These are some boring questions but they have me puzzled. When traveling solo for surfing how do you safeguard your credit cards, cash and identification?
I'm planning two trips, one to Waikiki where I plan on staying in a hostel and one to a cabina in mainland Mexico, Pacific side. The hostel will probably have lockers. Where do you keep cash, CC and ID/Passport when you're in the water? In your board shorts? Ziplock bag or some such? Locker?
Mexico seems a very different animal...how is this sort of thing handled there?
For that matter, when traveling solo at home, where do you put your fancy, electronic car key? My current car has a flat, dumb key which I lash into my shorts but a newer replacement is in the offing. It won't have a dumb key or a receiver hitch. How the heck do people manage that? Are there some super waterproof containers for your shorts?
I recently acquired a car with one of those electronic push botton keys and have been wondering the same thing. For now I’ve been looking around like the paranoid freak that I am and once convinced no one is watching, stash the gizmo somewhere under a bumper or under a nearby rock.
Would much prefer having that thing on me while in the water…
Even cars with electronic keyless entry, and keyless start, have a ‘‘dumb key’’ for the glove box and trunk. in case of battery failure. In my case I simply have an extra ‘‘dumb key’’ made, so that I can lock everything in the trunk. and then wear the key around my neck when I go in the water. Use a chain too short to slip off over your head.
I rented a car with an electronic key/buttons on the door. I had to go back to the rental office the next day to get them to give me the combination to the keypad. Had to be done by the rental office manager and with some reluctance. When I commented that people who are travelling solo would be at risk trying to hide their carkey, they looked at me like I was pointing this out for the first time - yea, i see what you mean. Make them give you the keypad access numbers on day 1.
On my last surf trip to California I took kids snack size ziplock bags and put the electronic key in one of those and zipped it in the key pocket on my wetsuit. Obviously this won’t work in the tropics though. After a session in Oceanside I opened the bag to find that water had gotten in and killed the key. Turned the car back in to the rental company with a dead key.
I just got a new car last week and this one has the number keys on the door jam so I can just lock my key inside from now on.
The other option is to travel to places where the surf is close enough that you can walk there. Most hotels have a safe in the room.
You can get a small plastic box from Dive shops that latches with a gasket and is just big enough to hold a couple of credit cards and some folded cash. It will have a necklace loop. Wear it under your rashie.
At the hotel I keep my other valuables in the hotel safe. But I never really feel good about that. I started bringing envelopes and sealing my cash in them to at least know I’ve been pinched.
I was in Costa Rica years ago and surfing with a buddy out of a rented car somewhere remote. Forgot where. maybe near Hermosa before it got built up. But we left the car windows open so they wouldn’t get smashed and took our few valuables in a small cloth bag to the beach. Clever guys that we were, we buried the bag behind a big rock on the beach and covered our tracks with sand then spread some leaves over them confident that no one ever did that before. Good thing we were geniuses. While out surfing, I noticed a woman and small child combing the beach, I assumed looking for shells or things that might have washed up on the beach. She immediately homed in on our bag and dug it up and without even a wave to us or any form of thanks, shouldered the bag and kept walking and searching. She knew we would never get back to the beach to catch her. I guess her little one had a good meal that day. God bless her. You do what you have to do to eat.
When we got back to the hotel, my buddie found that the roll of cash he had hidden under the mattress (yeah, that will work because it is so clever), was gone. The hotel manager scolded him for not putting it in the hotel safe (where a few 20’s would have been pinched and likely never noticed). I envisioned a maid crew with two people cleaning and straightening up and one person dedicated to rifling through our belongings hunting for cash.
We got really good waves that trip. But came home broke and had some stories to tell.
all the best to ya on your next trip. don’t not go because of this issue. embrace it.
I usually travel overseas with my non-surfing wife but if there is a hire car I’m usually surfing solo. I use a keylock - the story about bolt cutters is a sign of some serious intent. In such an area I’d look into some tape and tape the lock flat under the car somewhere so it isn’t hanging down for all to see. Some cars really don’t have handy spots to hang locks - door handles are a very last resort. I once secured a keylock behind a wheel but it was almost impossible to see the numbers - I don’t recommend that. An issue with these locks and leaving live keys in a car, is what is an insurance companie’s policy regarding this. Last thing I heard they considered this leaving keys unattened in a car. New cars with bigger keys or the Citroen keypad can present problems. Also be aware Golfs have technology where if the key is stored near a sensor it will automatically open the doors. Anywhere near the boot or in range of the front mirrors backwards - is a problem.
I tried a few sealed plastic bags sold online or available in shops. Always got water in them. Pre-test to feel confident.
However you deal with documents, keep copies. I scan everything and e-mail it to my web-based e-mail account. Stuff in the car, there are a few places you can hide stuff that take some looking. Best to use these spots discretely as there can be spotters looking out for where people hide stuff. For a while I travelled with a bisectable board and stored stuff in the carbon rods. Water would still get in but if it was securely sealed it was usually ok. A good dry hiding spot for cash.
We usually have big suitcases and I split up cash which again can be hidden in obscure places. Someone could steal the entire bag (which we usually have locked) but my wife likes staying in better quality places which reduces the risk somewhat. Look for reviews of thefts etc where you plan to stay and developing relations with the person where you are staying can help.
Thanks for all of the info. I discovered transponder keys, something I didn’t know about. The battery powered remote isn’t necessary to enable operation of the car but the passive radio frequency transponder is. They reports I’ve read is that they are waterproof, relative to surfing depths. You just get a key with only the transponder and have it programmed for your car. It looks like Ace Hardware can provide, cut and program one for $90. That will solve my new car domestic surf travel issues. As far as Mex and Hawaii go, no car, beach is close enough for walking and there won’t be any sort of secure facilities I can depend on; I think I’ll ziploc CC, cash and passport and keep them on my person, in and out of the water. My Birdies have the internal key pocket which is where I lash my current flat/stupid key. The internet available copies of travel and ID docs is a good idea.
Just to let you know, I had a rental car… I think it was a vw. The key got slightly wet in the rain. This killed the immobiliser chip (crazy). So some cars are poor in this regard as the rfid isn’t sealed (stupid)
I was able to dry out the key in the sun and got it started eventually. Lucky
