Prepare To Travel
What do I need to do before I leave for a trip?
Before you leave on a trip, you want to make sure that you take some basic steps. What you want to do, first of all, is close up your house. You want to maybe tell a neighbor that you're going to be gone, and have them maybe look after your newspaper or your mail, or you can put those on hold with the post office and the newspaper. The other thing you want to do is make sure that you have all of your papers in order, such as if you're going to have to have a passport, to make sure that you have that with you. Make sure that you have your insurance card with you. Also, the credit cards that you're going to take with you on your trip. Make sure that you have your house closed up, as well as your paperwork in order, before you go.
How long before a trip should I start preparing?
What are the differences between domestic and international travel?
What type of documents are needed to travel?
It depends on where you're traveling. If you're traveling domestically, mostly what you'll need is just a state-issue ID. And particularly if you're traveling by air, you'll need that ID to board an airplane and to go through the security check at the airport. If you're traveling internationally, you're going to need a passport and to some countries, you're also going to need what's called a visa. A visa basically is an extra stamp that goes into your passport that allows you entry into that country for a certain period of time. Very often you have to apply through a consulate or through an embassy. If you do need a visa, what you can do is you can check on state.gov and you can find out what countries require a visa. If you do need a visa, you need to have some advance planning. Sometimes it can take up to six weeks to get a visa.
Can I drive a car in other countries?