Carry passport all the time?

I am going to Spain soon and plan on staying mainly in one bed hostals-
I have been advised to keep my passport locked up in the hostal-
as much as possible- when I go out to clubs or siteseeing do I need forms of i.d.- I was planning on always having a copy of my passport with me but should i physically have it- I really do not want to have to take my drivers license overseas

Hi Sara,

I almost always leave my passport locked up in my hostal/hotel room and just carry a copy with me. I've always brought my drivers license with me as well, and have never had a problem. You should buy a money belt, which is a pouch which you wear under your clothes which will hold your money, credit cards, id's etc.

There has been extensive talk about this on the board in the past, so you may want to do a search starting out with the word 'passport' and I'm sure you'll find a ton of discussions on it.

Buen viaje!

-GranadaGirl

Apparently, everyone in Spain is required to carry identification. The citizens have a special identification cards that they are required to show if they are asked by the police. There is a fine if they do not have their card. Visitors need to have some ID, but I hate to carry my passport if it can be secured at my hostal. The passport copy is NOT acceptable, but an International Driver's Permit with your US driver´s license might be ok. My kids and I also have International Student/Youth IDs which might work.

For safety we need to carry nothing, yet we have to have ID and money ... not to mention the desire to have some fotos for the future.

I'm not sure if it's compulsory for visitors to carry their passports but I always advise my customers to leave it at the hostel.

There are a few situations when they must show it:

* At banks you are required to show it when changing money.
* If you are a EU citizen and want to take advantage of free entrance to Patrimonio Nacional places on Wednesdays you must show your passport to prove your nationality.
* Shopkeepers in Spain should ask for it to verify your sign when paying with credit card.

You may want to try a color photocopy of the passport. In some EU countries people may have have both passport and national ID card. The latter is acceptable in Spain as ID so you won't have any problems leaving it at the hostel.

The reason why we always advice not to take it with you it's because loosing your passport is a big problem and it may take a while to get a new one through your embassy.

FYI, In my experience, a US driver´s license is a perfectly acceptable form of ID when making most credit card purchases in Spain.

I say bring your US drivers´ license. It´s easier and cheaper to replace than your passport if you lose it. And if you lose it, at least the rest of your Spanish vacation won´t be ruined by trips to the embassy/consulate, etc.

I agree with Chica! Not only that, but since a drivers license is smaller, its more pocket/purse friendly!

just got back- I had a fake teacher i.d. made - I am a teacher but it was not a real i.d. card - and it worked everywhere-