'One of the worst feelings on Earth': what to do if you lose your passport overseas

James Smith was transiting through Los Angeles airport when jet lag, summer heat and the need for a hamburger caused his travel plans to go disastrously awry. The 30-year-old financial adviser from Sydney had a few hours to kill before boarding another flight to Canada - where he was meeting mates for the Calgary Stampede Rodeo - so he exited the airport to visit a nearby In-N-Out Burger.

Outside the airport, James (pictured, centre, with his cousin Murray, left, and friend Jesse at the Calgary Stampede), took off his bum bag so he could take off his hoodie in the heat. It wasn't until he got to the burger joint that it clicked: he had picked up his hoodie, but his bum bag - containing his passport, driver's licence and bank cards - was gone, likely stolen. "It's probably up there with one of the worst feelings on Earth," Smith tells Explore. He just thought, "What the hell am I going to do?" Smith retraced his steps, appealed to airline staff, tried lost and found, and reported the incident to airport security, to no avail.

The Australian Government's Smartraveller recommends making copies of your passport, visas and insurance policy, and carrying them in a separate place to the originals. Smith had done this and kept the copies on his phone, which he still had. He contacted his travel insurer, Cover-More, for advice, and they pointed him to the nearest consulate, where he was issued with an emergency passport. But back at the airport, he realised his bad luck wasn't over yet: his Canadian visa was connected to his old passport, so he had to apply for another visa, too. All up, he had to spend two unexpected nights in LA before finally making it to Calgary.

Travel risk management company World Travel Protection's general manager of security and intelligence, Rodger Cook, says it only takes "a moment of distraction" for your most valuable document to disappear, and recommends carrying your passport separately from other valuables, including key documents.

"In some countries, passports can be valuable on the black market, but in most cases, they're taken incidentally when thieves are targeting your phone or wallet in items like travel belts or backpacks," Cook says.