One of the beauties of traveling to Mexico and Canada has always been that there was never a need to have a passport to make the trip. Now imagine having planned and paid for a trip over a year ago and then realizing that a passport to Cancun may be needed because of the new laws that are in effect. It will depend on what type of a trip is being made, but chances are a passport will be needed.

The obvious answer is that since Cancun is in Mexico, and since Mexico is not in the U.S, then yes a passport would be necessary for a Cancun vacation. However, it was not until very recently that passports were necessary for travel to border countries, and even now they are not universally necessary. The type of travel dictates whether or not a passport is required.

In order to figure out if you will need a passport to Cancun, it is first important to understand the new passport laws. As of June 1st, 2009, passports are required for travel to Mexico, Canada and nearby Caribbean Islands. These laws apply to air, land and sea travel. Prior to these laws, passports were not required for land and sea travel to Mexico. International Mexican travel only required a valid driver’s license or other government issued identification.

Anyone that is now traveling out of the United States to areas such as Cancun will almost always have to have a passport now. The new laws require that all land, sea and air travel passengers have a valid US Passport to re-enter the United States when coming in from any destination. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule.

The one loophole in the new passport laws are related to trips categorized as “closed loop” voyages. This is a cruise ship trip that starts in a US port and ends up in a US port. Because the traveler is not technically leaving the ship, meaning one-way travel, they can get away with only having a driver’s license on their trip. However, there are restrictions involved in the actual destinations of these cruises.

Countries that are accepted into this exception are such location as: Bermuda, The Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico and some Caribbean Island locations. Because all areas are not fully accepted, it is always good to check with either the State Department or the travel agent to make sure that the destination does or does not require a passport for re-entry.

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.

Having said all of that, it is still always better to have too much documentation than not enough. Obtaining a USA passport application to Cancun will give assurances that there will be no problems. In you do not want to get a regular passport, a passport card can be used instead. Regardless, anyone planning to travel would do wise to obtain a new passport sooner or later to avoid the long waits or extra fees that will have to be paid to get one on short notice.

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