Get Your Passport – It’s Your Ticket to the World

It’s Time to Get Your Passport

You’ve Explored Your Backyard, Toured Locally and taken a Road Trip to an interesting site near home. You spent a Long Weekend in an amazing U.S. city and then took a whole week exploring one of America’s Great Destinations. It’s time to get your passport so you can have an adventure outside the United States.

My passport is my most prized possession. Our US passports are one of the most powerful passports in the world. I rarely go anywhere without mine (mostly because it’s a requirement for work).

Before the pandemic, US Passport holders could travel easily to 185 countries. (Some countries may charge a nominal Visa fee which can usually be purchased on arrival.)

The current price of a US Passport is $110 and it’s good for 10 years (some countries won’t let you in if your passport expires within six months).

I’d say that $110 is a steal for easy access to 185 countries. It’s less than a dollar a month.

Expedited Passport Option

If you’re in a big rush you can pay an extra $60 to get your passport expedited.

I encourage you to plan your international adventures in advance so the passport expedition fee isn’t necessary. It’s better to spend money on travel than on fees.

I’ve run out of pages in two different passports prior to it expiring. I’ve never had my passport expedited and it’s always gotten back to me in two weeks.

Covid-19 Side Note

During the Covid-19 pandemic passport processing is taking way longer than usual. Plan accordingly.

Extra Passport Pages

Because my last two passports ran out of pages I had extra pages added to my current passport. For a normal traveler a regular passport should be adequate.

Side Note

I wonder about the future of passport stamps in the digital age. . . the last two times I entered the USA using the automated kiosk my passport wasn’t stamped. I may have gotten those extra pages for no reason.

If you plan to do a lot of international travel or get a lot of Visas (some Visas take up a whole page and have to be placed on a Visa-only page), it wouldn’t hurt to get a passport with extra pages. 

My Passport Walk Down Memory Lane

I’m on my third passport and I love nothing more than flipping through my old passports and wandering down memory lane.

I have a stamp in Salt Lake City on Friday the 13th, a handful of Visas, a lot of stamps from Paris, London and Amsterdam (I usually take a direct flight from SLC to Paris, London or Amsterdam, then take a foreign carrier to my final destination).

“Ship” stamps are my favorite . . . Thanks Israel, Morocco and Russia.

Usually a single page can fit four stamps, I try not to cringe when a border agent stamps my passport in the middle of the page, rendering the rest of the page unusable. 

Side Note – Purely Gossip

I heard if you get your passport stamped in Israel, a couple of Israel-hating countries won’t let you visit.

I also heard Israel border agents know this and will stamp a piece of paper you can keep in your passport.

Is any of this actually true? Who knows.

Besides I’m pretty sure all of our travels are tracked in a big database that all Border Control Agents have access too.

Of course I don’t know if that’s actually true either.

Purchasing Your Passport

Purchasing your passport sounds complicated but it’s a fairly easy process.

• Get your passport photo taken – NO SMILING. I recommend you practice looking both serene and serious in front of a mirror before you go.

• Take a personal check or money order – No credit cards are accepted.

• Go to your local passport office/post office or print documents off at home. If you need help filling out the application I’ve found that local passport offices and post offices offer guidance. Here’s a helpful link to the Government Passport Website.

• Fill out your application – It must be legible and filled out in its entirety.

• Once the application is filled it out, you’ll attach your passport photo, your check or money order and your old passport (if you have one).

It’s truly heart wrenching to surrender your old passport, especially if you need it for your job AND it’s your most prized possession.

Don’t worry, you’ll get it back with a hole punched through it, making it an invalid but invaluable souvenir.

Adding a Passport Card

You can also get a passport card for $30 (at the time of this writing). The passport card is good only for ground border crossings (Mexico or Canada). I’m guessing if you need a passport card you’d already have one. 

Drop the package in the mail and in two to four weeks you’ll have your new blue United States passport in your hand.

Passport Covers

I recommended getting a passport cover to protect it from wear and tear. I’ve had this passport cover since 2018 and it’s holding up well.

If you aren’t planning to keep your passport on you, I recommend you keep it in a safe place and KEEP IT IN THE SAME PLACE, perhaps a fireproof box under your bed just in case you need to skip the country quickly in the middle of the night.

I also recommend keeping a handful of color-printed passport copies in several safe places, including your suitcase.

Documents, Please

It’s normal to feel protective of your passport, but at times you will have to hand it over to a stranger.

Cruising

When checking in for a cruise, depending on where your port stops are you may have to exchange your passport for your cruise key. Some foreign countries allow immigration officials to board the ship and check all passports before cruise passengers can disembark . . . this is a good thing because it makes for a faster disembarkation process.

You’ll get your passport back mid-cruise. No biggie. 

Foreign Hotels – Especially in Italy

Foreign hotels will often ask for your passport and make a copy of it in front of you. This is totally normal, try not to freak out (thanks 9/11). 

Random Strangers

You’re going to hand your passport over to gate agents, Border Control Agents and government officials. They’ll swipe it, they’ll scan it, and they’ll hold it up to your face and ask you to grimace, proving that you’re you.

Passport Etiquette

I recommend removing your passport from its protective case before you hand it to anyone. Place it nicely on the counter, or gently in the stranger’s hand . . . the last thing you want is the “judger” of your passport thinking you’re aggressive. There’s no need to raise unnecessary red flags.

When your passport is requested, I’d suggest handing it over with a smile. Be as polite as possible . . . even if you’re feeling grouchy, tired, hot, hungry or irritated because the passport control line took forever.

Fake smiles are as good as real ones.

In fact I always smile and attempt to chat with the Border Control Agents. Border Control folks have a rough job and I am first and foremost an overly-friendly un-suspicious American who loves her passport . . . and someone who loves to chat.

Remember, your passport is your ticket to the world. Your goal is to get it back into your hands as quickly as possible.

A smile and a friendly hello will go a long way with everyone, and not just with the passport police.

Thanks for Popping By

Please feel free to share your questions or comments below. If you see any typos, let me know!

I encourage you to share my tribal knowledge with someone who loves or would love to travel.

The Art of Travel (TAOT) ~ Written by Kylie, a huge thanks to Alex for the great photos.