With the invention of air travel, it is now possible for us to be at our Punta Mita vacation rentals in just a few hours. However, it is usually not possible for us to make a trip on such short notice, because in cases where we're going to be flying or crossing borders, we need to have all our travel documents in order or we'll be turned away. To keep your vacation from being ruined by an i you forgot to dot or a t you forgot to cross, follow our guide to travel documents and make sure you're ready ahead of time.

Passport

This is your most important travel document. You will not be permitted to enter another country without one. Even the United States, which previously only required a photo ID or birth certificate, now requires a passport. So before you plan your trip to go down and look at real estate in Richmond, VA, make sure you have one. It takes several months to send away for one if you haven't had one before, so plan ahead. Each member of your family, including babies, will need their own, and they expire after five years. You need at least a year left on your passport to visit many countries.

Visa

A visa is a stamp of permission to enter a country and stay there for a certain period of time. If you're traveling to Britain to learn to speak English or to many other countries for only a short visit, you will not need a visa, as the Canada has agreements with allies and other members of the Commonwealth. However for visits longer than 3 months or visits to non-agreement nations, you will need to send away your passport to that country's embassy for a visa stamp. This usually takes several weeks, so again you'll want to plan ahead.

Insurance

Here in Canada, your provincial medical insurance will cover depression treatment in Hamilton or a broken leg in Nunavut. It will not cover anything that happens to you outside of the country. Therefore, you will need to buy medical insurance for the duration of your trip. Many welfare states, such as Australia, require it as a condition of entry so their medical system is not burdened by the needs of visitors. Travel medical insurance is easy to find online and can be bought at little as a day in advance.

Permissions

Sometimes parents forget that even if they're just traveling to a Toronto B & B to visit grandma, they need the permission of the other parent, legal guardian, or social worker assigned to their case to take the child traveling with them. This is especially true in border crossings. A letter from the other parent giving permission will suffice.