Get Your Passport Renewal Now To See Iceland Cheap This Winter - Expedited Passports

Yesterday, we listed Iceland as one of the Top 5 Reasons to Get a Passport in 2011. Now, Frommer’s has uncovered an excellent, affordable travel deal that will take you there for $499 per person (plus tax, unfortunately.)

The deal includes airfare to Reykjavik and back from Boston, New York, or Seattle. It also includes a two-night stay at the Icelandair Hotel Loftleidir with breakfast served daily and a trip to soak in the healing warm waters of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon. If you don’t mind paying a little more, you also have the option of staying in the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica instead.

Also, if two nights isn’t enough, you can add on up to 5 additional nights for an extra fee of $59 if you’re staying at the Hotel Loftleidir and an extra $89 if you’re staying at the Hilton (per couple, singles pay a little bit more person, unfortunately).

From Icelandair’s website, here’s a little interesting tidbit about the Blue Lagoon: “Blue Lagoon’s guests actually bathe between two continents as the Euro – Asian and American tectonic plates meet at the Blue Lagoon.”

The deal is only good from January 6th to March 27th, 2011, and you’ll need your passport to take advantage of it. Check your passport’s expiration date, as you’ll need to apply for a passport renewal ASAP if it’s no longer valid. Show up at the airport with an expired passport and not only will you not be allowed on the plane, you also might very well lose the money you put on the trip: per Icelandair’s website, “A $400 change fee per person applies to changes made up to 30 days before departure. Bookings cannot be changed 29 days or less prior to departure.”

Yikes! Normally, passport renewals take approximately 6 weeks to process, but if you need yours faster you do have options. Ordering expedited service through the Department of State should get your passport processed in 3 weeks or longer. If you’re leaving in 2 weeks or less, you can make an appointment at a Regional Passport Agency office or use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. We personally deliver your application to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours!

Apply for your passport renewal today!

It’s a new year, and that means it’s time to start planning the places you’ll go in 2011. To help you get started, I’ve hand-picked 5 of the best destinations recommended by travel experts – 5 great reasons to get a passport in 2011!

London, England

Travel experts agree: this is London’s year. The upcoming marriage of Prince William and his fiancée Kate Middleton is expected to attract a flurry of tourists from England, America and beyond, all there to bask in the pomp and circumstance that surrounds a royal wedding.

But the Telegraph has what I personally consider a much better suggestion: skip the wedding. Watch it on TV. Then, go later in the year, after things have died down a bit, and stay in one of the new luxury hotels that are opening in the city.

Turin, Italy

Turin is one of those cities that’s often overlooked, taking a backseat to more famous Italian jewels like Rome and Florence. Not this year. According to the Guardian, art lovers will converge upon Turin in 2011 as the city celebrates the 150th anniversary of Italian unification with stellar exhibitions of both Renaissance and modern art.

Curacao

USAToday notes that “2011 will mark Curacao’s first full year as an autonomous nation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, adding a new chapter to the island’s rich history.” Why not go out and see the Caribbean’s newest island nation for yourself?

New Zealand

New Zealand is an exciting place to be this year, with the Auckland Arts Festival for art lovers, the World Rugby Cup for sports fans and the filming of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit for geeks.

Iceland

Why Iceland? Hot springs, breathtaking scenery and a smoking nightlife are combined with prices that are still quite reasonable. Even better, new airline routes make it easier than ever to get to.

Of course, to visit any of these destinations you’ll need to get a passport. Apply early, as it takes about 6 weeks if you apply for regular processing. You can get a passport in 3 weeks if you pay an additional $60 for expedited processing. If you need it sooner, your only options are to make an appointment at a regional passport agency office or apply through an expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. An expediting company is definitely more convenient, as you don’t have to make an appointment, travel to a passport agency or wait in line.

Don’t wait – Get a passport today!

Summer is Venice’s high season, so most travel guides recommend visiting the city in spring or fall instead. But what about winter? As New York Times reporter Rachel Donadio recently discovered, winter in Venice has its own special magic. In the article, she writes about seeing the city in winter for the first time: “The light, as always, was beyond compare and there was a watery chill in the air. I loved it immediately. ”

In winter, it’s easy to get into normally busy attractions like the Doge’s Palace, and the damp chill can be easily kept at bay with hot coffee. Even better, Alitalia is having an excellent special on tickets at the moment. You can fly directly to Venice from Chicago for $867 round trip, or fly into Milan from New York for $622 and then take the train to Venice. If you take the Eurostar, you’ll be there in less than three hours. For more potential itineraries and prices, see Smarter Travel.

The sale is on until March of 2011. If you’d like to take advantage of it, keep in mind that you’ll need a passport if you don’t already have one.

If you apply for a passport without expedited processing, you can expect to get your passport back in the mail about 6 weeks after you send your application in. The State Department’s expedited passport processing normally takes about 3 weeks, which is still a long time to wait.

If you need to travel sooner than that, you have two options that can further reduce the time it takes to get an expedited passport. First, you can apply in person at a regional passport agency office. You’ll have to make an appointment to do this, and you may have to spend a lot of time and even money to get to the office since there are only 21 passport agency offices that serve the general public in the United States.

The second option is to order an expedited passport from a private expediting company like RushMyPassport. We meet with the Department of State on your behalf to submit the application, so you get processing times as low as 24 hours with no need to make an appointment or travel to a passport agency.

Apply for your expedited passport with us today!

Just in time for the busy holiday season, the Department of State announced last week that the New Hampshire passport agency office in Portsmouth is now open to the public.

The office, located in the Pease Tradeport, has been open since 1992, and handles expedited passport request from all over the country. However, before November 23, 2010, it was not open to the public. Instead, New Hampshire residents had to travel to Boston or New York to get emergency passport applications processed. Now, with three new counters to allow employees to accept applications directly from members of the public, long-distance trips for passports will be unnecessary.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Passport Services Brenda Sprague told WCHS6.com, “This permits us to meet the needs of people who have emergencies which happen all the time. People have last minute business deals. Brides and grooms discover two hours before their destination wedding departure that their passport has expired. So we are able to help people out with this sort of thing.”

To use the emergency passport services available at the Portsmouth passport facility, you must have an international trip booked within the next 14 days, or 4 weeks if you also need to get a visa prior to travel. The passport office does not accept walk-ins; make an appointment by calling 1-877-487-2778.

The passport office has limited hours of operation, and is open between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. If you need emergency passport services but can’t make it to the facility, one option that is easier and more convenient for most people is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.

When you use RushMyPassport, there’s no need to make an appointment or take time off work if you work during the day. Instead, if you need to submit your application in person, you simply go to a post office or other acceptance facility. There, the clerk will seal your documents so you can send them overnight to us. Then, we personally deliver them to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours.

Let us help you get an emergency passport the easy way!

“We come from the land of the ice and snow, where the midnight sun and the harsh winds blow…” Led Zeppelin, “Immigrant Song”

If you’ve always wanted to visit “the land of the ice and snow,” check out the new contest on the “Faces of Scandinavia” website. (h/t Gadling)

To enter, all you have to do is comment on one of the many personal stories posted on the site. The comment stream is pretty active, so you do have some competition, but in January a winner will be randomly selected from amongst the commenters-and who knows, it could be you!

If you win, you get 2 nights each in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. The prize includes transportation to Scandinavia via Icelandair, and transportation between each city via trains and a cruise. Lodging is also included, naturally.

Unfortunately, the contest’s “blackout dates” pretty much exclude the winner from being able to enjoy the “midnight sun” phenomenon that occurs from around the middle of May to the middle of summer, depending on where you are in Scandinavia. Still, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm are interesting and fun cities no matter when you go-and it’s hard to argue with free!

Of course, if you win, you’ll need a valid passport to go. You’ll want to get your passport application in as soon as possible, as it can take 6 weeks or even longer if you request regular processing. Expedited processing is available but costs an additional $60, and it can still take 3 weeks for you to get your passport in the mail.

The fastest way for you to get your passport application processed is to make an appointment at a US passport agency office or use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. RushMyPassport will deliver your paperwork directly to the Department of State, and can have your passport application processed in as little as 24 hours.

Submit your passport application today!

Is your passport about to expire? Are you wondering if you should bother with the US passport renewal process, or just let it go for a while? The New York Times has a review of some new Caribbean resorts that just might motivate you to get down to the post office with your renewal application!

All of the resorts the Times reviews focus on immersing travelers in local culture and local experiences. My favorite resort out of the 5 mentioned in the article is the Hotel Chocolat on St. Lucia. The resort consists of private cottages located on a real, working cocoa plantation. Perks include gorgeous, lush Caribbean scenery and, of course, chocolate.

However, James Bond fans might prefer a stay at the newly renovated GoldenEye, the same Jamaican property where Ian Fleming wrote his famous spy novels. Now owned by Chris Blackwell of Island Records, the resort has 22 decked-out rooms, serves local fare and hosts a variety of fun fitness activities.

Of course, the only resort mentioned in the article that you can visit without a passport is the one in Puerto Rico. If you want to go anywhere else in the Caribbean, you’d best get your US passport renewal application in. A passport is required to travel between the US and the Caribbean by air. If you’re traveling by sea, you have a little bit more leeway and can use a passport book, a passport card, an enhanced driver’s license or a trusted traveler card. See Do You Need a Passport to Go to the Caribbean? for details.

RushMyPassport can help you get your US passport renewal processed quickly, much faster than the standard 6 week processing time or even the three weeks for the government’s expedited processing option. We’ll personally deliver your application to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Apply for your US passport renewal today!

Fall is here, and the days and nights are starting to get a little bit chilly. I love fall, but my bones are starting to ache and I can’t deny that I’d also  love to lounge on the beach and chase autumn’s chill away with some sun and sand.

Spirit Airlines’ new special makes it much more affordable to do just that (via SmarterTravel). Right now, they’re offering flights from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Nassau in the Bahamas and back again, for $1 each way! Nope, that’s not a typo. If you fly on the right dates, you can snag a round-trip ticket to the Bahamas for just $2.

Of course, there’s still taxes and fees to consider, plus Spirit is notorious for its baggage fee structure. If you can travel light, it’s probably still worth it, but it’s not a bad idea to guesstimate how much luggage you’ll be carrying and then check prices from other carriers.

If you go, remember that you’ll need a US passport to fly to the Bahamas. They won’t let you on the plane without one.

Spirit’s $2 fares are available in November, December, January and February. If you want to squeeze some time on the beach in before Christmas, you’ll need to request fast passport processing.

If you apply for expedited service from the Department of State, you’re still looking at a processing time of at least 3 weeks. For truly fast passport processing, you’ll need to go ahead and make your flight reservations and then either apply in person at a Regional Passport Agency office or use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.

Of these two options, using a private passport expediting company is the most convenient. Unlike a passport office, there’s no need to make an appointment, wait in line, travel to an agency office or any of that other stressful stuff. All you have to do is apply like normal, get your documents “sealed” at the post office and then forward them to the expediting company. At RushMyPassport, we can have your application processed in as little as 24 hours. How’s that for fast passport processing?

Ready to hit the beach? Apply for a fast passport with us today!

The Department of State just announced the opening of a new emergency passport office in Hot Springs, Arkansas. According to the press release, the new office is located in an existing passport printing facility. The passport factory has been open since 2007 and more than 30 million US passports have been produced there since that time. Because passports are printed on-site, the office is able to offer extremely fast passport processing, allowing applicants to receive their documents within 24 hours.

To be eligible to apply at an emergency passport office, you need to be able to prove that you have a travel emergency that necessitates a passport by bringing a copy of your travel itinerary. Your itinerary must show that you have booked tickets to leave the country in 2 weeks or less, or 4 weeks or less if you still need to apply for a travel visa for the country you will be visiting. See What to Bring When You Apply for an Emergency Passport for more details about what you’ll need to apply.

In 2009, the government began requiring a secure document such as a passport for American citizens traveling by land or sea to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean. Previously, only a driver’s license and birth certificate were required for land and sea travel.

Even over a year later, these new regulations still catch people by surprise, increasing the demand for passports. To keep travelers from becoming stranded due to not having the proper documents, the Department of State has been slowly but surely increasing the number of emergency passport offices. The passport agency office in Hot Springs brings the number of emergency passport offices in the US to 21. More new offices are set to open in the next 6 months in the following cities: Atlanta, San Diego, El Paso and St. Albans, Vermont.

With only 21 facilities to serve the entire United States, traveling to an emergency passport office is still inconvenient for many Americans. Plus, you can’t just walk in to a passport agency office-you must make an appointment to be seen. Additionally, passport agency offices typically have limited hours of operation and are not open in the evenings or on weekends, so if you work during the day you’ll have to get time off.

For these reasons, many people prefer to use private passport expediting companies like RushMyPassport. We’ll help you with your passport application and personally deliver your paperwork to the Department of State, resulting in processing times as low as 24 hours with no need to make an appointment or wait in line.

Apply for an emergency passport the easy way today!

When I was a kid, Halloween was more than just October 31st. It was a month-long celebration, and usually included a trip to a Haunted House and/or a local theme park in addition to trick-or-treating on Halloween itself. For the past 10 years, the Ocean Park theme park in Hong Kong has taken that experience and put it on steroids with its “Halloween Bash.” (h/t In Transit) This year is their 10th anniversary celebration, and they’re pulling out all the stops in the weeks leading up to Halloween.

Per the Halloween Bash website, this year’s festivities include 444 ghoulishly-costumed performers (why not 666?), a maze explored in total darkness, and a ride that simulates being shut into a coffin and pushed into a crematorium (presented by Yahoo, no less). I’d stay away from that last attraction if you’re claustrophobic.

Like all theme park food, I’m pretty sure the food at Ocean Park is grotesquely overpriced. But, at least they’re being creative about it: fare includes dishes like “Little Girls Drowned in Blood,” “Smashed Brains in Plasma” and “Kraken and Leviathan Massacre.”

Oh, and they also have laser tag. With zombies. So, what are YOU doing for Halloween?

Of course, October is over halfway gone, so if you want to spend Halloween at Ocean Park, you’ll need to get a fast passport. Generally, it takes about 6 weeks to get your passport back if you submit your application for normal passport processing. Pay an additional $60 for expedited processing, and you’re still stuck waiting 3 weeks-by which time the witching hour will have long since passed. Fortunately, there is a solution-fast passport processing from a Regional Passport Agency office or from a private passport expediting company such as RushMyPassport.

Both options can get your passport application processed in as little as 24 hours, but an expediting company is quicker and easier to use because there’s no need to make an appointment, wait in line, or travel to a regional passport office. And that means you have more time to worry about more important things-like your costume!

Need a fast passport? Apply with us today!

In honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, the following post is written mostly in Pirate.

Arrr! September 19th be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, but just ’cause it’s in the past, that doesn’t mean that your buccaneering days are over ’til next year. Hoist yer sails and make your way down to the Cayman Islands, which come November 11th through the 21st will be filled with the dirtiest scalawags this side of Tortuga!

In other words, it’s Pirates Week in the Caymans. The Pirates Week  festival has been going on for 33 years, long before pirates became the pop culture darlings they are today.  The islands were originally settled by pirates, slaves and other outcasts, and Pirates Week is a chance for citizens of the Caymans to celebrate their freewheeling and colorful history.  For example, the Pirates Week website describes one of the festival’s main attractions:

Then on the first Saturday we have a mock ‘pirate invasion’ from the sea! Two old-time sailing vessels, loaded with pirates make a Saturday surprise landing at the bowl-shaped George Town harbour, as thousands line the streets to take part in the spectacle or just watch. It’s good-natured fun, there’s a new twist every year, and families just love it. It’s the only event of its kind in the Caribbean region.

Well, shiver me timbers! Ye could hardly do better for a fall vacation, but make sure ye keep to the code: The Cayman Islands, being originally settled by the notorious pirate Sir Francis Drake, be a British territory now, and ye must be issued a US passport or be made to walk the plank back home.

Check the expiration date on your passport-if it’s expired, you’ll need to apply for a US passport renewal. In most cases, though, you can apply for your US passport renewal by mail, without having to present your scurvy self to the authorities.

But avast! It can take 6 weeks for your US passport renewal to be processed if you request regular processing, and by that time the last pirate ship will have sailed from the island. To get it faster, you can pay an additional $60 gold pieces to expedite it, but it’ll still take at least 3 weeks to get to you.

RushMyPassport can help-we’ll use our swiftest vessels to take your US passport renewal application directly to the landlubbers at the Department of State, for processing times as low as 24 hours!