Passports Now Required To Enter Mexico & Canada - 70% Of Americans Can't Go

As of yesterday you now need a passport to enter Canada and Mexico - rendering 70% of the country unable to visit even our closest neighbors.

American travelers entering the U.S. by land, air or sea from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda or the Caribbean are now required to carry a U.S. passport. "The basic, number one rule is that everyone should get a passport," said Vince Gargiulo, owner of Cruise Planners, a Gainesville travel agency. "That would be the safest way to travel." The new regulations also will apply to cruisers, with an exception for "closed loop cruises," which travel within the Western Hemisphere and depart from and return to the same port. Although closed loop cruisers are not required to have a passport to travel, Gargiulo still recommends that everyone get a passport as soon as possible. If someone on a cruise fell ill and needed to return to the U.S., they would not be able to. "It's an easy way to travel," Gargiulo said. "It's easier than having all these documents with you - like your birth certificate." Travelers also have the option of obtaining a passport card, a cheaper, wallet-size card that can be used to enter the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean at land and sea border crossings. The passport card cannot be used for international air travel.

I finally renewed my passport last year - five years after expiration.