Safe Travels: Pack These Items to Keep You and Your Things Free From Harm

Portable safe

Portable safes (about $50 to $100) are helpful if you’re staying in a rental home or if your hotel only has a lobby safe but no room safes (call ahead to check). “You don’t want to keep going back and forth down to the front desk to get access to your valuables,” says former Los Angeles police detective Kevin Coffey, who now works as a travel safety expert. Soft models shaped like a shoe bag are light to pack and easily rolled up, Coffey says. Make sure that it comes with a steel cable so you can attach the safe to a fixed object that won’t break. Portable safes can also be used for locking up valuables in your parked car or fixing to a permanent poolside fixture when going for a dip.

From left: Addalock: The Original Portable Door Lock ($18–$30, addalock.com); EMDMAK Door Stop Alarm with 120DB Siren ($14 for two, amazon.com); Sabre Portable Door Lock with travel bag ($20, sabrered.com)

Courtesy Addalock; EMDMAK; Sabre

Additional door lock

Coffey asks travelers this: Have you ever accidentally walked into the wrong hotel room or had someone enter your room, catching you off guard? The answer may be yes. “Hotels make mistakes; they double-book rooms, they give out other keys by mistake,” he says. And in his work with the LAPD, he’s come across thieves using illicit devices to open room doors by interfering with the electronic key port. Also, if you’re staying in an older rental that only has single locks, or a boutique hotel without modern key cards, an additional lock adds another layer of protection.

A portable lock (under $20) attaches from the inside and ensures the door will stay locked even if someone has a key to your hotel door. A metal plate is placed on the door’s inside. Then a wedge attaches to the plate and prevents the door from being opened from the outside. Travel industry expert John DiScala, who also goes by the name Johnny Jet, recommends a simple triangular doorstop (under $10) you slide underneath, which makes it more difficult for an intruder to open the door while you’re in the room.

Clockwise from left: Blink Mini Compact indoor plug-in smart security camera ($60, amazon.com); DivineEagle Spy Camera Charger ($36, amazon.com); ClODGDGO 64GB Spy Camera Car Key ($50, amazon.com)

Courtesy Blink; DIVINEEAGLE; ClODGDGO

Portable security camera

A portable security camera ($20–$60) could provide answers to missing items in your hotel room (but check with the hotel first to see if it allows them). Look for models with wireless connection if you’d like to watch the camera’s live feed from your iOS or Android device. Choose a camera that stores footage on an SD (memory) card, so you can review past events and save recordings for future evidence. You can also use a camera that’s disguised, says Terika L. Haynes, CEO of Dynamite Travel, such as one that looks like a key fob or wall charger. Some models are magnetic, so they’re easy to stick on any metal surface.

Personal safety alarm

Alarms that fit in your pocket ($30 or less) activate a siren when you press a button or pull out the pin. “The higher the decibel level, the better,” says security expert Lloyd Figgins. Alarms come in a variety of colors and can attach to your key ring.