The Major Mistake To Avoid When Partying At Festivals In Europe

If you're a music devotee, you may have considered going to European music festivals, such as Glastonbury Festival in England; Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Spain; or Rock Werchter in Belgium. While the experience can be a dream come true, if you've been to big festivals before, you likely know how easy it is to lose things or have them stolen by another concertgoer. This can happen anywhere there's a big crowd, especially if you've had a few drinks from the beer stand. It's also very easy to simply drop your wallet, phone, or passport and not realize it until it's too late.

While you can call your credit card companies and use tracking apps to find a missing phone, a lost or stolen passport is much harder to fix. With this in mind, the biggest mistake you can make at a festival is keeping your passport in a bag or back pocket. It's imperative that you either make sure it's secured on your person in something like a zippered pocket or money belt or — even better — leave it in a locker or your hotel safe.

It's also important to have all your travel information, including a copy of your passport's picture page, emailed to yourself in a password-protected document, something guidebook writer Rick Steves suggests in case you're robbed while traveling. He also recommends traveling with extra passport photos for the same reason.

If you do end up getting robbed while traveling and your passport is gone, you can call the non-emergency police number in the country you're visiting (beware that, outside of the U.S., it likely won't be "911"). Then, you should contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate (there is a list of them here). You'll have to appear in person for your replacement passport. It's important to have your flight information, especially if you're scheduled to leave soon. The embassy or consulate will try to help quickly, but if you can't get a new passport in time, you may be issued a temporary emergency passport, which is valid up to a year. 

During your visit, you'll need to have as many of these items with you as you can: a passport photo, a form of identification, evidence of your citizenship (which can include the copy you have of your passport), a police report confirming your lost passport, and a form of payment. If you've been robbed of everything, the embassy or consulate can contact your friends or family to collect the payment, or, in serious cases, you may be eligible for a free emergency passport. You'll also need to fill out forms DS-11 and DS-64. The more information you have, the better. And one more vital tip: If you locate your passport after reporting it lost or stolen, know that it is no longer valid and you can't fly home with it.