on me or not? Trust an hotel/hostel safe?
Thanks for the advice about secret pockets, it can be really useful!
And there’s no turning back!
I only carry my passport on me when I’m actually traveling to a new place. I normally keep it in a safe or locker otherwise. I keep a color photocopy of it on me all the time though.
If you get stopped by police and they insist on viewing your actual passport, you just tell them they have to come back to the hostel with you to see it.
One thing that worries me about keeping an expired debit or credit card is that here in South America, some of the robbers will enter your taxi and you’ll be driven to an ATM to withdraw your daily max in cash.
If you have a card, but can’t withdraw $$ from it, that could frustrate them. They might think you’re holding out on them. I’m not trying to be paranoid, but I’d rather not put myself in that situation if this kind of robbery were to occur.
I only take an ATM card out when I need to take out cash or make a big payment with it, otherwise I leave it with my passport at the hoste/hotel.
I wish I could still use money belts like I did when I was first in Europe, but they’re not comfortable under jeans, and annoying in tropical heat. I prefer to carry a wallet with the day’s cash, and maybe tuck some in a shoe too.
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I actually do the same with my ATM card, and don’t bring it with me unless I really think I’ll need it.
Good point about the expired credit card, never thought about that. But I still think having my wallet taken is a lot more likely then getting kidnapped, and would rather let the robbers think they got something of value and let me go rather than search me more thoroughly.
Why go through all this bother when all you have to do is buy yourself some Stashitware Pocket Boxer Briefs and then you don’t have to sew anypockets on anything. Just wear your underwear everywhere you go and you will have a 6″ x 12-14 inch pocket for all your traveling needs.
Interesting concept, although what happens when I need to give my passport to a police officer?
It’s going to be easier (and less embarrassing) to flip my sewn pocket out from the side of my pants to reach my ID than it would be to reach down into my crotch.
But I may try a pair out anyway.
I was looking for something like this and I wish I had read this post earlier since I just came back from Barcelona. I had my handbag across my body, underneath my jacket for 3 days!
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whooaaa, the concealed pockets is a hell-of-a-good-one. I’m gonna implement it on some of my pants.
Thanks Matt
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A common sense approach – thanks. There is a lot of stupid, expensive and unworkable solutions around: a secret pocket is a good approach. Also consider attaching a wallet or purse to a belt (etc) via a strong cord loop or mini elasticated bungee – this reduces the risk of it being mislaid . . . ***Thinking*** about security is the very first step – many ready-made items are poorly thought through and rarely tested in the real world. Gd Lk Allykid [45 years of travel and not a single problem anywhere!]
I’ve seen similar advice and I agree its a good idea but I see two problems:
1. how the heck do you get to he pocket if its in your pants? Unzip? What about those cargo pants with multi pockets (and most of them are zippered and would be a bit hard to pitpocket without being noticed (I don’t put anything in my rear pockets because A) uncomfortable and B) I’ve lost things that way and C) a lot easier to pitpocket.
2. Thieves are only going to get smarter, so they figured out the money belt the when everybody starts dumping money belts for hidden pockets pretty soon we’ll be robbed naked! (not trying to be melo-dramatic!).
I have asked about safegaurding my passport at bootsnall and everybody says I should keep my passport ON me, not doing so would be like breaking the law as in you don’t have your driver’s license in your home country.
Having a color copy is a great idea, though you’ll need to replace that copy once in awhile as it gets tattered. I bought another type of money belt but meh!
RT @ExpertVagabond: Travel Safety: Secret Pocket in Your Pants! http://t.co/JyK7Qc9X | #travel #lp
This is great advice, I used to have some jeans with a hidden pocket, that I used when travelling, but will use these in the future.
About the expired credit card, I recommend one of the ‘charge up’ type credit cards, keep a low amount on it, say £20 or $ not so big a loss and if you get forced to an ATM, then can take the lot, you are only a poor vagabond traveller after all ;-D