10 Travel Tips for March Break

Last year at this time I posted this information.  Thought it would be worth reposting again this year.

March Break is just around the corner and many families will be heading for a well-deserved break down south. And if you’re one of them, here are a few tips.


1) If you’ll be the only parent traveling with your kids, depending on your destination, you may need a notarized consent form from your spouse. This is the case for the US, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic: for other countries ask your travel consultant who booked your trip.

2) Important items for your hand luggage: everyone’s I.D., prescription drugs, immunization records, and valuables including jewelry. If your child is prone to colds or allergies, bring some of your preferred medicine as you’ll be familiar with the brand and more comfortable giving it to your child.

3) If you’ll be getting to your hotel/resort before 3:00 pm, which is typical check-in time, take a change of clothes and perhaps a bathing suit in your carry on luggage so you can instantly start your holiday!

4) Airport food can be expensive and selection can be poor, so pack some snacks from home. Remember that airlines have stopped serving peanuts in flight and are doing their best to make their aircraft “peanut-free”, so please don’t bring any as snacks.

5) Leave extra time at the airport. Parking lots, check-in services and even the coffee shops will be operating at maximum capacity.

6) How to avoid in-flight boredom? Be prepared with “are we there yet” type activity books. Dollar stores are an excellent place to pack a bag full of activities and the children can have this bag as their own carry on.

7) Before leaving home, consider buying “one use” cameras for your kids. Be sure to look for the ones with a built in flash. Virtually indestructible, they give even little kids the chance to record their own impressions of the holiday. You may be surprised at the quality of the results!

8) When traveling, always have a recent photo of your kids in your wallet, just in case someone strays. In big resorts, it’s easy to get separated, so take a minute and have a family discussion as to where to go if that happens. Stay put, go to the lobby, go to the room, etc. Make it simple to remember but keep reminding everyone. If the kids have their own room at the resort, come up with a password you’ll use when knocking on their door so they don’t open it to strangers.

9) Why not give each child a day or a half-day to call the shots and decide what the whole family will do. Everyone gets treated fairly, it prevents arguments, and the “I'm bored!” syndrome is not so likely to set in.

10) Encourage each child to make a trip diary to include not only impressions but also autographs of memorable people (a tour guide, your waiter), coins, drawings and so on. In a country where English is not the main language, try to learn a new word every day and add it to the diary.

Enjoy your vacation………..you all deserve it!

EXPRESS LANES FOR DELAYED INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLERS

Great news for travellers flying from airports other than Toronto where U.S. Customs is already set up.  Travellers from London on United Airline flights to Chicago will especially like this service.
Two US airports have implemented new procedures for delayed passengers connecting on international flights through either Chicago O’Hare (ORD) or New York’s John F Kennedy (JFK) to enable them to proceed through customs faster.
Only passengers who have less than 90 minutes to connect are given cards that allow them to us priority Customs lines. Airport officials are seeing a reduction in the number of missed connections as a result of this new program. The programme could be introduced in other major US airports in the future.

PASSPORT CANADA UPDATES PROCESSING TIMES

Passport Canada has advised that its processing times are updated on a regular basis. Processing times may change depending on the volume of applications received and are not guaranteed. Applicants should keep in mind that processing times do not take delivery times into account. The complexity of routine verifications and security checks may lead to longer processing times.

Effective January 18, 2011 the processing times for Canadians living in Canada are as follows:

Options for submitting a completed application:

• In person (at a Passport Canada counter) 10 business days

• By mail 20 business days

• Through a receiving agent (Service Canada or Canada Post) 20 business days

Canadians living in the United States or Bermuda and Canadians living abroad should contact Passport Canada for proper information.
For urgent and express pick-up, proof of travel may be required. Passport Canada will take appropriate
action on a case-by-case basis. Please note, that urgent service is not available at the all the locations.

Visit www.ppt.gc.ca for more information.