Travel Insurance: Yes or No? - Expedited Passports

People have a lot of questions about travel insurance. What is it? What does it cover? Is it worth the price? Where do I get it? So here are some simple answers to help you make a more informed decision.

All travel insurance policies are different. So before you buy, make sure you’re getting the protection you want at a fair price. But don’t buy until you find out if you already have these benefits through your existing insurance coverage and credit cards. If you’re already covered, make sure the coverage meets your needs.

One of the main reasons people buy travel insurance is for trip cancellation and interruption protection. It would cover some or all of the charges if you had to cancel your trip or come home early due to an emergency.  Some travel insurance policies offer reimbursement for your pre-paid nonrefundable trip costs if your passport is lost or stolen prior to starting your trip.  A trip would have to be canceled if the traveler could not secure a replacement passport in time.

Another type of coverage protects personal effects while traveling. But again, do your homework before you buy. Some airlines will reimburse you a standard payment for lost  bags. Your credit card and homeowner’s insurance may also cover loss of personal effects while traveling.

Then there’s health-related coverage. If you need emergency medical care while traveling, it could get expensive – especially when the health emergency prevents you from making your scheduled departure. Costs could include medical treatment, evacuation, lodging, food, transportation and new travel arrangements to return home.

While your current medical plan may cover some costs of emergency medical treatment while traveling, it may not cover others – like accident-related costs from “high risk” activities, or charges for medical evacuation. If you’re traveling abroad to places where you don’t trust the level of medical care, you’ll want to make sure you have an exit plan in place if a health issue should arise. If you do decide to buy travel insurance with medical coverage, make sure you know exactly what you’re buying. Some policies may exclude pre-existing conditions or limit coverage for evacuation, travel and more.

So do your homework, then decide if travel insurance is right for you. And while you’re making your travel plans, make sure that you know where your passport is and make sure it is not expired. For more information about passports, including expedited passport services, go to www.rushmypassport.com.

Cruises are meant to be relaxing and fun. They are a great way to get away and spend time with loved ones. That didn’t work out so well recently for passengers of the Carnival Triumph. An engine fire turned their relaxing getaway into a living condition disaster with spoiled food and unworkable plumbing. What made the cruise even worse was that since it was a “closed loop voyage,” it wasn’t required for cruise passengers to bring their passports.

A “closed loop voyage” means the cruise ship begins and ends at the same U.S. Port, even if it makes stops outside the country. Carnival officials had initially planned to tow the ship to a Mexican port and let passengers fly home. Unfortunately though, 900 of them didn’t have passports which is required when flying into the U.S. If all the passengers had passports, an emergency like this may have been fixed a lot quicker. So if you decide to go on a cruise in the future, it is definitely recommended you make sure to bring your passport, just in case.

Is your U.S. passport expired? Did you lose your passport? Don’t worry; there are expedited U.S. passport services available like Rush My Passport that can help get your U.S. passport FAST. If you have a limited amount of time before your vacation trip (less the standard processing time of 4-6 weeks which it normally takes to get a U.S. passport), visit RushMyPassport.com and learn how to get a U.S. passport FAST. They can even help with getting your U.S. passport to you within 24 – 48 hours!

More than four months after an earthquake and a tsunami delivered a devastating one-two punch to Japan, the tourism industry is still reeling from the blow. Perceptions about the safety of the country (or lack thereof) are keeping many Americans away.

Japan’s travel industry tends to rely on well-heeled travelers, but according to the New York Times, tourist visits are down 50 percent. Meanwhile, Daniel Simon, the general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi, told the newspaper that “we don’t really think the high-end leisure traveler will come back until Chinese New Year 2012 because there’s still too much negative news in the media about Japan.”

So, high-end travelers are staying away. More intrepid travelers might very well say, “Let them.” Though the country will likely experience aftershocks for some time, the actual risks of traveling to Japan are low. For example, according to the US Department of State,

The “health and safety risks to land areas which are outside a 50-mile radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are low and do not pose significant risks to U.S. citizens. Out of an abundance of caution, we continue to recommend that U.S. citizens avoid travel to destinations within the 50-mile evacuation zone of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant.”

And that’s it…just avoid a circle of the country that’s a 100 miles in diameter, out of a total area of 145,925 square miles. That means that almost 95% of the country is still safe to visit. Even within that 50 mile radius, the Department of State says it’s perfectly fine to travel as long as you’re just passing through via train or through Sendaki airport.

Everyone has their own tolerance for risk, of course. If you feel the risks of traveling to Japan are acceptable, there are certain advantages to going now instead of waiting: you’ll pay less for everything from tickets to lodging, and you’ll spend less time waiting in line.

Masaki Hirata, the executive director of marketing and promotion at the Japan National Tourism Organization, told the New York Times that since the disaster, “It’s less crowded now, and package tour prices are down 20 to 50 percent.”

If you do decide to go, you’ll need a US passport if you don’t have one already. Be careful about booking last-minute plane tickets without a passport, because it can take at least six weeks for your documents to arrive in the mail after you apply. Even with expedited processing through the Department of State (1 $60 fee), you can expect to wait three weeks.

What’s a spur-of-the-moment traveler to do? For faster service, you can make an appointment at one of twenty-four regional passport agencies, or take the easy way out by using a private passport service like RushMyPassport. We deliver your passport application directly to the Department of State, for processing in as little as 24 hours.

Let us help you get your US passport today!

Drug-fueled violence has been simmering over in certain parts of Mexico for well over a year now. The State Department has issued official travel warning after official travel warning to keep US citizens informed of the situation, most recently in April.

With horror stories coming in from across the border on a semi-regular basis, many US citizens have decided that it might be more prudent to take a summer vacation elsewhere. It should be noted that only certain parts of Mexico are affected by the violence- even the cautious bureaucrats over at the Department of State note that “the majority of visitors to Mexico thoroughly enjoy their stay.” The travel warning suggests that you stay away from the following areas: Northern Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon (especially the city of Monterrey), Tamaulipas Durango, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Sinaloa, Southern Sonora, Nayarit, Jalisco, San Luis Potosi, Michoacán, Guerrero and Morelos.

That still leaves a lot of places in Mexico that are fairly calm. However, if you’d prefer to stay out of the country altogether, Gadling has a couple of alternative suggestions: Costa Rica and Panama. According to the Department of State, the main threat to tourists in Costa Rica is theft. While Costa Rica has long been popular with American tourists, Panama is more of an up-and-coming destination, as evidenced by the construction of country’s first Westin Hotel and resort.

If you want to check out either of these countries, though, you’ll need to get a passport. To enter Costa Rica, you’ll need a US passport valid for at least 30 days after your arrival. If you’re going to Panama, it must be valid for at least three months.

To ensure you get your passport in time, plan ahead. It takes about six weeks to get a passport if you apply for regular service, and about three weeks if you request expedited service for an additional $60.

To get a passport more quickly, you can either make an appointment at the nearest regional passport agency office, or save time and gas money by using a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.

Let us help you get a passport quickly today!

Mexico has long been a playground for Americans on vacation, but lately it’s been in the news due to an unfortunate epidemic of drug-fueled violence. Is it still a safe place to visit? Despite the grisly headlines, the answer is “yes”-as long as you use common sense and stay away from the most lawless, unsafe regions of the country.

With that in mind, here’s  a summary of the areas in Mexico that the US Department of State has warned US passport holders to avoid:

• The state of Durango- The Mexican state of Durango has become one of the epicenters of drug cartel-related violence, and the Department of State notes that 4 visiting US passport holders were murdered there late last year or early in 2010. Now is not a good time to visit the birthplace of Pancho Villa.
• Ciudad Juarez-  In this city, located in the state of Chihuahua along the US/Mexican border,  drug cartels and Mexican government officials have engaged in all-out war, with shootouts occurring during daylight hours and in populated areas like shopping centers.  Over 2,600 people died there last year.
• The northern border area: Cuidad Juarez is the most notorious northern border city, but really, it’s safest to avoid most of the major cities near the US/Mexico border. Violence also occurs fairly frequently in the cities of Tijuana, Nogales,  Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros, to the point that the US Department of State has advised dependents of US personnel in the region to leave until April 12th.

The good news is that the major Mexican resorts and tourist areas are still pretty safe. For more information on how to enjoy your Mexican vacation safely, see the Department of State website.

Also, don’t forget that passport regulations governing travel to Mexico have changed. You will most likely need a US passport-see Do I need a passport to go to Mexico? for the details.

If you need a US passport in a hurry, the easiest way to get one is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. We hand-deliver your application to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours, with no need for you to make an appointment or travel out of your way to a Regional Passport Agency office.

Apply for your US passport today!

Were you planning to visit the Monarch butterfly breeding grounds in Michoacan, Mexico? According to the US State Department, you’d be better off waiting until next year. Mexico is continuing to experience problems with drug cartel violence in that region, according the AP. US travelers should also stay away from the state of Chihuahua, especially Ciudad Juarez, which has the dubious distinction of being Mexico’s most violent city. It would also be a good idea to avoid Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana and Matamoros.

However, other parts of Mexico are still safe to visit. And, as this article from the San  Francisco Chronicle notes, there are plenty of great deals to be found far away from all of the violence.  Hotels are offering free nights, free upgrades, free meals and more. Swine flu is actually less of a concern in Mexico than it is stateside right now, and some hotels are offering ” “flu-free guarantees,” which give you 3 years worth of free vacations if you contract swine flu on your trip. That’s almost worth kissing a pig for!

However, if you want to travel to Mexico to take advantage of these deals, you will need a US passport. US passports normally take at least 6 weeks to process if you use normal processing. If you request expedited processing from the government,  US passports usually take at least 3 weeks to arrive.

To get your US passports more quickly, consider using a private passport expediting company. An expediting company speeds up the application process by assisting you with your paperwork and delivering your application to the State Department by hand.

With an expediting company, your passport application could be processed in as little as 24 hours. Don’t let these great deals pass you by-apply for a passport with RushMyPassport.com today!

US passport holders should be aware that if they are planning on traveling to China any time in the near future, they’d better be healthy when they leave home! The Chinese government has introduced some pretty strict quarantine measures to try to stem the spread of the H1N1 “swine flu” virus, and international travelers are receiving extra scrutiny.

For example, this article in the New York Times tells the story of a mother whose daughter went to China for a language camp. It turns out that one of her classmates was ill with the H1N1 strain of flu. When her daughter starting running a fever, the Chinese government made her go into quarantine in a hospital.

From the story, the girl seems to have been well-taken-care of, but being forced into hospitalization in a foreign country is kind of unnerving experience for anyone. US passport holders should be aware not only of the risk of contracting swine flu during travel, but also of the risk of being detained until you are deemed no longer contagious-a much greater inconvenience than the illness itself, in many cases.

Of course, before you travel to another country, you need to be aware of all travel warnings and requirements. You also need to apply for your US passport well in advance, to ensure that you have all of your documents in time for travel. A passport expediting company can help smooth out the application process and speed up processing times.

Get your US passport today!

The Berlin Wall has been down for almost 20 years. However, Checkpoint Charlie, the most famous border crossing between East and West Berlin, is still a major tourist attraction. And, for a fee, you can still get your passport stamped just as you would have if you crossed from East Berlin to West Berlin when the wall was still up.

“Souvenir” passport stamps are also available from popular tourist destinations like Machu Picchu. Plus, tiny countries like Liechtenstein and San Marino may not bother to stamp your passport unless you pay them for the privilege.

Think carefully before you do! Jaunted points out that since US passports are technically supposed to be legal documents that document the countries you’ve been to, fake passport stamps from street vendors at tourist destinations might cause problems at some border crossings. However, “souvenir” passport stamps from actual countries like Liechenstein should be fine.

If you’ve already filled up your passport’s visa pages, you’ll need to make sure you have enough room for additional stamps before you travel out of the country again.Most countries require 2 to 4 blank pages. For more details, see How to Add New Pages To Your US Passport.

Whether you need to add pages, renew your passport or get a brand new one, a private passport expediting company can help simplify the process. You’ll get personal assistance from a trained passport export, as well as speedy processing time, so you won’t have to worry about missing your vacation.

Apply for your US passports today!

International travel is a lot of fun, but it can also be dangerous. To help keep Americans safe, the Department of State issues travel warnings whenever travel to a particular country becomes dangerous. Here are the top 10 places not to take your US passport. You can find more travel warnings at the Department of State website.

1. Yemen-On the list for terrorist attacks that specifically target Americans.  In September of last year, the American Embassy was attacked, and the US government remains concerned about terrorist activities.
2. Sudan- The current situation in Sudan is a true human tragedy.  Americans are advised not to travel to the country at all, since there is a possibility of being caught up in protests or terrorist attacks that target Westerners.
3. Central African Republic-Armed rebel groups, bandits and poachers…not anyone’s idea of a good vacation.
4. Algeria-From the Department of State’s website: “Terrorist attacks including bombings, false roadblocks, kidnappings, ambushes, and assassinations occur regularly.” Enough said.
5. Iraq- The situation on the ground in most of Iraq is still dangerous for civilians, especially Western civilians. (more…)

Recently, the US Department of Stateissued a travel warning for American citizens regarding travel to Mexico. Our neighbor to the south has long been a popular vacation spot for Americans, but  some areas of the country have erupted into violence as drug cartels struggle for power over Mexican police forces and each other.

The violence has prompted the Department of State to warn US citizens to use caution while traveling in Mexico. Here’s an excerpt from the travel warning (for the full text of current warnings, go to the Department of State’s website):

It is imperative that travelers understand the risks of travel to Mexico, how best to avoid dangerous situations, and whom to contact if one becomes a crime victim.  Common-sense precautions such as visiting only legitimate business and tourist areas during daylight hours, and avoiding areas where prostitution and drug dealing might occur, can help ensure that travel to Mexico is safe and enjoyable.

So, should you avoid going to Mexico altogether? Not necessarily. As the Art of Backpacking points out, most of the violence is occurring away from the major tourist towns.  However, travelers should be cautious when traveling anywhere in Mexico, as the Department of State has advised.  The lawless northern border towns such as Cuidad Juarez and Tijuana are best avoided altogether until the drug-related violence cools down.

According to the Art of Backpacking post, some tour operators are canceling excursions to areas like Mayan ruins that are off the beaten path and away from main roads, so  check before you go to make sure that you’ll be able to do everything you want to do on your trip.

Flying into Mexico is a great way to avoid the border altogether, but you will need a US passport to get back into the US if you’re traveling by plane.  Also, passport laws are changing on June 1st. After that date, Americans crossing the border by land will also need a US passport. The rule change is already causing delays in some regional passport agencies close to the border.

If you need to get a passport quickly, a private passport expediting company can offer personalized customer service and processing times that can be as low as 24 hours, depending on your needs.

Before traveling to Mexico, plan your trip with safety in mind and make sure you have all the appropriate documents before you go. Apply for a US passport today!

What do you think about the travel warning? Will it affect your plans for visiting Mexico?