Travel to Italy with a Laptop...Theft Prevention Ideas Needed

[EOSSpeedLite]

We are spending a month touring all over Italy again.

I want to bring my MacBook Pro w/Retina 15" screen, but not to store image files. I want to bring the laptop to do some processing while we are there.

My Canon 5D Mark III provides two flash card slots, so I am mirroring each image captured to both cards, which will serve as a backup for my images. Again my laptop is not for the purpose of backing up images, but rather for doing some post processing.

So when I leave my Mac back at the hotel while we are out and about, what can I do so that the trip does not get ruined by my constant worry that it will be stolen?

At the end of the day, if I don't take my Mac, its not the end of the world, and I can live without it, but if anyone knows ways to keep it safe from getting stolen, please do let me know.

 

[Jay OC]

If you have a safe in your room, use it. Most hotel safes will take a 15" laptop. If the room does not have a safe or it will not fit, check it with the front desk. They will typically store valuables. Check with the hotels you will be staying in for options. As a point of last resort, lock your laptop in your suitcase.

I travel extensively for business and pleasure. I always take my cameras with me. Quite often, I leave my laptop in my hotel room in the bag and the camera gear that I will not need in my suitcase. I have never had any issues.

One thing you may want to consider is having the laptop listed as scheduled property on your home owners insurance. If it is stolen, get a police report and turn it in to insurance. The laptop will be replaced. I have all of my camera gear listed that way. Last summer when my son was in Germany, his day pack with the D7000 was snatched. He got the police report. We filed the claim and the camera gear was replaced (D7100). Just make sure you do not have lots of sensitive information on the laptop when you go overseas.

 

[EOSSpeedLite]

Jay, thanks for the tips!!

 

[Val Bueno]

I have travelled to scarier places than Italy with my laptop and have not had any problems leaving it in my suitcase inside my hotel room. In addition to Jay's suggestions, you could also lock the luggage with strap through the handle to deter casual break-in artist.

Leave the laptop case in the suitcase and put the suitcase out of the way of the hotel staff by sticking it in the closet or away in a corner. We have also strapped all the luggage together to make the whole thing to big to take.



Aloha,

Val

 

[brucet]

We travel six months a year and never have an issue. However it's important to avoid making it obvious what you are carrying. We have been known to carry a trash bag with assorted wrappers etc in it. Under the trash we hide certain goodies.

Just don't advertise.

regards

 

[rxb dc]

In addition to the suggestion of leaving the laptop in the safe, consider taking a locking cord and you can lock the laptop against the bedframe or some other solid object. Will deter casual theft.

Another thing to think about is to carry a 'fake' dropcam like monitor.

 

[Russell Evans]

We are spending a month touring all over Italy again.

Travel time is really expensive, too expensive to have my nose stuck in a computer. We get out, go and do, and only come back to the hotel to sleep and shower. Traveling from place to place, if that is not an adventure, we sleep, so we can hit the road running when we get to the destination.

The time to work on photos is when I get home and the alternative is watching TV.

Thank you
Russell

 

[NCV]

We are spending a month touring all over Italy again.

I want to bring my MacBook Pro w/Retina 15" screen, but not to store image files. I want to bring the laptop to do some processing while we are there.

My Canon 5D Mark III provides two flash card slots, so I am mirroring each image captured to both cards, which will serve as a backup for my images. Again my laptop is not for the purpose of backing up images, but rather for doing some post processing.

So when I leave my Mac back at the hotel while we are out and about, what can I do so that the trip does not get ruined by my constant worry that it will be stolen?

At the end of the day, if I don't take my Mac, its not the end of the world, and I can live without it, but if anyone knows ways to keep it safe from getting stolen, please do let me know.

I live in Italy and I have stayed in lots of Italian hotels both for work and pleasure.

I leave my portable computer and lenses that I am not using in the hotel and no one has ever stolen anything from me in an Italian hotel in more than 35 years. Obviously I leave my stuff out of sight.

In Rome I might be a bit more wary.

Many hotels are family run and the staff are permanent and not here today gone tomorrow like in the Anglo Saxon world, which should add to your tranquillity.

Like much of Europe the problem is out on the street where one must take some care in the larger towns and cities due to the Gipsy population who often live by expedience and cause pick pocketing problems especially in the areas frequented by lots of visitors to Italy. Just keep your eyes open and your wallet out of sight especially if these Gypsies pester you for money, just growl some bad language at them.

I have lived in Italy for 25 years and none has ever stolen anything from me. Whereas I let a scarf fall in the UK and by the time I realised I had lost it, it was gone. My wife also had a cardigan stolen in a pub in London.

 

[donaldsc]

I have a more basic question or actually 2 basic questions. Have you traveled to other places with valuable equipment such as a computer? Why do you think that the chance of you stuff getting stolen is greater in Italy than in the other places?

 

[Nick_Brisbane]

My wife and I have just left Italy after 2 weeks in Florence, Siena, Montepulciano, Cingue Terre and Pisa and had no theft issues.

We mainly stayed in AirBNB accommodation that was secure and lockable.

I took a Microsoft Surface Pro to watch emails, do bookings and manage the 2 Tbyte hard drives I carried.

We both carried small bags that were enabled to block Radio Frequency ID of the chips in our passports - our wallets were similarly able to block scanner reading of credit cards.

When out, I hid the Surface Pro in the room.

Don't forget EU converters to charge batteries and don't forget to validate train tickets, otherwise they fine you.

Enjoy it - wonderful country to photograph

regards

Nick

 

[calson]

Safest to leave your laptop at the hotel in a room safe or the hotel safe and not have it on your person. For camera gear a backpack or a shoulder strap bag with a waist belt and a cover flap (I modify the LowePro Stealth Reporter bags for this use) will keep the bag attached to you and prying hands out of the bag.

Cities like Rome and Milan are the worst and more rural areas, as with most countries, are safer for tourists. Don't be afraid or too polite to scream for a police officer if accosted by anyone. Timid tourists make easy marks.

 

[AnakSbh]

Bring along and use Pacsafe Camsafe while on the street

www.pacsafe.com

Anti theft. I am using it. Give you a peace of mind.

 

[gavin]

I think you have more risk with your camera than your laptop at your room. Recently I switched to downloading photos onto my laptop and also onto a 128Gb USB drive.

 

[rmlewis]

I've just returned from a month in Italy (including Sicily) with my laptop and 2 cameras + lenses. At no time did I feel under threat or of undue concern about my gear although I was proactive in keeping it safe while on the street and in the hotel (as I would do even in my home country of Australia). I used the hotel safes and where these were not available put it away in less obvious places. I also had my gear insured but had a few alternatives to backup my images.

 

[EOSSpeedLite]

Natives know that I am an outsider, a tourist. They know I am not 100% sure how things work there, I don't know the language, how to file a claim with the police, dealing with due process, etc. They know I would be less likely to make a big deal about theft of my stuff.

Petty crime is very high in Italy, in comparison to most places in the USA. However, the USA is a more violent place.

 

[TyphoonTW]

It depends mostly on where you go. For petty crime Naples is the worst, followed by Milan and Rome in no particular order. If you reach Milan by train and walk out of the train station, don't pull the trolley behind you, always push it in front of you. Always avoid carrying stuff behind you.

If you ever get approached by people and/or kids carrying a sign, they'll usually hide their hands behind the sign and try to grab your wallet while you're telling them off. This happens to tourists and Italians alike.

I've never had any problem leaving stuff at a hotel, they're usually safe. If you're really worried about gear, try to stick with large, famous Hotels (they're not necessarily more expensive).

As a tourist hanging around in Italy you should be more worried about the stuff that you carry with you in the city, rather than the gear you leave inside a hotel room.

Source: I'm Italian!

 

[donaldsc]

You are saying that you can nit risk leaving stuff in your hotel room. How do they know which roms have non-natives in them?

Also can you provide me with some statistics verifying your statement that petty crime hotel thefts are higher in Italy than other countries. Not just a statement from some other WEB sites but real data.

--
Don

 

[EOSSpeedLite]

I never singled out hotel theft, nor said that the natives are the primary perpetrators, although they can be.

Nor am I "scared" to visit Italy, as someone else suggested.

I have been to Italy twice, and to Europe 20 times.

Simply put, I want tips on protecting my kit in the hotel room and outside the hotel room.

I certainly am not picking on Native Italians.

I am looking for other ideas, opinions.

 

[EOSSpeedLite]

A few posters in this thread mentioned something about storing passport, and credit cards in a wallet that blocks RFID?

What is the reason for this? Educate me please...

 

[Sactojim]

When I travel abroad, I don't take my laptop because it's a theft magnet. You are right to be wary and asking questions since laptops are more valuable than cameras for a thief. And why not since they usually contain loads of data/info. I travel with my 7" Asus tablet and while not as easy to get work done on it, the advantages far outweigh my laptop. Since you are carrying a high end laptop, you better believe eyes will be on you. A 7" tablet will fit in most jacket or pants pockets..out of sight, out of mind.