GREENSBORO, N.C. — Travel season will pick up soon with many people planning summer trips.
To help you prepare, Ginny Maurer joined 2 Wants to Know Thursday to answer common travel questions and debunk some myths going around.
Maurer said you need to have a plan, and you need to stay updated on rules and regulations for where you're traveling. Some places have dropped their pre-arrival testing requirements. They include: Hawaii, most of Europe, Costa Rica, Aruba, Jamaica and others.
Maurer said you should keep checking as time passes. Some places have only dropped their restrictions for vaccinated guests. Others may choose to loosen their rules soon.
Cruise travel may pick back up this summer and into the fall. Maurer said she expects vaccination requirements on most cruise lines through 2022 and possibly beyond.
If you want to travel out of country, you should check your passport status. Maurer said a good rule to follow is you need at least six months validity on your passport from the time of return and three blank pages. She said demand is high right now, so getting a new passport processed could take a long time.
Some guests need to show vaccination proof before boarding an airplane. The airline does not set the requirement, according to Maurer. It enforces the rules of the destination you are traveling to.
Maurer said many people think they don't need to bring a passport when they go on a cruise. That may be true if you're leaving from a U.S. port and returning to another domestic one. However, bringing one can save you from getting stuck in an emergency.
If there's an emergency and you need to return to the United States but are in another country, it will be very hard for you to get a flight back without a passport. Bringing a passport as a precaution can save you the chaos.
