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Pack the following items in carry-on luggage: wallet, passport/visas, paper airline tickets or itinerary, hotel/car rental reservation information, film, traveler’s cheques, medications in original bottles, small amount of local currency, all valuables, and anything you can’t do without for long.

Before You Go

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS - A Valid Passport

Travel document requirements vary from country to country, but you will need the following: a U.S. passport or other proof of citizenship, plus a visa or a tourist card, if required by the country or countries that you will visit. You may also need evidence that you have enough money for your trip and/or have ongoing or return transportation tickets.

Who Needs a Passport?

A U.S. citizen needs a passport to depart or enter the United States and to enter and depart most foreign countries. Exceptions include short-term travel between the United States and Mexico, Canada, and some countries in the Caribbean, where a U.S. birth certificate or other proof of U.S. citizenship may be accepted. Your travel agent or airline can tell you if you need a passport for the country that you plan to visit. Information on entry requirements is available from the booklet Foreign Entry Requirements, for 50 cents from the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, Colorado 81009; telephone 719-948-4000; Internet http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov The embassy or consulate of the country where you plan to travel can also advise you about its entry requirements.

Please Remember!

Even if you are not required to have a passport to visit a foreign country, U.S. Immigration requires you to prove your U.S. citizenship and identity to reenter the United States. Make certain that you take with you adequate documentation to pass through U.S. Immigration upon your return. A U.S. passport is the best proof of U.S. citizenship. Other documents to prove U.S. citizenship include an expired U.S. passport, a certified copy of your U.S. birth certificate, a Certificate of Naturalization, a Certificate of Citizenship, or a Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States. To prove your identity, either a valid driver's license or a government identification card that includes a photo or a physical description is adequate.

With the number of international child custody cases on the rise, several countries have instituted passport requirements to help prevent child abductions. For example, Mexico has a law that 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. No authorization is needed, if the child travels alone and is in possession of a U.S. passport. A child traveling alone with a birth certificate requires written, notarized authorization from both parents.

Beware of a Passport That Is About to Expire!

Certain countries will not permit you to enter and will not place a visa in your passport, if the remaining validity is less than 6 months.

All U.S. Citizens Must Have Their Own Passport

Since January 1981, family members are not permitted to be included in each other's passports. Even newborn babies need their own passports to travel.