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What to do before you go: Passports, Money and more...

Imagine the horror.

You arrive at the airport a good three hours in advance only to discover your kid’s passport has expired!

Oops.

This actually happened to a travel-savvy journalist. She planned to take her Travelling Kid to Japan only to find out that the child’s passport was not up to date. The journalist’s passport was still good and mom and kid had gotten passports on the same date. So, what happened? She learned the hard way that children’s passports are only good for 5 years – unlike adult passports, which are good for 10 years. By the way, this wasn’t me, but later in the article I will share with you an even stupider mistake that I actually did make.

Since even a professional traveller can make a major boo-boo it might be a good time to remember The Travelling Kid Motto:

“Pack Your Patience and Be Prepared!”

All travel requires preparation and forethought, but even MORE so when you have kids. Making

sure all is in order before you leave never hurts and doing a little double check before you go can save mountains of headaches.

I know someone who braved a 15-hour flight to Tokyo, only to be turned away at Narita Airport. Turns out, Japan requires that people on an ordinary tourist/business trip have an onward or return ticket and for whatever reason she didn’t have one. And for that matter…who knew? If she had consulted the Consular Sheet for Japan at www.travel.state.gov she might picked up on that strange little rule and saved herself the nightmare. Granted, you can’t prepare for EVERYTHING...but there are some things you can prep for and/or think about.

Perhaps PASSPORTS is a good place to start.

PASSPORTS

January 23, 2007 ushered in a new passport era. Gone are the days of breezing over the border to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean with just a bikini and your Driver’s License. The new passport regulations require every air passenger crossing US borders ANYWHERE (except to U.S. territories) to have a passport. This is also true for re-entering the US by car or on foot. As of this writing, the backlog for passports is SOOOO horrendous that the regulations have been amended for people who have applied for, but have not yet received a passport. HOWEVER after October 1, 2007 no more mister nice guy and you will have to present a passport if you want to wander over the border for a margarita in Tijuana. The passport agency currently cites a 6-8 week waiting period for a passport. Ha! Right now, according to recent articles in the NY Times and Wall Street Journal, getting a passport can take MONTHS.

IMPORTANT NOTE!

Some countries have special passport requirements. Brazil and China, for example, require special visas and getting these visas can also take a long time. I was shocked to learn that Turkey requires a visa and even more shocked that our mates down-under in Australia require one too! Many Asian countries require that travelers hold passports valid for a minimum of six months from the date of entry and China requires that you have at least one COMPLETELY blank page in your passport.

So if in April, the passport police in Prague stamp the last blank page in your passport you are headed to Shanghai in May and you look at your passport and think, “no problem...my passport doesn’t expire until August” ...think again. It is ALWAYS a good idea to check for any restrictions to the specific country you will be visiting.

AND ANOTHER THING…

Children’s Passports: As I mentioned before, kid’s passports are only good for 5 years. I have to renew my son’s passport soon and I was shocked to find out that we have to appear in person. ALL of us. I can’t just send the old passport in and get a renewal. My husband, my son AND I all have to be there. I am exaggerating only a bit - one of the parents can sign a NOTARIZED paper granting the right to the passport instead of showing up. It is a giant pain no matter how you slice it.

For details on obtaining a US passport go to: www.travel.state.gov and click on ‘Passports’ or call 877.487.2778. The web site will also fill you in on Visa requirements and has tips on travelling abroad. You can also check out www.getapassportnow.com.

VISA EXPEDITORS

If you are beginning to panic and to wonder how the heck you are going to make it to the Chinese Consulate to get your Visas and still chair the school fundraiser committee – no worries. There are expeditors that can, for a price, help you get your visa. You can get information from The National Association of Passport and Visa Services: www.napvs.org. This association, according to Travel and Leisure Magazine, lists reputable expediter companies that have been in business for many years.

Super tip! If you are travelling with lots of passports label them on the outside.

OTHER PAPERWORK

Make sure other paperwork you may need is in order. For example, are you travelling alone

with the kids? Do your kids travel alone with a grandparent? You may need a travel

authorization form, or a medical authorization form. This is a good site:

www.forms4parents.com

So now you’ve gotten your documentation together let’s turn to:

CONFIRM YOUR TRAVEL PLANS OR

Making Your List and Checking it Twice

OK. I have a big…Giant…HUGE admission to make. On my most recent trip to Geneva, Greece and London I made the biggest, baddest boo-boo of my trip planning life. I still do not know HOW it slipped by me, but I didn’t follow my own advice and I didn’t ‘double check’ my tickets before I left. I somehow missed the fact that my return ticket from London said June 24…not JULY 24 – so when I called the airline the second week in July to check on a waitlist - I was duly informed that my ticket was post dated. Uh, basically I missed my flight…by WEEKS! Ai yi…I won’t bore you with the details of what transpired but it was stressful to say the least. So, I say unto you:

DOUBLE CHECK ALL YOUR TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS

BEFORE YOU LEAVE!

Travel agents can make mistakes, airline personnel can make mistakes and the well meaning reservation agent at that fab hotel might have been up with a colicky baby all night and made a slight boo boo in your reservation. You too, may have made a miscalculation and booked a car service to pick you up on the wrong day (easy to do on European itineraries…I have, uh, experience in this area too).

AVOID 20/20 Hindsight!! Here are some points to consider:

Make an itinerary. This will be your ‘master’ list that you can check all travel documents against. Your itinerary should include:

• Hotel/Villa: make sure you have the address with you and reconfirm your reservation with the hotel and make sure you have it in writing.

•Transport from your house to the airport.

•Ticket from your home airport to your destination. Check dates and times and pay close attention to AM and PM. I have a friend who recently took a trip to Thailand. She realized LUCKILY at the last minute that what she thought was her 1:00AM flight the 5th was technically Sunday night the 4th (i.e. one hour past midnight which meant going to the airport on the 4th even though her ticket read, 5th).

•Transportation to/from the destination airport to/from your hotel.

•Rental Car: reconfirm your reservation and make sure you have it in writing.

•Car Service: reconfirm your reservation and get the cell phone number of the person picking you up and/or the number of the dispatcher

•Friend: reconfirm and make an agreement about how and when you will hook up. Exchange contact numbers.

•Cab: Make sure you have local currency to pay the cab or see if your hotel has an agreement with a cab company.

•Train/Metro/Bus: Check the timetable, especially important if your flight gets in at an odd hour, as they may not be running.

MONEY!

You should CALL YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANIES AND YOUR BANK. Here’s why: Imagine finding that amazing vase you’ve always dreamed of or needing to buy some food or a toy to calm the savage jet-lagged beast that was once your darling child only to have your credit card be declined. It happened to me. The credit card companies have computers to detect unusual activity on your card. If they don’t know that you are passing through a UK airport on your way to Dusseldorf where you might purchase a portable DVD player because yours broke en route from LA…the company might flag your card as having fraudulent activity. So – just call them before you leave and let them know your itinerary.

Your bank can up your ATM limit which can come in handy. First of all, every time you take out money you get charged a fee so the more you can take out the less trips to the ATM and the less fees you will pay. Also you don’t want to be caught short of cash in an emergency so the more cash available the better. Some banks might actually cancel your card if they don’t know you are abroad. Our former bank did because we don’t ordinarily use the ATM and the flurry of vacation activity flagged our account as fraudulent and we were stuck with no cash. You should also get a LOCAL number and contact for your bank vs. the 800 number because an 800 number WILL NOT work from phones abroad.

Speaking of ATMS – check if yours works with CIRRUS or PLUS or STAR, etc. consult the websites to locate ATMS abroad.

MasterCard/Cirrus/Maestro ATM Locator

Visa/PLUS ATM Locator

Got Cirrus?…you can also call (800) 424-7787 locations worldwide. The PLUS system has a toll-free ATM locator too: (800) THE-PLUS, but on the MINUS side, (as of this writing) it only lists US locations.