Nothing can ruin a good trip faster than having something valuable stolen. Not only is it a major violation, if something like your passport gets taken, it can leave you in a real bind. A travel safe is a smart way to protect important assets while you are on a trip.
While some hotels offer in-room safes, you can’t always trust that they will work — plus, you don’t know who may have access to that safe. A more secure option is to bring your own portable safe with you. To find out why this is a better option and to get recommendations on the best travel safes on the market, I spoke with security experts. Keep reading to find out their best tips for keeping your belongings safe while you are away.
The best travel safes
Philip Farina, founder and chief security and safety advisor for Risky Business, a security management firm, says that Pacsafe is a reliable brand for travel safes. The safe is made from stainless steel mesh that has been covered in a slash-resistant canvas. It has a TSA-approved lock and comes with a steel wire that can be cabled to furniture, pipes or other fixtures in a hotel room. This safe fits up to two 10-inch tablets, plus other small items (like wallets, passports and cell phones). Also nice: When empty, the bag lays flat, so it won’t take much room in your suitcase.
This compact travel safe can fit your phone, wallet, passport and other small items. It is made from a slash-resistant material that is also RFID-blocking, which means it prevents skimming theft (when hackers use special devices to electronically scan things like your credit cards to steal their number). It also has a locking flap that allows you to secure it to fixed items — think bed rail, closet rod or towel rack.
About the size of a manila envelope (but thicker), this safe is good for those who may have a number of items they want to lock up. The safe, which weighs just under 3 pounds, is made from steel and has a padded interior to protect whatever you put inside. It has a zinc alloy combination lock and also comes with a heavy steel cable that you can thread through an immovable object so someone can’t steal the entire safe.
This safe has a four digit lock, giving you more than 10,000 possible combinations. It also comes with a steel cable that allows you to secure it to other items, like a closet rod. It is large enough to fit passports, cell phones, wallets, jewelry and other relatively small items. Reviewers like how solid it feels and say it is very durable.
If you’re going on a beach vacation consider this travel safe that’s waterproof and just a bit bigger than an iPhone, making it small enough to carry with you on outings. Like the other options on this list, it comes with a steel cable to secure it to immovable objects
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Do you really need a travel safe?
It depends on you and what you carry with you when you travel. But experts I spoke with, agreed that a travel safe is a smart option for most. “When traveling, especially to multiple destinations, you may not know what the safe situation (if there is one, the placement, or the level of quality) will be in each hotel room or rental you stay in, so this is an easy way to ensure your valuables stay safe at every stop of your trip,” says Veronica Moturi, SVP and chief customer officer for Brinks Home, the security company.
Even if your room does have a safe in it, your own safe may be more secure. “Hotel safes have a master code or master key that can override the code you use. Additionally, some lower-end models can be reset electronically by anyone that knows how, rendering the safe pointless.”
Beyond a hotel room, a travel safe can be used on road trips, trips to the beach and other activities where it may be helpful to keep certain belongings secure.
How I picked the best travel safes
To come up with a list of the best travel safes, I asked Farina and Moturi what to look for in a portable safe. Below is what they said you should consider as you shop.
- Material: When looking at a safe, consider if it will stand up to the abuse of a thief trying to remove it and pry it open, says Farina. If a safe is made from cloth, make sure it is slash-resistant, adds Moturi. Otherwise, steel is a good material for a travel safe.
- Size: You’ll be traveling with this safe, so it needs to be something you can easily pack in a suitcase. At the same time, you need it to fit all the items you want to keep secure. Before buying, think about what you may want to store so you can look for something big enough for your needs.
- Anchoring: Travel safes are relatively small, so if they aren’t secured to something fixed, a thief can just grab the safe and make a run for it. All of the safes on the list above are able to be affixed to something immovable to prevent the entire safe from being taken.
Frequently asked questions
“Anything that you find valuable or would be difficult to replace — like cash, jewelry, passports, backup travel documents, small electronics, and prescription medication — should go in your travel safe,” says Moturi. Beyond protecting yourself from theft, putting all your valuables in one place can help prevent you from misplacing anything.
You could, but it is almost always safer to bring your own. “If not maintained properly, in-room hotel safes can fail and keep you from retrieving your valuables,” says Farina. “It may take a hotel security officer or engineer a bit of time to assist you in getting the safe open.” Not only that, many thieves know how to deprogram common hotel room safes to easily break into them.
Meet our experts
At NBC Select, we work with experts with specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Philip Farina is the founder and chief security and safety advisor for Risky Business, a security management firm.
- Veronica Moturi is a senior vice president and chief customer officer for Brinks Home.
Why trust NBC Select?
I am a commerce editor at NBC Select and a journalist who regularly covers beauty, home and lifestyle. I have written about double cleansing, walking shoes, FSA-eligible items and more. For this story, I spoke with two experts about what to look for in a travel safe.
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