Get a Fast Passport to Attend the Salzburg Festival - Expedited Passports

Here’s a gentle reminder for all classical music and drama buffs: the annual Salzburg Festival is coming up next week!

The Salzburg Festival is held every summer in Salzburg, Germany, the birthplace of Mozart. The festival has been held annually since 1920, with a break during World War II due to the Nazi occupation. It was founded by poet and playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal, composer Richard Strauss, scenic designer Alfred Roller, conductor Franz Schalk and director Max Reinhardt.

It’s still one of the top classical music festivals in the world. The highlight is the annual performance of Hofmannsthal’s Everyman, but there is also lots of Mozart (naturally) as well as work by other composers and playwrights. This year’s festival is even set to include a couple of modern-day takes on classic plays by Shakespeare and Goethe. You can find the complete program online here.

The Salzburg Festival runs from the 27th of July to the 30th of August, so if you want to attend, you’ll need to order fast passport processing. Regular passport processing takes about 6 weeks from the time you send your application in to the time you get your passport back. You can order fast passport processing from the Department of State for an additional $60, but you’ll still have to wait about three weeks if you go that route.

To get your passport in less than three weeks, you can either make an appointment at one of twenty-four regional passport agency offices, which will mean taking additional time off work and possibly traveling, or you can use a private expediter like RushMyPassport to hand-deliver your passport application to the Department of State. With RushMyPassport, you can get your application processed in as little as 24 hours, with no need to make an appointment or wait in line at a passport agency. It’s a beautiful thing!

Need fast passport processing? We’d love to help…Contact us today!

UNESCO’s World Heritage List is like a treasure map for adventurous travelers. Each dot represents either an important piece of human history, an amazing natural landscape, or both. This year, 25 new sites have been added so far. Just in case you need a reason to apply for your passport renewal, here’s a rundown of some of the most interesting:

Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe: For centuries, the powerful Kushite empire ruled from the island of Meroe. At one point, they even managed to take over ancient Egypt, ruling it for close to 100 years. When you visit this World Heritage site, you can see the remains of their kingdom.

Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia: Welcome to the heartland of Colombian coffee! UNESCO says that this site is an “exceptional example of a sustainable and productive cultural landscape that is unique and representative of a tradition that is a strong symbol for coffee growing areas worldwide.” Take in the rugged mountain landscape, the ancient villages and the coffee plantations while sipping a cup of the delicious local beverage.

Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land, Japan: Consisting of the remains of ancient temples, government buildings and sacred gardens, this site is absolutely breathtaking. UNESCO says that “It represented the pure land of Buddha that people aspire to after death, as well as peace of mind in this life…Pure Land Buddhism developed a concept of planning and garden design that was unique to Japan.”

West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou, China: Here, the Chinese took what was already an incredible landscape along the Yangtze River, and over the years sculpted it to make it even more magnificent. UNESCO says that “the West Lake has influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries and bears an exceptional testimony to the cultural tradition of improving landscapes to create a series of vistas reflecting an idealised fusion between humans and nature.”

To visit any of these sites, you’ll need a valid passport. Apply for a new passport or a passport renewal at least 6 weeks before your departure date, and even earlier if possible. Passport renewals take at least 6 weeks to process unless you select expedited processing, in which case you’re looking at three weeks, more or less.

If you need faster service, RushMyPassport is the most convenient option available. We personally deliver your passport application to the Department of State, for processing in as little as 24 hours, with no need to make an appointment or travel to visit a passport agency office.

It’s an unfortunate fact that bad news gets the most airtime. Because of this, when something bad happens in another country, TV news often leaves you with a skewed perspective of the place, turning regional problems into national ones. For example, watching news coverage of the drug violence in Mexico, you could be forgiven for thinking that the entire country is going up in flames. But in reality, the violence is in most cases restricted to specific regions.

The same is true for coverage of Japan. While some areas were definitely devastated by the earthquake and the accompanying tsunami, the rest of the country is open for business. But on the news, all you see is the devastation.

In fact, a group of Japanese resorts is so distressed by the way the country has been portrayed, they are holding a contest to find a travel blogger who is willing to tell the other side of the story (via Jaunted). As the group writes on its Travel Volunteer website,

“Japan as a country was NOT entirely destroyed or irradiated. All other places outside the evacuation zone are totally safe. But the media never mentioned it or that life goes on normally in many parts of Japan. This had severe consequences for many businesses in the travel & tourism industry, so we decided to create this project to promote Japan amongst the world’s travelers and show that it still is a safe & wonderful country to visit.”

The winning travel volunteer gets an all-expenses paid trip to Japan, where he or she will spend 100 days visiting all 47 Japanese prefectures and blogging about his or her experiences. If you’re selected, you can even bring a friend, so long as your friend is also willing to fill out an application form and pay the $5 application fee. (more…)

You’ve been to Mexico. You’ve been to Canada. You have pictures of yourself standing in London with Big Ben in the background and holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. What now?

If you want to add some unique stamps to your US passport, consider these 5 undiscovered destinations. While not technically secret, these countries are off the radar for most US travelers but definitely worth visiting.

The Maldives: This remote chain of islands in the Indian Ocean is home to some of the most pristine beaches you’ll ever see. The weather is warm and the water is the clearest cerulean blue. The Maldives is not easy to get to, and you’ll most likely have to fly through London or Dubai. It’s also not cheap, as this Gadling post illustrates: a “shoestring” budget over there is about $280 per couple per day, and prices can be much higher. What price paradise?

Albania: Albania, on the other hand, is a budget traveler’s paradise. Delicious Greek-style cuisine, gorgeous scenery and Mediterranean beaches make this country a winner. Why is it still relatively undiscovered? Until recently, Albania suffered under a repressive Communist dictatorship. The country is still poor and has not joined the European Union yet, but conditions are much improved from the “bad old days” and according to the Department of State, the country is mostly safe as long as you avoid demonstrations.

Macedonia: Like Albania, with which it shares a border, Macedonia’s liberation from an oppressive regime is relatively recent. Macedonia is somewhat wilder, with incredible hiking, superb skiing and lots of ancient ruins to explore. The best way to enter the country is through Albania or Kosovo.

Tasmania: Technically, Tasmania isn’t its own country- it’s part of Australia. However, it’s isolation from the mainland means that even native Australians have just recently begun to discover its charms: gorgeous beaches, great food and wine and stretches of wilderness that hold wildlife that lives nowhere else on the planet.

Of course, visiting any of these countries requires a US passport. Make sure you apply ahead of time if you don’t already have one- it can take up to six weeks from the time you submit your application for your US passport to be issued. Even if you pay the extra $60 for expedited processing, it can still take at least three weeks.

To get your passport faster, you can either make an appointment at one of the State Department’s 24 regional passport agency offices or choose a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport for faster, more convenient service with no appointments needed.

Get your US passport today!

A passport mix-up at Seattle’s Sea-Tac airport left a teenage girl searching for an emergency passport on Thursday, according to MSNBC.com.

The teenager, Katie Cardinal, was traveling with a group that included her cousin, her grandmother and a family friend. Katie, her cousin and her grandmother stepped up to the ticket counter together and handed over their passports at the same time. What happened next was like something out of “The Twilight Zone.”  According to Rosalie, the grandmother:

“”We gave her three passports, she gave us three back. We stepped away from the counter about four feet.  I looked, and one of the passports was not one of the three of us.” Turns out one of the passports returned belonged to Kay Small, a family friend who was behind the grandmother and her two granddaughters in line. Katie’s was missing.”

Despite the fact that the group had hardly left the ticket counter, nobody could locate Katie’s passport.  Did pixies steal it? Did it somehow get sucked into an alternate dimension? Who knows- but with the plane set to leave at 2:00 pm that afternoon, Katie needed a new passport, quick!

The Seattle passport agency office was happy to oblige her, even waiving the requirement for an advance appointment. However, with the time it took to collect all of the necessary documents and fill out the paperwork, it simply wasn’t possible for the family to make their original flight.

The airline was able to book them on another flight to Europe, but the new itinerary left them with only 90 minutes to get through immigration and onto the cruise ship.  That’s cutting it too close for comfort, but hopefully if they miss the departure they’ll be able to meet the ship at the next port.

Whether your passport seems to have mysteriously vanished, is expired or you just didn’t think to apply until the last minute, RushMyPassport can help you get an emergency passport so you don’t have to cancel your trip. We help you gather your documents and complete the paperwork, and then we personally deliver your emergency passport application to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Need an emergency passport? Let us help get you back on the road again!

For more than 5 years, popular travel blogger Nomadic Matt has traveled the world almost nonstop. Unfortunately, passport mishaps can happen to anyone, even the most seasoned travel veterans. Earlier this month, disaster struck Nomadic Matt in the form of a lost passport.

Within minutes of exiting a plane, he realized he’d left his passport behind. Unfortunately, a few minutes was all it took for the lost passport to vanish forever. Matt calls this “the worst thing that has happened to me while traveling,” which is kind of surprising when you consider that his travel career has included hospital stays, getting ripped off numerous times and even getting lost in a Costa Rican jungle.

Here’s why:

“It was gone. And along with it, 9 years of stamps. I had added pages to the passport twice as I accumulated those stamps. Now they are gone….and I’m still devastated.”

Travel experts always recommend that you make a copy of the identification pages of your passport to make it easier to get a replacement if it does get lost or stolen while you’re traveling. However, especially if you travel frequently, the stamps in the back are probably worth copying as well. Passport stamps give you bragging rights, create a record of your travels and trigger memories of the places you’ve visited. To avoid losing all of that if you lose your passport, consider snapping a picture of each page of stamps and either saving them to on your computer or uploading them to a secure cloud service like Evernote.

Losing 9 years’ worth of stamps wasn’t the only problem the lost passport caused, however. While Nomadic Matt was able to get an emergency passport at the US Embassy, it was only a limited validity passport good for one year. And while technically that shouldn’t be a problem for at least 6 months (many countries require that your passport be valid for 6 months past the date of entry), apparently it is a problem if you’re trying to fly into London’s Heathrow Airport, which he would have needed to do to attend a friend’s wedding in the US without messing up his other travel plans. As Matt explained on his blog:

Everyone, including the embassy, recommended that I avoid trying to re-enter the UK on a temporary passport. Going out would be easy. Coming back, I might face problems. My gut agreed. And with no real idea (everyone has a different story!) about how long getting a new 10-year passport could take while in NYC, I couldn’t risk it. The passport office in New York City requires appointments and make no guarantee of a same-day turn around.

So, he also missed his friend’s wedding. (more…)

Getting a passport has never been more essential for anyone who wants to travel outside of the US. Laws that became effective over the past few years have made passports necessary where they weren’t before, including many trips to Mexico and Canada. Unfortunately, passport application fees have also never been more expensive. Last July, passport prices increased and fees were added for formerly free services like adding passport pages.

Now, two New York congressional representatives, concerned that more stringent passport requirements and higher costs could keep their constituents from being able to cross over freely into Canada, have introduced a bill to help ease the burden of getting a passport.

Representatives Brian Higgins and Kathy Hochul are co-sponsoring two bills which, if passed, would reimburse you for most of the cost of getting a passport and would also restrict what the government can charge for them.

According to YNN.com, the Passport Fee Relief Act would allow passport holders to claim a tax credit equal to the cost of the passport application fee after applying for a new passport or a passport renewal. The second bill, the Passport Acquisition Savings and Security (PASS) Act, would ensure that passport application fees are limited to what it actually costs the government to issue your passport.

The passport application fee varies depending on whether you’re applying for an adult passport, a child passport or a passport card. For example, an adult applying for a passport book and a passport card would pay an application fee of $140. If you are applying in person, there is also a $25 execution fee that goes to the office that takes your application. Under Higgins’ and Hochul’s proposal, this fee would not be reimbursable.

Representative Hochul told WKBW.com that she was inspired to co-sponsor the bill based on her time as a county clerk:

“As a former Erie County Clerk I am very aware of the high costs associated with obtaining passports. I helped process thousands of passports that cost Western New Yorkers upwards of $100 each. These prices are far too high for residents who travel across the border day after day for work and pleasure. We need to save Western New Yorkers every penny we can and these two bills will help bear much of the costs associated with obtaining a passport.”

What do you think of these bills? If they passed, would you be more likely to submit a passport application and get a passport?

Earlier this month, residents of Georgia and neighboring states got some welcome news: the Department of State just opened a new regional Passport Agency office in Atlanta. When you consider that Atlanta is the ninth largest city in the country, the big question becomes “What took so long?”

A Regional Passport Agency office is a special passport office for US citizens who need emergency passport services. Prior to the opening of the Atlanta Regional Passport Agency, Georgia residents had to drive or fly all the way to New Orleans or Washington, DC to get a passport in the event of a travel emergency.

Writing on the Department of State blog, Atlanta Passport Agency Director Gale McCoy described helping a teenage boy get a passport for a trip to Paris and said, “Emergencies like this happen every day in airports across the country, and the odds of it happening in Atlanta are great, considering that the Atlanta airport serves more than 80 international destinations and is the world’s busiest airport in terms of passenger volume. That’s why it was so important for Atlanta to have a passport agency.”

The Atlanta Passport Agency is located on Peachtree Street in the middle of downtown, and is open by appointment only. To make an appointment, call 1-877-487-2778. To qualify for an appointment, you must need a passport to travel overseas within 14 days, or four weeks if you also need to apply for a travel visa for your destination country. In addition to the other documents required to get a passport, you must bring a copy of your itinerary as well . As long as everything is in order, the passport agency office will issue your passport within 24 hours so you can be on your way.

Of course, even with this new passport agency open, the Department of State’s emergency passport services will still be out of reach for many. Some people won’t be able to get the time off work, others would rather walk through broken glass than deal with Atlanta traffic. If you need your passport application processed quickly and can’t use the passport agency or would prefer not to go through the hassle for whatever reason, RushMyPassport can help. We hand-deliver your paperwork to the Department of State, for processing in as little as 24 hours with no need to make an appointment or wait in line.

Don’t put yourself through any unnecessary hassles-let us help you get emergency passport processing the easy way!

Do you have summer travel plans yet? We’ve combed the web to find the coolest, most interesting summer vacation ideas for 2011. If you don’t know where you’re going yet, perhaps one of the following destinations will pique your interest:

Skiing in Patagonia, Argentia:  If lounging on the beach isn’t your thing, follow winter down to the southern hemisphere to enjoy world-class skiing in Patagonia. With resorts and terrain that cater to everyone from beginners to experts, this remote corner of Argentina has something for everyone. (via National Geographic)

Bermuda: If lounging on the beach is your thing, consider a trip to Bermuda this summer. Gadling points out that among this island’s many perks are pink sand beaches, excellent nightlife and short flights from the US.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: AOL recommends hopping on a plane to Rio this summer to enjoy Brazil’s fabulous beaches.  When it’s summer here, it’s winter there, but Brazil’s climate is so temperate that you probably won’t notice. As an added bonus, the beaches will be somewhat less packed and lodging will likely be cheaper.

Istria, Croatia: Another National Geographic pick, Istria is known for gorgeous, pristine beaches, pine forests and nature preserves.

Israel: Gadling recommends Israel for a summer vacation, noting that “Geopolitics aside, Israel is an awe-inspiring place to visit.” There’s a variety of activities available, and most people there speak English, so it’s definitely worth considering for a summer vacation you’ll never forget.

If you want to travel internationally over the summer, you’d better get your passport application in now.  Applications usually take at least 6 weeks to process, though that can vary depending on how busy the Department of State is. If you spring for expedited processing (an additional $60), you’ll still wait about three weeks.

For faster service, RushMyPassport can help. We walk you through the application process, reducing the chance of errors, and then hand-carry your passport application to the Department of State for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Need help you your passport application? Contact us today!

The UK’s Identity and Passport Service just released the results of a study that looked at replacement passport applications to determine where and how passports are most likely to be lost. Like the US, the UK has citizens applying to replace a lost passport fill out a questionnaire explaining exactly what happened to the missing document.

According to the statistics, one of the most common ways to lose a passport in the UK is to accidentally throw it away, according to a BBC write up of the study. About 10,000 passports a year are taken out with the trash. Bars and clubs are the other major culprits. As you might expect, people in their 20′s seem to be the most prone to these types of accidents: 42.8% of the people who applied to replace a lost passport last year were in that age group.

Meanwhile, the BBC also collected a list of some of the more unusual explanations people gave for their lost passports. Check it out:

Taxi attacked by gunman on way to airport in Brazil

Fell out of bag while snowboarding

Drunk boyfriend (now ex) destroyed it

Last seen in pocket of a coat donated to tramp

Wallet stolen at children’s party with passport inside

Passports stored in safe in Turkish villa, thieves stole safe

Put in bin by infant daughter; and

Put on a fire with clothes

No matter what happened to your passport, RushMyPassport can help you get it replaced quickly. Normal passport processing takes about 6 weeks, while the Department of State’s expedited service takes about 3 weeks. We hand-deliver your paperwork to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours. Even better, there’s no need to make an appointment or travel to a passport agency.

Lost your passport? Let us help!