Get a Passport, Quick to Hit the Powder in Australia - Expedited Passports

If you love to ski, this is the year to get a passport quick and book a flight to Australia. According to Gadling, unusually heavy snowfall this year has created the best skiing conditions in about 20 years. Gadling says:

For instance, popular resort Falls Creek has received more than their fair share of the white stuff, with 89 inches of accumulation for the season thus far. That’s their highest total since 1992. Similarly, Mount Hotham, another resort in the region, has topped 90 inches just for August, and has seen more than a meter of snow fall this week alone. Meanwhile, Mt. Buller has received over 13 inches of snow this past week too, with forecasts saying more could fall soon. When added to their already impressive totals for the year, it gives them their best season, in terms of accumulations, since 1985.

Expect finding cheap airfare to be a bit of a challenge, though-flights to Melbourne from the US are expensive, with prices usually starting at around $800 (if you’re lucky) and frequently breaking the thousand-dollar mark for a round-trip ticket. To help you out, here’s an article from an Australian travel agency that provides helpful tips and strategies on finding the best airfares.

You’ll also need to get a passport quick if you don’t already have one. If you request regular processing when you apply for your passport, you can expect to wait 6 weeks or longer for it to arrive in the mailbox. You can pay an additional $60 fee to expedite your application, but it will still take about 3 weeks to arrive. If you need it more quickly, you can either make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office or use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.

Using an expediting company has several advantages. It’s faster and more convenient, particularly if you don’t live near a passport agency office. Plus, the best expediting companies will help you with your passport application, answer questions, and make sure you know exactly what to send so that your application is processed quickly.

Need a passport, quick? Let us help!

Labor Day is just around the corner, and if you renew your passport now, you can take advantage of some incredible travel deals for one last hurrah before the summer is over.

For example, Jaunted has posted a list of awesome, cheap excursions, such as 4 nights in the Bahamas for $299 per person, including airfare. There are also some wonderful deals on Labor Day cruises, with cruises to the Bahamas as low as $229 person, Mexico cruises as low as $299, and a cruise to Monaco and Italy for only $599.

Meanwhile, this post gives you the scoop on how to rush a passport and save big on a trip to Barbados.

If you decide to leave the country on a whim this Labor Day, make sure you check the expiration date on your passport. US passports are good for 10 years (as long as you were 16 or older when it was issued), so it’s easy to lose track of when it’s time to renew.

All the trips I just mentioned do require a passport, except perhaps cruising to the Bahamas and Mexico. Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, travelers on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end at the same US port) to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean can bring government-issued photo ID and a copy of their birth certificates. However, traveling to or from these countries by plane requires a passport no matter what the circumstances, so it’s still best to have one with you in case you need to fly home for an emergency.

If you do need to renew your passport on short notice, don’t give up on your dream vacation just yet. It’s definitely possible to get a passport quickly. It just takes a little bit of extra time and effort.

Regular passport processing takes about 6 weeks, which is obviously too long of a wait if you want to go anywhere for Labor Day. Expedited passport processing through the Department of State takes about 3 weeks. However, there are other options. One option is simply to make an appointment to renew your passport at a Regional Passport Agency office, if there is one nearby. You must have a confirmed itinerary to show you will be leaving the country in the next 14 days, and you’ll have to make an appointment.

A quicker, easier option is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. We personally deliver your passport application to the Department of State, for processing times as low as 24 hours.

Renew your passport today!

If you’ve been waiting for the Mediterranean to become more affordable, why not get a fast passport and get cheap tickets with Alitalia’s latest sale? SmarterTravel reports that the Italian airline is offering great prices on flights from the US to Mediterranean countries including Italy, Greece, Spain and Turkey.

Flights from Barcelona to Miami are available for as little as $661 per person, round trip. Flights from New York To Rome start at $804, and flights from Boston to Florence are $860. For $920 you can fly from Chicago to Venice, and for $941 you can fly from Los Angeles to Madrid. Flights from Chicago to Thessalonike, Greece are $1,207. However, given the situation in Greece right now, flying may be more expensive than to other destinations but room rates are likely cheaper. Meanwhile, $1,260 will get you to and from Istanbul.

The cool thing about these prices is that they are all-inclusive, including fees and taxes, so what you see is pretty much what you’ll get.

The sale is good for travel in September and October, which is fine if you have a passport. If you don’t have one already, though, you’ll need to apply for fast passport processing. Normal passport processing takes at least 6 weeks, and I don’t recommend that you cut it that close. For fast passport processing, you can request expedited service, which will cut processing time down to approximately 3 weeks.

For even faster service, you can make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office if you are traveling in 2 weeks or less. However, a much more convenient option, especially if you don’t have a passport office nearby, is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. An expediting company will personally deliver your application to the Department of State. Processing times depend on the level of service you select, and they can be as low as 24 hours.

Need a fast passport? Apply with us today!

If you grew up around trees, you probably have fond memories of hanging out with your friends in a homemade treehouse. If you’re in the mood for a little bit of childhood nostalgia (or you didn’t have access to a treehouse growing up and feel deprived), a new hotel in Sweden consists of designer treehouses that put our childhood hangouts to shame.

According to the Daily Mail, the Treehotel in Harads, Sweden consists of four treehouses, each about 13 to 19 feet off the ground. The treehouses are elegantly designed and furnished, and each has its own unique design and theme. For example, “The Nest” looks like a gigantic bird’s nest with whimsical round windows, “The Cabin” looks like an old-school hunter’s cabin, and the “Blue Cone” has a cone-shaped top. The coolest treehouse of all, though, is “The Mirrorcube.” With walls made out of mirrors, it reflects the surrounding forest so perfectly that you almost can’t tell it’s there.

Treehotel co-founder Kent Lindvall described the Mirrorcube house to the Daily Mail:

“It’s an interesting building. You cannot find anything like this in the world today. It’s absolutely unique. Everything will reflect in this – the trees, the birds, the clouds, the sun, everything. So it should be invisible nearly in the forest.”

Much more luxurious than your typical treehouse, all of the houses at the Treehotel have electric heat, incineration toilets and a super-efficient hand basin. The hotel owners offer guided hikes to check out the local flora and fauna, including moose, reindeer and bear.

Of course, before you head off to Sweden you’ll need to get a passport if you don’t already have one. Make sure to allow plenty of time, as it usually takes at least 6 weeks to get a passport in the mail once you’ve applied. You can cut that processing time in half by paying $60 extra and requesting expedited processing. However, you still need to allow at least 3 weeks if you go that route.

If you need your passport issued more quickly, the most convenient option is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. An expediter can personally deliver your passport application to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours.

Need to get a passport in a hurry? Contact us today!

Do you like to travel “off the beaten path?” Are you looking for some travel inspiration? The list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites just got longer, giving you 21 new reasons to check the expiration date on your passport.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Program aims to “encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.”

To make the UNESCO World Heritage List, sites must meet one or more of a specific set of criteria, such as representing a “masterpiece of human creative genius,” featuring remarkable examples of architecture or natural beauty, or providing refuge to vanishing plants, animals and human cultures.

These criteria make World Heritage sites worth visiting for anyone with an interest in human history, art, or nature. For example, new sites include rainforests in Madagascar, sites where British convicts were housed in Australia, rock art in Portugal and the lush Central Highlands of Sri Lanka.

If you don’t want to leave the United States, you can still visit places on the World Heritage List. The US has 21 World Heritage Sites in total, including Papahānaumokuākea in Hawaii, which was just added.

However, if you want to expand your horizons and visit another country, the list is a great reference that can help you find interesting places to visit that go beyond the standard tourist traps.

If you’re leaving the country, it’s recommended that you get a passport renewal first if you have 6 months or less before your passport expires. Most passport renewals can be done my mail-for more information, see Passport Renewal: Cutting Through the Red Tape.

RushMyPassport can help you get your passport renewal much more quickly than even the government’s expedited service. We personally deliver your application to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours!

Need your passport renewal ASAP? Apply with us today!

In an attempt to keep up with increasing demand, the US Department of State is expanding the number of regional passport agency offices capable of issuing emergency passports. One new office is planned for San Diego, California. On August 10th, the Department of State is holding a tour of the future site of the new office, which is currently scheduled to open to the public in the spring of next year.

In a press release, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Passport Services Brenda S. Sprague commented, “I’m very excited about expanding our presence to the San Diego area. As passports are required for cross-border travel to Mexico, the new agency will help us better serve U.S. citizens in the region and create jobs and contribute to the local economy.”

The office, which will be located in the Columbia Center at 401 West A Street, will issue passports to US citizens who are traveling within 14 days, or who are traveling within 4 weeks but also need to obtain a foreign visa. An appointment will be required for services at this passport office. Currently, residents of San Diego who need an emergency passport must travel to Los Angeles or San Francisco.

While the new passport office should make things easier for people living in the San Diego area, getting to the office during business hours will still be a problem or at least an inconvenience for many. That’s why it’s nice to know that making an appointment and waiting in line at a Regional Passport Agency office isn’t the only way to get an emergency passport. You can also use a private passport expediting company and let them deal with the State Department for you.

When you work with RushMyPassport.com, for example, you get assigned a passport specialist who helps answer any questions you might have about the application process and helps you avoid common mistakes that could delay your passport. Then, we hand-deliver your paperwork to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours.

Want to skip the passport office? Apply with us today!

If you’ve been putting off a trip to Europe due to the expense and the unfavorable exchange rate, now might be a good time to pack your bags and say “Bon Voyage.”  According to this press release from Hotels.com, the euro is trading at its lowest rate since 2005. Not only will you lose less of your money if you travel overseas, but there are also a lot more great deals to be had on lodging, even in traditionally expensive cities like Paris, London and Cannes.

In the press release, Taylor L. Cole, APR, director of public relations for Hotels.com, explains why you shouldn’t put off that trip to Europe any longer:

“With the large selection of European hotels on hotels.com, and many offering summer promotions, this is an ideal time to travel abroad. The Euro is down and the dollar’s gaining, so Americans traveling to Europe can get more for their money. Additionally, we’re seeing an increase in online searches for travel to Europe which demonstrates that travelers are catching on to the bargains.”

Well, they would say that…but they also provide a list of sample room rates that look pretty tempting. A four-star room in Barcelona for $73 a night, anyone? How about a room in Capri for $84?

If you want to take advantage of these deals, now ‘s the time to go. You’ll need to apply for a passport renewal if yours is expired, of course. As you plan your trip, remember to allow enough time for your passport renewal to be processed.  If you apply with normal processing, you’ll need about 6 weeks, while applying for expedited processing from the Department of State can cut processing time down to 3 weeks.

If you find a truly irresistable last-minute deal, you can also use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com to get your passport even more quickly. An expediting company can get your passport renewal application processed in as little as 24 hours, with no need to travel to a passport agency office.

Renew your passport today!