When you’re getting ready to travel internationally, there are plenty of potential obstacles you may have to overcome, and some that are entirely avoidable if you plan ahead and travel smart. In fact, there are a number of things you can do with your passport that will make travel a lot less of a headache. Here are some of our favorite passport tips that can save you time, money, or just general hassle:
1. Personalize your family passports
If you’re traveling with your children abroad, you are going to need to get a child passport photo taken and apply for a passport for each of your children. That means there are more documents that you’ll be in charge of during the logistics of getting on and off the plane. One way to save time at security and customs is to put a personalized sticker for each family member on his or her passport, so you can keep them organized and give the right one to the right person when the time comes, rather than having to open every single one.
2. Maximize your blank pages
Often, when you get to customs, the agent will open your passport to any blank page to stamp it, which can lead to pages getting used up a lot faster than they’d otherwise need to. So instead of having to get a new passport when your pages get used up, maximize space by simply asking the customs agent to stamp on a particular page, or put Post-it notes over the blank pages to discourage stamping there.
3. Find out if you’ll need a visa
We often assume that we’ll only need a passport when traveling abroad, but there are certain countries and circumstances when you might also need a visa, and you don’t want to be stuck on the day of travel without one. Check the US State Department website to find country specific information.
4. Double and triple check if your passport is valid
If it isn’t, it’s not the end of the world. You can easily take new passport pictures online here at Paspic and apply for a new passport – you just want to make sure you give yourself enough time, or you’ll be stuck paying fees to expedite the process.