Don't wait to get passports for 2008 travel

There's a 95 percent chance Senior Editor Christine Sarkis is thinking about travel right now. Follow her on Instagram @postcartography and Twitter @ChristineSarkis.

Christine Sarkis is an SATW-award-winning journalist and executive editor at SmarterTravel. Her stories have also appeared on USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Huffington Post, and Business Insider. Her advice has been featured in dozens of print and online publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and People magazine. She has also shared travel tips on television and radio shows including Good Morning America, Marketplace, and Here & Now. Her work has been published in the anthologies Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: The Trtl Pillow. It's easy to pack and comfortable, and makes it so I can actually sleep on flights.

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Seeing the Aurora Borealis from the comfort of somewhere warm, like a glass igloo or hot spring.

Travel Motto: Curiosity is an amazing compass.

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: Aisle all the way.

Email Christine Sarkis at editor@smartertravel.com.

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If you’ve been following the aftermath of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the new law requiring passports for people traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean, you know about the panic-inducing, vacation-threatening, extra-long wait times that have characterized the application process for most of 2007.

But now, the long wait times are creeping back down as the immediate demand wanes, so if you’re planning on traveling internationally next year and need to get a passport, this fall is the perfect time to apply. SmarterTravel.com Associate Editor Sarah Pascarella reported last month on the New York Times note that passport times were improving, and now, according to Travel Weekly (registration required), the Department of State is advising travelers to apply soon.

Even if you’re not traveling until later in 2008, it’s worth it to apply for a new passport or passport renewal this fall. That way, you can skip the last-minute anxiety of wondering whether your passport will come in time, because your application won’t be part of next year’s Department of State passport bottleneck.

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