Traveling with your family can be an emotional, educational, and unforgettable bonding experience. But it can also be a precarious one since more people means more stuff — and more potential to lose something that could derail the whole trip.
So how can you protect valuables like passports and laptops while you travel? Why are $7 “faraday bags” better than RFID-blockers? And does travel insurance cover lost, damaged, or stolen goods?
Erika Recommends
- Allianz Travel Insurance
Lost baggage coverage up to $2,000. - Travel Guard
Covers up to $1,000 worth of lost or stolen valuables. - Apple AirTag
Smart tracking device to locate your items in real time.
Common Risks to Family Valuables While Traveling
Unfortunately, traveling families are often targeted by petty criminals for two reasons:
- Parents are often distracted.
- Kids and teens often lack situational awareness.
As a result, phones get snatched out of small hands, passports go missing, and bags disappear as families navigate crowded spaces.
But theft isn’t the only threat. Valuables can also get damaged, go missing, or simply get left behind in the chaos of getting the fam from A to B.
RELATED: Travel Insurance and Safety Tips for Family Vacations
8 Tips for Safeguarding Valuables While Traveling
1. Research common crimes and scams in your destination
One of the best ways to prevent theft when traveling is to learn how the petty criminals in your destination operate and the areas they tend to target.
Local news and the U.S. Department of State's Travel Advisories page are both excellent sources to check.
To illustrate, in 2023 Balinese authorities arrested a ring of thieves who were specifically targeting young tourists with expensive-looking phones in the Kuta resort area. So if you and your family were heading that direction, you might tell your kids that Kuta is a “no phones out” area.
RELATED: Tips for Picking Family-Friendly Travel Destinations
2. Pack valuables in carry-ons
While the Department of Transportation (DOT) requires airlines to compensate you for delayed/lost bags, losing valuables along the way can still put a serious damper on a family trip.
That’s why it’s best to keep as many valuables as you can in your carry-on so they remain in your sight while you’re in transit.
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3. Wear bags across your chest
These days you can buy a high-tech, ultra-secure travel bag with slash-proof shoulder straps and RFID-blocking technology for $150+. But experts and veteran travelers will tell you that neither feature is really necessary since crimes involving strap-cutting or RFID copying are rare to nonexistent.
Instead, the best theft deterrent is to wear your bag across your chest, making it difficult for baddies to snatch and run off with. Better yet, get a travel belt to conceal your phone, passport, and other small valuables.
Lastly, avoid keeping valuables in any pocket or bag without a zipper.
4. Stay alert in high-risk areas
It helps to keep you and your family alert as you transit through high-risk areas.
Crowded streets, subway stations, and especially tourist spots are thief magnets in most parts of the world. So, if you’re traveling through one, consider taking extra precautions:
- Have your kids stash their phones and tablets away in zippered pockets.
- Remind your kids not to engage with strangers.
- Shift all bags and backpacks to the front of your body.
5. Keep valuables in hotel safes
For valuables you don’t need while you’re out sightseeing (e.g., rings, passports, tablets), it’s best to keep them locked in the hotel safe, or at the very least, hidden out of sight.
I like to hide my laptop under the mattress since I have yet to encounter the petty criminal who checks random hotel mattresses for the odd jackpot.
6. Avoid posting on social media until you’re home
This one might be a hard sell to your kids, but it’s generally not advisable to post your exact location or travel details while you’re on the move.
The reason being, local criminals could use the information to track and target you — or thieves and squatters back home could see it as a sign that your primary residence is currently empty and unguarded.
Instead, try waiting until you’re safely back home to post about your trip.
7. Use technology to track bags and more
When traveling with your family, simple gadgets like Bluetooth trackers and password protectors can lend tremendous peace of mind.
Best of all, most of these items are extremely cheap and don’t require a subscription, so you can buy them once and use them to protect your valuables on all future family trips.
Here are some specific products that Team Erika recommends:
- Bluetooth trackers like Tile for Android or AirTag for iOS are no bigger than a Ritz cracker and can be hidden in your bags, luggage, keychain, car, and more. Then, if something goes missing, you can track it using the app and share its location with the police. If it’s close by, you can also set off a chime to find it faster.
- Faraday bags are little pouches that prevent your vehicle’s key fob from being copied remotely — an increasingly common form of auto theft called a “relay attack.” I have a faraday bag for my rental car fob and a faraday box for our fobs left at home.
- Security apps like Google Password Manager and LastPass allow you to store all your essential passwords in one place, unlockable by a single password. That way, if your devices are stolen, you only need to remember one password to unlock your family’s travel itinerary, medical records, and bank accounts.
8. Avoid bringing valuables altogether
Without question, the best way to protect your valuables while traveling is to leave them at home in the first place. I know plenty of travelers who have $100 burner phones or $50 digital cameras so they can leave their $1,000 iPhones at home.
You can also get a replica of your engagement ring on Etsy for $75 so you can leave the real one at home.
How Travel Insurance Can Help Protect Your Valuables
Even if you take all these tips to heart, things can still go wrong during family travel. Valuables can get lost or stolen, flights can get delayed, and toddlers can inadvertently get the whole family sick two days before departure.
That’s why a good travel insurance policy is a must-have for families on the go, since it can cover each of the above scenarios and much, much more.
Coverage for theft or loss
Travel insurance typically covers lost, damaged, or stolen valuables. There are limits, however, which can vary greatly by plan and provider.
You can typically find details under “baggage coverage.” For example, Travel Guard’s Deluxe plan will cover up to $1,000 worth of lost or stolen valuables per policy, provided you have the original receipts. Without a receipt, the maximum payout per item is $150.
Allianz Travel Insurance, on the other hand, does things differently. They’ll compensate you up to your baggage coverage limit ($500, $1,000, or $2,000, depending on the plan) based on the item’s original MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price), minus 10% for each full year since purchase. If you can’t find the receipt, the maximum they’ll pay out is 50% of the item’s MSRP.
So if you’re looking for a plan with maximum valuables coverage, look for plans with high baggage coverage limits.
Damage coverage for electronics and gear
Travel insurance policies generally cover damaged valuables as well. The key difference is that they’ll cover the cost to replace or repair the item, whichever is less.
So if it’s $800 to replace a cracked tablet or $240 for parts and labor to replace the screen, they’ll usually pay out the latter.
How to increase your chances (and payouts) of accepted claims
As you may have surmised, travel insurance companies like to see receipts. It’s not enough to send them a link to the item’s current price or your bank statement — they want clear proof of purchase from the merchant.
For that reason, gather the receipts of all your travel valuables in one place, scan any physical copies, and photograph any valuables you’re taking as well.
All three steps can massively expedite the claims process, and could also help hotel staff or law enforcement retrieve your lost/stolen items later.
READ MORE: How To Choose the Right Travel Insurance for Family Vacations
FAQs About Protecting Valuables While Traveling
Are high-value items like jewelry or designer bags fully covered by insurance?
No, but they may be partially covered. Check the “baggage coverage” section of your policy — most have maximum payout caps of $500 or $1,000 on lost/stolen/damaged items.
Can I claim compensation for lost items if I don’t have original receipts?
Yes, but you’ll typically only receive partial compensation for items without an original receipt. Allianz Travel Insurance, for example, pays out a maximum of 50% of the item’s original value, while Travel Guard pays out a maximum of $150.
What’s the best way to track luggage or bags during travel?
The best way to track luggage or bags is to never let them out of your sight. But if you must, equipping them with a GPS-enabled tracking device like a Tile or Apple AirTag can help you track them in real-time.
Bottom Line
Protecting your family’s valuables while traveling can maximize enjoyment and minimize stress for all involved. Your best tool — situational awareness — is free, and even supplementary tools like trackers and travel insurance can be highly affordable and well worth the investment.
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