Carefreetrip.com Travel Blog

Take metal items such as keys, loose change, mobile phones, pagers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) out of your pockets. Put these in your carry-on, or in a plastic bag. This keeps lines moving and your experience more pleasant. Try to avoid wearing anything with metal, clothing, jewelry or other accessories that contain metal such as, heavy jewelry, clothing with metal buttons or snaps, belt buckles or under-wire bras.

Pack your coats and jackets in your baggage when possible. All coats and jackets that you are carrying must go through the X-ray machine for inspection. If you choose to wear an outer coat or jacket to the checkpoint, you will need to either pack it in your carry-on baggage or put it in one of the bins we provide.

You may be additionally screened because of hidden items such as body piercings, which alarmed the metal detector. If you are selected for additional screening, you may ask to remove your body piercing in private as an alternative to a pat-down search.

Passport Requirements & How to Apply for a Passport

A passport is an internationally recognized travel document that verifies the identity and nationality of the bearer. Only the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassies and Consulates have the authority to grant, issue or verify U.S. passports. For travel overseas and to facilitate reentry into the U.S., a valid U.S. passport is the best documentation available.

A valid passport is required to enter and leave most foreign countries. Some countries may allow you to enter with only a birth certificate, or with a birth certificate and a driver’s license. Note, however, that rules established under the U.S. Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, require that all persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air, must present a valid passport to reenter the United States. (Until September 30, 2007, U.S. citizens who have applied for but not yet received passports can enter and depart the United States by air to Western Hemisphere countries with a government-issued photo identification and official proof of application for a passport. The proof may be obtained at http://travel.state.gov. This accommodation does not affect entry requirements of other countries, and U.S. citizens who are traveling to a country that requires a visitor to have a passport must still obtain one.)

If you are traveling by land or sea, make certain that you can return to the United States with the proof of citizenship that you take with you. U.S. regulations require that you document both your U.S. citizenship and your identity when you reenter the United States. For more information about U.S. passport requirements, see http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html.

Some countries require that a traveler’s U.S. passport be valid at least six months or longer beyond the dates of the trip. In addition, with the number of international child custody cases on the rise, several countries have instituted passport requirements to help prevent child abductions. (Mexican law, for example, requires a child traveling alone, or with only one parent, or in someone else’s custody, to carry written, notarized consent from the absent parent or parents if the child is not in possession of a U.S. passport.) Contact the embassy of the foreign destination for more information. A listing of foreign embassies and consulates in the U.S. is available on the Department of State’s website at http://www.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/dpl/32122.htm. Foreign embassy and consulate contact information can also be found on the Country Specific Information for each country.

How to Apply for a U.S. Passport

Apply for your passport several months before your planned trip, and, if you will need visas from foreign embassies, allow even more time. Even if you don’t have specific travel plans, but have family living abroad or are waiting to find a bargain trip, it is a good idea to apply as early as possible. Information about applying for a U.S. passport may be found at http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html.

If You Need to Obtain a New Passport While Abroad

For information on obtaining a new passport if yours is lost or stolen abroad, see “How to Get Your Passport Replaced” below, under “Emergencies: Consular Assistance and Crises Abroad.” Also visit the Department of State website at http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/lost/us/us_848.html. Additional information is available at http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/emergencies_1197.html.

Individual countries have their own standards of accessibility for disabled travelers. Some countries have nondiscrimination laws that help to protect travelers with disabilities, while other countries do not. Preparation before you go can help ensure that your planned destination will be accessible, safe and enjoyable.

Travelers with disabilities should review the Department of Transportation pamphlets New Horizons for the Air Traveler with a Disability and Plane Talk: Facts for Passengers With Disabilities . Both of these publications are available at the Department of Transportation’s website http://www.dot.gov. In addition, travelers with disabilities should review the information contained in the section above entitled Planning Your Trip: Learn About the Places You Will Visit, consider the following tips, and discuss the trip with a physician:

• Research in advance: Learn about planned stops and ask questions about services available. Consider the level of health care available, as well as local transportation needs to and from the airport, luggage assistance, and whether other help will be needed to leave the airport terminal. When making reservations, inform the travel agent or carrier of your disability and the equipment you use, and, if necessary, request a wheelchair be brought to the gate upon arrival and any other assistance needed while flying and at the airport. In all cases, ask that your needs and requests be documented as part of the reservation, and take down the name of the agent. That way, if there is a problem, you may be able to quickly show that you are entitled to the service you requested.
• Seek medical advice: Talk to your physician about the activities you have planned and your general physical condition, any immunizations that might be needed, and medications, whether prescription or over the counter, that you might need for your trip. Carry a letter from your attending physician, describing your medical condition and any prescription medications, including the generic names of prescribed drugs.
• Your medications: If you take prescription medication, make sure you have enough to last the duration of the trip, including extra medicine in case you are delayed. Pack your medication in your carry-on bag, since checked baggage is occasionally lost. Always carry your prescriptions in their labeled containers, not in a pill pack.
• Documentation of immunizations: Take with you proper documentation of immunizations.
• Health and Evacuation Insurance: Make sure you have adequate health insurance coverage while abroad, including coverage of medical evacuation (not covered by most domestic policies). Note that U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs do not provide payment for medical services outside the United States.
• Service dogs: Some countries have restrictions on service dogs. If you intend to travel with a service dog, be sure to check on possible restrictions with the embassy or consulate of each country you will visit. (This and other country information may be found on each country’s Country Specific Information at http://travel.state.gov). If service dogs are permitted, learn about quarantine or vaccination requirements. Find out what documents are needed, including international health certificates and rabies inoculation certificates, and if the documents need to be translated. Talk with your vet about tips for traveling with a dog, and how travel will affect the animal. You may also want to ensure that hotels will accommodate your service dog, and that there will be an adequate area for the dog to relieve itself.
• Maintenance on equipment: Have a maintenance check done on any equipment you will take with you, to ensure that everything is in working order before you leave. You may want to research the availability of wheelchair and medical equipment providers in the areas you plan to visit.
• Carry written plans: Carry with you your written itinerary and directions of where you wish to go. These can be shown to people who might be able to help you if you are lost. Another useful tool is a point-and-conversation guide.

The U.S. State Department provides these tips when you travel abroad -

• Register so the State Department can better assist you in an emergency: Register your travel plans with the State Department through a free online service here. This will help us contact you if there is a family emergency in the U.S., or if there is a crisis where you are traveling. In accordance with the Privacy Act, information on your welfare and whereabouts will not be released to others without your express authorization.
• Sign passport, and fill in the emergency information: Make sure you have a signed, valid passport, and a visa, if required, and fill in the emergency information page of your passport.
• Leave copies of itinerary and passport data page: Leave copies of your itinerary, passport data page and visas with family or friends, so you can be contacted in case of an emergency.
• Check your overseas medical insurance coverage: Ask your medical insurance company if your policy applies overseas, and if it covers emergency expenses such as medical evacuation. If it does not, consider supplemental insurance.
• Familiarize yourself with local conditions and laws: While in a foreign country, you are subject to its laws. The State Department web site at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html has useful safety and other information about the countries you will visit.
• Take precautions to avoid being a target of crime: To avoid being a target of crime, do not wear conspicuous clothing or jewelry and do not carry excessive amounts of money. Also, do not leave unattended luggage in public areas and do not accept packages from strangers.
• Contact us in an emergency: Consular personnel at U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad and in the U.S. are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide emergency assistance to U.S. citizens. Contact information for U.S. Embassies and Consulates appears on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website at http://travel.state.gov. Also note that the Office of Overseas Citizen Services in the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs may be reached for assistance with emergencies at 1-888-407-4747, if calling from the U.S. or Canada, or 202-501-4444, if calling from overseas.

The other day I came across a great article written by Gretchen Kelly on travelchannel.com. This article addresses how to complain and make it count. Here are the highlights -

1. When you need to complain, do so as soon as possible. It’s best to get the situation rectified on the spot, if possible, rather than having to complain after the fact.

2. Be calm and polite, direct and firm. Like you, airline, hotel, and car rental employees face myriad challenges every day. If you approach them politely and explain your frustration clearly, they are much more likely to be inclined to help you.

3. Understand that airline rules are complicated. Experts often tell travelers to “know the rules” before complaining, but for many airline passengers following that advice would mean never complaining. Your best bet is to know the restrictions associated with your ticket to the extent possible (for example, is it a refundable ticket?), and beyond that to realize that the airline may or may not be required to rectify the situation you face.

4. If you’re getting nowhere, talk to someone else. Sometimes talking to the right person can make all the difference. If you’re not making any progress, get back in line and speak with a different agent, or ask to speak with a manager or station manager.

5. Use your cell phone. The time you spend waiting in a long line of people can double as time on-hold at the call center. You may get through on the phone before you get the front of the physical line.

6. Know what you are complaining about and what you want. It sounds simple, but sometimes people get so frustrated they don’t clearly explain the problem or what they hope to accomplish by complaining. Starting your conversation with those points will give you a better chance of success.

7. Respect security personnel and know current security standards. Showing frustration with security screeners will not help you get to your destination any faster, nor is it likely to change operations at the checkpoint. The best things you can do to help make their jobs easier and your security experience smoother is to know and follow current screening rules, and give yourself plenty of time to get through the line.

8. Your travel department or travel agency is your lifeline. When the hotel doesn’t have the room you reserved; the rental car is the wrong size vehicle; or your flight is cancelled, and the line at the airline counter is so long after that you know you’ll never get on the next one - your travel agency can often help you. Carry the phone number with you and, if there is one, the after-hours number for help in these difficult situations.

Finally, Sam Haigh, President and CEO of Benchmark Hospitality International advises travelers to “always follow up in writing - even if the issue was solved to your satisfaction.”

“This gives the property or airline additional input upon which to follow up with you. Hotels and airlines pay a lot of attention to written comments, good and bad. Include names and other specifics.”

Flying to Hawaii is different than flying to many other destinations. Many plants and animals from elsewhere in the world can be harmful to Hawaii’s unique environment, agriculture, and communities. Aboard your flight to Hawaii, you will be required by state law to fill out an agriculture declaration form.

• Passengers arriving with fresh fruits & vegetables; cut flowers & foliage; rooted plants & plant cuttings, or algae; raw or propagative seeds or bulbs; soil, growing media, sand; live seafood (lobsters, clams, oysters); cultures of bacteria, fungi, viruses or protozoa; or insects, live fish, amphibians, etc., must declare them and submit them for inspection to a Hawaii Plant Quarantine Inspector in the baggage claim area.
• If you are traveling with live animals, you must declare them and notify a cabin attendant on your flight prior to deplaning.
• All live animals must be turned in to the airport’s Animal Quarantine Holding Facility by the airline, not the passenger, upon arrival.

For further information on importing plants and animals into the state, please visit the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture’s Quarantine Office website.

Baggage tips provided by Delta Airlines -

• Put your name and the phone number of your destination on the inside and outside of your bag.
• Don’t wrap your gifts since all luggage is subject to inspection.
• Travel light when you can. Try bringing one carry-on bag that will fit underneath the seat in front of you.
• Don’t overstuff your bag. That makes it more likely to get damaged.
• Make sure your bags don’t have any straps or hooks sticking out that could get caught on something and damage your bag.
• Stay within the Baggage Allowance.
• Carry valuables, medication, and travel documents in your carry-on luggage.
• Pack anything that might leak inside an air-tight plastic bag.
• Know the rules for any of your stuff that might be considered Dangerous Goods. That includes what to do with those spare batteries.
• Know the requirements for the Security Checkpoints where you’ll be traveling. There are still restrictions on Liquids and Containers.
• Check with our airport agents if you need extra Packaging.
• Check as many bags as possible to make clearing Security Checkpoints smooth and fast.