"Good morning Paula, we are en route to Dublin to pick up an emergency passport...only checked a couple of days ago and mine had expired. We're off to South Africa on Sunday! Argh!"
It's that time of year when we get so many texts like this - people en route to Dublin or Cork to pick up emergency passports because they haven't looked at their passports in a while...and the dreaded wail of "it's expiiiiired!" can be heard from houses the length and breadth of Ireland. (Even if your passport is in date, some countries insist on your passport being in date for 6 months after you're due to fly home)
I have received so many Passport-Panic texts into Early Breakfast over the past few weeks I am considering making a Baz Luhrman Sunscreen-esque song "Remember - Always Check Your Passport."
If you're planning to fly this summer, just take the passports out and have a quick peek today. Go on!
Anyway, 'tis the season and all, and lots of people this morning were heading to the airport (or the passport office nice and early!)
We got lots of Dos, Don'ts and Travel Tips into the Early Breakfast this morning - have a read!
- "Paula we are also en route to the airport, heading to Portugal for 10 days. So excited! My partner thinks I'm cracked for packing a load of tea bags but I love tea and it just isn't the same out foreign!" - Brid
- "Paula, bringing teabags on holiday isn't weird at all; my mother-in-law brings a photo of the dog (framed). Is she going to forget what it looks like in the week she's away?! PS the dog is horrible, so spoilt." - anon!
- “Morning Paula, can you give a big shout out to Regina. We're on our way to the airport with her to start her J1 adventure in Chicago. Enjoy every minute and come home safe! Love "The 'Rents"
- “Paula, get them to also check the new travel requirements if they are travelling to SA with children. They may need the long version of the child's birth certificate too.” - Larry from Waterford
- “I bring a dictionary every time I go somewhere there’s a language barrier. Highly recommend, so handy even if I do look like a bit of an anorak!” - Clodagh
- “I always pack travel-size packets of clothes detergent so you can wash clothes in your bathroom sink. Very handy!”
- “AVOID CHECKING BAGS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! I have flown A LOT, many times for several weeks at a time, and I've very rarely had to check a bag. I can fit two weeks worth of clothes into a tiny rolly-suitcase. Be smart!”
- “Paula I used to work in airport security and the stuff people would bring on holidays would floor you. Ashes in lunchboxes and once, a guy with a bag packed full of assorted Barbie dolls in pieces!”
- “Paula. Weird things people brought on holiday. My brother brought his then girlfriend...she was really weird!” - Dave
- “For photo equipment or all kind of expensive stuff: put some duct tape on it. If it looks broken, nobody wants to steal it!” - Niamh in Carlow
- “Hey Paula, I got married in Spain a couple of years ago. She had gone with her family a few days before me. The night before I was due to fly we realised she had taken both our passports to Spain. She ended up spending the next morning at the airport trying to get random people to bring my passport home! Eventually someone agreed. Tested the patience very early in the marriage! I think I deserve a beanie!” - Ted in Meath!
- “Roll your clothes to save space!” - I just don’t get that...I never find rolling clothes any more efficient than folding...unless you can roll them up into a cube or something?!
- “My granddad used to keep his real wallet in his front pocket and a second wallet in his back pocket whenever he travelled. The second wallet had basically nothing in it but it was filled with receipts and paper to make it look full of cash”
- “Paula. Don’t forget to make sure your driver’s licence is in date. Happened to me in Spain - the wife had to do all the driving and she was not happy” - Paul
- “Keep a photo of your travel docs in a Dropbox folder. Then you can access them from any PC with an Internet connection in case you lose anything!”
- “Pack a complete outfit in your carry-on. Delayed baggage is extremely common!”
- “When you think you're finished packing, zip up the case, stand it up, lift it and drop it from a couple of inches above the ground. Lie it down, open again, and you should have even more space to fill at the top of the case.”
- “Aftersun in the fridge... lovely and cool after a day in the sun!” – Mark, Dublin (and sunscreen too, of course!)
- “I would just like to hop in here and say say that vacuum bags are amazing.”
- “Just ask you Mam to pack your bag for you. I could literally move country and take everything I own in a Ryanair size carry-on bag if my mam packed it.” - Claire in Galway
- "Hi Paula, - keep a packing list on the computer and add to it when you come back. Add things to do like empty bins, turn off immersion, etc. Don't forget adapters for sockets. Take 10 seconds to check the car before you leave it at the airport for windows , locks etc!" - Jenny listening to you from Siena in Tuscany
- "Tip: painted my initials in HUGE letters on the case - much easier to see on the carousel and also helps prevent it being nicked!" - Dave, Clondalkin
