**How to avoid getting your suitcase stolen on the bus when traveling through South America?**Wouldn't a suitcase underneath the bus be really easy to steal when the bus stops before your final destination?I'm going to travel for 5-9 months and I'm almost considering traveling with a big backpack instead, but I don't know if I'll make any difference. Is it really stupid to travel South America with a suitcase instead of only a backpack?

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Accepted Answer

You're imagining a problem that doesn't really exist. Bags don't dissapear from buses in South America because rarely anyone stores anything valuable in them - valuables go in the small pack with you on the bus. That's how locals do it, that's how travelers do it. You'll be fine.

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Keep the most important documents and equipment with you, all of the time. Relax, enjoy, and be  postive.

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In Brazil they'll put a little sticker in your suitcase with a number and give you a piece of paper with the same number, and then you have to show your piece of paper when claiming your luggage. I've traveled a bunch by bus in Brazil and luggage being stolen hasn't really been a concern

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You can try and position yourself on the bus to keep an eye on what luggage comes and goes from the bus but often that's not possible / you're asleep / the luggage is on the roof. Some bus stations can be *really* chaotic as well.But yes there's always the possibility that your luggage departs at a different destination than you do and you never see it again. I'd say you should allow for this: don't have anything too valuable in your backpack / keep any valuable things in a smaller carryon  that you can carry onto the bus and keep an eye on. I would also *strongly* recommend that you keep passports and bank cards / cash - really important things - in a moneybelt inside your clothing and on you at all times (i.e. when the bus stops and you get off for food / toilet). Losing your luggage is a bad day; having no passport and / or money at a remote bus stop in a foreign country will be stressful to put it mildly.In the end it's best to travel light: I once met a guy who travelled the length of South America with only a small carry-on backpack.ps what everyone else said: traveling long distances in developing countries with a suitcase (and not a backpack) would be a serious pain the a**.

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Carry lots of cash in an expensive looking briefcase, and handcuff yourself to the briefcase. Keep snacks in the briefcase, to give lots of opportunities to open the case and show off your cash. Also be sure to wear expensive cloths, new expensive shoes, and talk loudly about being a digital nomad and that you don't know anything or anybody in the area.

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