Travel Tips for International Travel
My daughter Sabrina suggested that I try to write up my travel tips as I have been travelling so much for both business and pleasure the last few years. I plan to create a series of tips by category on this web site. So much of it seems to be common sense to me, so forgive me if you already know all of this.
Passports and Boarding Passes
- Have your passport up to date, which means renewing it at least 6 months in advance of expiration as some countries will not let you in if your passport is close to expiring. The new electronic passport can give you access to shorter and faster lines, depending on the country and the airport. You may also need your passport when you sign into your hotel.
Check in online ahead of your flight as soon as permissible for the airline. In the U.S. that is usually 24 hours, but European airlines that may be up to 30 hours in advance. It's worth it to be able to pick out a seat assignment that you prefer.
Get a printed copy of your boarding pass from one of the self-serve kiosks at the airport as sometimes your smart phone can play tricks with you when you are trying to board your flight. Paper always works, electronic copies don't.
If you are a United States citizen and you travel extensively within the US, sign up for TSA Pre Check with the government (http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck). If you also travel more than once a year outside the US, it's worth it to sign up for Global Trusted Entry from Customs and Border Patrol, as it saves so much time every time you re-enter the United States (http://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry). It only takes about 30 seconds to get through instead of up to 1 hour at passport control.
If you are a European citizen, make sure that you can use your electronic version of your passport so that you save time in passport control lines in the rare European countries where that is necessary, like the UK.
Getting Through Security
If you plan to carry your bag onto an airplane, pack all your liquids, creams, and pastes (3.4 ounce/100ml or less in size) in a single clear zip-top bag that is no larger than a quart/~litre in size. I mean all of them. And leave enough room to be able lay everything flat and to fit in whatever lipsticks or lip balm you have in your purse or other carry-on bags in case you have to go through security at a strangely stringent airport like Manchester. (I've had the toughest security at the only the more obscure airports; the large airports like Paris Charles de Gaulle, London Heathrow, and Amsterdam Schiphol are not bizarre in their requirements.)
You will have to get your laptop out of your carry-on baggage at the security checkpoint. You should also pack all your other electronics (kindles, iPods, mobile phones, even mobile phones, etc.) so that they can be pulled out at security if asked. Pack all power cords and chargers in small bags that can also be put in trays at security if required.
Be prepared to take off your shoes, belt, watch, hair clips or barrettes, jackets, coats, and take anything out of your pockets when passing through the metal detectors or scanners. (The metal in my underwire bras has gotten me patted down by security more times than I want to discuss.) Keep your temper and smile, no matter what security asks you to do.
You may be stopped by security if you have any of the following items in your carry-on bags (based on my personal experiences, funny stories most of them):
a zip-lock bag full of rock salt
an animal-shaped bottle opener
metal knitting needles
small collapsible umbrella
a muscle roller stick
