Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
reduce the chances of becoming a victim and help ensure you join the vast majority of for-
eign visitors who visit the country without experiencing any trouble at all.
Theft
Petty theft
is the most common crime that tourists face, and more often than not it's simply
the result of carelessness. If you really don't want to lose something, don't bring it with you
in the first place: wearing jewellery or expensive watches is asking for trouble.
Precautions
It's important to make sure you have adequate
travel insurance
,
and check what the insur-
ance company's requirements are in the event that you need to make a claim - almost all will
need a police report of any theft. To reduce the problems of a potential theft, make a care-
ful note of airline ticket numbers, hotline phone numbers if you need to cancel a credit card,
travellers' cheque numbers (always keep the receipt separately) and insurance details; in ad-
dition, copy the important pages of your
passport
and
travel documents
(or scan them and
save them on a USB stick or email them to yourself) and keep all these details separate from
your valuables. You should also keep an emergency stash of
cash
hidden somewhere about
your person. If you're staying in Bolivia for a while, consider registering with your embassy:
this can save lots of time if you have to replace a lost or stolen passport.
Always carry your valuables - passport, money, travellers' cheques, credit cards, airline
tickets - out of sight and under your clothing next to your skin; and keep them on you at all
times.
Money belts
are good for this, but you can also get secure holders that hang under
your shirt or from a loop on your belt under your trousers; a false pocket sewn inside your
clothing, a leg pouch or a belt with a secret zip for cash are even more difficult for thieves to
find. It's also a good idea to keep your petty cash separate from your main stash of valuables,
so your hidden money belt is not revealed every time you spend a few bolivianos.
Betterhotelswillhavea
safe
(
caja fuerte
)atreceptionwhereyoucandeposityourvaluables
if you trust the staff - this is usually safe, though it's better to leave stuff in a tamper-proof
holder or a signed and sealed envelope, get an itemized receipt for what you leave, and count
cash carefully before and after. Never leave cameras or other valuables lying around in your
hotel room, and be cautious if sharing a room with people you don't know well - other trav-
ellers can be thieves too. Officially, you're supposed to carry your
passport
with you at all
times, but if asked by the police for ID it's usually sufficient to show them a photocopy of
your passport and explain that the original is in your hotel.
You are at your most vulnerable, and have the most to lose, when you're on the move or
arriving in a new town and have all your luggage with you.
Bus stations
are a favourite hunt-
ing ground of thieves the world over, and Bolivia is no exception: try not to arrive after dark,
keep a close eye and hand on your bags, and consider taking a taxi from the bus terminal to
your hotel as a security precaution. As well as transport terminals, markets, city centres, fies-
