First-time world traveler help needed (insurance, credit card, hotel)

[frankandlewic]

I'm visiting France from the US, and I know I need a passport but I have some questions...

Do passports last forever? Are they good for any country? Where's typically the best place to obtain a passport (non-online)?

Will I need a visa as well?
I heard US citizens visiting Schengen countries don't need one. Would I be able to cross borders between the Schengen countries without this visa?
How does one obtain a visa anyway, same place as passport?

Would I need to carry any other documentation with me? Birth-certificate?

Would my Bank of America VISA debit-card work as currency abroad? Would it calculate the exchange rate itself? What about credit-cards?

Excuse my ignorance, I've never traveled abroad before. Any other advice is welcome.

[yellowsnow]

First of all, have a wonderful trip.

Get a multiple entry visa for France. You may take daytrips cross borders. It can be a problem if you didn't get the right kind of visa. This was a few years ago so do check the current regulations.

Passports are good for 10 years. Total cost including the pictures is about $100. The last 6 months of your passport are pretty useless because everyone wants your passport to have 6 months left when you enter their country. Usually you get the forms online, have the pics taken and send it all in. There are places you can go to get a passport faster but be prepared to wait in line quite a while. You can pay extra for expedited service too. You can get all this info at the .gov passport site.

Visas are applied for through the consulate of the country you are visiting. Check every country to find out if you need a visa. There are services that will do all of this for you but you pay for it. Some full service travel agencies will do this too.

When I travel, I put a copy of my passport in my luggage. I also give a copy to a friend here in the US along with a copy of my itinerary. That way, if I lose my passport, I can go to an embassy and get a replacement. Make sure to copy your visa stamps as well so you can prove you at least had them. I always carry my drivers license and insurance cards too.

Many debit/credit cards work just fine in ATMs in other countries. Just to be sure, I always carry some cash too. I keep the cash and my passport in a wallet around my neck under my clothes; my walking around money is in my front pocket. Most places will accept dollars, especially for major purchases. Remember, you can only exchange bills. Get rid of your change before you cross the border.

There's a whole world out there. Go see it!

[caution]

Recently, most ATMs/Debits will kick off a fraud prevention when you hit the card up the first time in a new country. Of course, they attempt to call numbers listed to confirm, and you are not home. To avoid this, call the banks and let them know. Sadly smaller banks and credit unions contract the service out 100% and have no way to annotate the account with the contractor. Just check with BOA and any other bank you do business with before hand. Don't use Traveler's Checks unless you have money to spare -- at least in developing countries you may visit, you will get soaked on the exchange rate with them. Me? I carry cash. A USD $100 bill can get you out of a heap o' trouble in some of the developing countries where I've traveled. Some carry a "mug wallet" -- a decent wallet in your back pocket with a few dollars, some insignificant photos and other junk. I never did that though. Some don't trust the hotel safe for cash, some do. Your call.

Check with the State Dept. website and always contact the embassy in the country where you are going, if applicable, and give them your information.

Pick up calling cards too. Making a phone call can be frustrating in some parts of the world.

Always let someone know exactly where you are, down to the street address when possible. If the phone calls are too expensive, then hop in a cafe and email someone.

[MB2]

I have found, that debit cards do not work in all european countries, since the atm stations are limited, and it's not very common to use it at check out in supermarkets etc. (At least in germany)
Credit cards is widely taken, but, the dollar course is not really favorable right now, and you end up paying more, because your bill will translate the amount charged for the dollar course for that particular day.
When my husband and I go back to germany, we usually take travelers checks (easy and very safe), cash and of course credit cards for emergencies.
Do yourself a favor, and make photo copies of the credit cards, passport etc, when you are going, and keep them in your carry on. If something gets stolen, you will have all info right there in order to block/ freeze accounts, and get a new passport and such.
Some post offices have applications for passports (just call and ask), and they will tell you it takes 5 weeks. (My husband never waited longer then 3 or 4 weeks)
I know my husband has to fill something out on the plane (he's US citizen, I'm a german citizen), and I guess it is a temp visa.
Now you also need your passport to travel within europe itself, and have to show it at checkpoints.
Go onto the concerning country/ embassy website (english is available!), and search advisories for the country you are going to. It also includes travel advisories for US citizens, which is very vital and essential.
Have fun, be safe, and you will enjoy it so much!!! (I'll promise you!)

[qadr]

Check the US Dept of State web site for the latest advisories.... Western Europe is very similar to the States, no big deal. However, it seems like pick-pocketing tourists is a sport overseas. Keep your pass-port safe and live it in the hotel and carry a copy of it.. Have a great time.

[alymaibra]

Although my family are military members, we still had to do the same as any one else, we had to apply for passports. You can go to your local courthouse to obtain the paperwork for it if you choose. For civilians, in our area the application was a $95 fee. For military members it was free. We also had to provide our own passport approved photo. Any photo shop can take them for next to nothing. We used a local camera shop for ours but later found out even the local Wal-mart can do them for i believe 28 cents/sheet. I believe that same sheet had a good dozen of the passport size photos on it. The same one you can use to obtain a hunting permit.

We had to send off two passport photos with each applicants paperwork. There were three of us in need of passports. The get processed in Washington,DC. Some take only a few weeks (sending in an old passport with a new application) and others can take 6-8 weeks. Depending on processing.

Passports are only good for a maximum of 10 years. If you get a specific passport for short term traveling it may only be good for the length of that traveling period. You may want to ask about that before sending off your application if you plan to travel more then once out of the country. I've had two passports, one expired after 10 yrs. the other only after 3yrs. There is no difference between a military passport and a civilian passport as well.

While we were in Germany, we traveled within the country. We also traveled by car into france from Germany and did not need to stop and show passports (it may also have been the point of entry into the country as well) since we entered through a small town area. It was the same thing for us when we entered Austria. Just drove right through, no stopping at checkpoint for passport checks. We did, however, have to show them when we travelled into England, but that was via a flight from Frankfurt to London's Heathrow Int'l Airport. Again, when we flew home (Illinois) we had to show passports in Chicago and again when we got into Frankfurt.

Security has gotten strict since the 9/11 incident.

We have looked into taking a trip into Canada this summer and are required to have passport, not to enter Canada but to re-enter the U.S.

Just a little info i wanted to share. Hope some of it was helpful to you. and Enjoy your trip! I know I loved Europe!!!


we just returned from Germany 7 months ago... And all this travel was within the last couple of years, if that helps

[alymaibra]

Originally Posted by qadr

Check the US Dept of State web site for the latest advisories.... Western Europe is very similar to the States, no big deal. However, it seems like pick-pocketing tourists is a sport overseas. Keep your pass-port safe and live it in the hotel and carry a copy of it.. Have a great time.

From our experiences and our close friends experiences, most the pick pocketing had occured in Egypt, of all places. But we also carried stuff in fanny-packs or passport/money lanyards. That seemed the best way to travel with valuable documents and forms of currancies. Which btw, was not a good exchange rate the last couple of years. When we left Germany, we were paying $1.30/Euro, $2.02/British pound. Not very good rates indeed.

We invested in some European calling cards which gives you some good calling rates (within) the country.

We carried currency at all times as well as American dollars. I would advise against exchanging them at a local national bank, you will not get a good exchange rate. Try to hit an international bank if you can. You can also exchange your currency at international airports as well, but again, you may not get a good exchange rate.

It's been a little over a year since we've last been to France, but when we were, they were still using the Francs but also took Euros. Check into the Dollar/Franc exchange rate before traveling. It may be more beneficial to choose that exchange as opposed to the Euro. Just a suggestion.

While we were overseas, we relied on the currency exchange rates daily since the $/Euro changed daily.

http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic

This site has been invaluable to us. You should also be able to print out a wallet size exchange rate reference on the same website.