Travel Tips

That Mexican vacation is all booked and it is only one month to go until nothing but sun, surf, bikinis, and margaritas. Everything is planned, everything is taken care of, unless, wait…do I need a passport to Cancun? This question is not as simple as it seems, and although the answer is almost certainly yes, there are a few different factors to consider.

While it is not generally assumed that if a traveler is leaving US soil for any reason, they will need a passport. With Cancun being located in a foreign country, it would only make sense that a passport would be needed to go there. This is probably true in most cases, but there are still a few circumstances when a passport may actually not be needed.

New passport laws that were put into place in June 2009 have made things a bit confusing for many people. Prior to that date, a passport was not always necessary when traveling to US border countries. Up until that point, as long as a traveler had a valid driver’s license, they could pretty much head to countries such as Mexico and Canada at will.

Anyone who is considering traveling to Cancun for a trip will definitely need a passport. But hold on, this is where the exception comes in at. The rules are adjusted for people that are taking cruises. It is because of this very exception that much of the confusion about needing a passport started in the first place.

When a travel is on a closed loop trip to certain destination that leaves port from the United States, they are not required to have a passport. A closed loop is when the ship leaves out of a US port and then returns to the same port at the end of the trip. However, this exception has limitations for the different countries that it can be applied.

Approved countries that this rule applies to are such destinations as Bermuda, Canada and the Virgin Islands. To be safe, it is always recommended that you check with the State Department or your travel agent as they will both be up to date on the rules regarding the cruise ship itinerary destinations. A quick phone call can give some piece of mind.

Citizens have been screaming at Homeland Security from day one about these new rules, but they are in place to protect everyone. Cancun has always been a location that US citizens could pretty much travel to and from without any hassle. In all honesty, the hassles will remain minimal; there are just some extra security measures in place to make the borders more secure.

In all honesty, while it may not be necessary to have a passport to Cancun, it is still a safe play to get one before any trip happens. A passport application is the be all and end all of documentation of citizenship and on the off chance that difficulties were encountered coming back into the United States or entering Cancun, the passport is like Willie Wonka’s Golden Ticket.

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