First time traveler - probably stupid questions.

Lucie_2

The Travelodge at Manchester airport is not walking distance to the terminals. The only real "walking distance" possibility is the Radisson which is accessed via the connecting walkway between terminals. However, I'd say the Travelodge & a cab (or shuttle bus trip) will still be cheaper than a night at the Radisson. Booking it 2 months in advance should get you a reasonably cheap rate.

ajb69

Hi,

I've flown to/from the US about 40 times in the past 5 years, so the first thing to do is not worry - yes, there are a lot of things that could potentially go wrong, but most of them are out of your control so really you just need to worry about taking a few simple steps which hopefully will make your life simpler at the airport.

There's a lot of good information in this thread from other people, but I'll reply to all your questions so you don't have to skip back-and-forth!

1) Flight ticket: yep, just print it out.

2) ESTA: as said above, get this asap - here's the link: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/. It'll cost $14, but you have to have it.

3) Insurance: can't help you with cheap insurance providers, but you definitely need some as medical bills in the US are astronomical - seriously. I'd be surprised if you could find an insurer who won't load the premium by at least 20 quid per extra condition, so it's not going to be cheap.

Make sure you have at least $10,000,000 medical coverage, and that it does include the US. I use John Lewis: they are not the cheapest, but have an excellent claim service - and I have had to use it several times for medical claims. You do get what you pay for, so if you have complex conditions it might be worth paying a little extra for a known brand.

3) Suitcase ID: all sorted at the airport, just make sure you can recognise it when it comes round the carousel at the other end (this is experience talking here - jetlag can make you do silly things). As said, a brightly coloured sticker or belt is best.

4) Prescription tablets: As above, ALWAYS in hand luggage - you won't be able to replace them in the US without enormous time & expense. You can get a doctor's letter (useful if you are taking obscure meds) but for most of them just the prescription repeat form will do. Try and make sure that the pills are in a box with a pharmacy stamp and your name and address on them, and only take as much as you need for the trip + a few spares.

The two exceptions to this, IME, are

a) Class A controlled drugs (oramorph, oxycontin) - the US isn't terribly keen on you importing these. Talk to your doctor about getting a letter. Tramadol etc is probably fine, but don't make a song-and-dance at US Immigration about these; the security scanner guys won't care though.

b) Liquids - this is a pain. Best plan is to decant the medicine into 100ml travel bottles (Superdrug/Boots sell them) and put them through the scanner with your other liquids. Worst that will happen is that you get asked to drink it at security to prove it is not a bomb(!). If you need to take large quantities of a liquid drug - so the above doesn't work - then again talk to your doctor and also call your airline well in advance for advice.

5) Liquids in your carry-on: no more than 100ml of each liquid, and all your liquids must fit in a small bag about the size of an A5 page - they will give you a bag at the airport. Put all your liquids in this, and put it through the X-ray machine on it's own - take it out of your hand-luggage. Liquids in checked baggage is fine, but you run the risk of breakage....

6) Airport: generally, you need to be at the check-in 2 hours early, I always get there 3 hours early for luck. If you are worried / don't know the airport, give yourself 4 but really that is being extra-cautious. Be at the gate 60 mins before take-off.

Also remember: most decent airlines will allow you two items of hand luggage, but handbags / plastic bags / shopping at the duty free etc each count as one item. Some airlines only allow one bag, but think that's mostly Ryanair etc.

7) Taking money: don't bother with Traveller's checks these days; you can change some before you go, but frankly I'd just use ATMs to draw it out when you need it. There's ATMs everywhere in the US (including in baggage reclaim if you need a cab), and it usually works out, for me, a little cheaper than exchanging money. There's lot of guides on this site about this.

8) Tips: we English have a poor reputation here. Remember to tip 15% - 20% for every meal (25% for one with excellent service). Also tip 20% for taxis, and if you use bellmen/concierges at the hotels, chuck them a couple of dollars per bag or request. If you have a drink at a bar, tip the barman a buck per drink and you'd be amazed how the service improves! They expect this and will happily break large notes if asked.

9) Locking hold baggage: lots of people have opinions here; but you cannot use a padlock/combination lock as it will be removed/broken into by US customs, unless you are lucky and they are feeling lazy. Lots of people use cable ties, I personally don't bother as I always get a polite note in my luggage saying that the TSA have searched it, so it's going to be removed anyway. Basically just don't put anything valuable into your luggage - if a crooked baggage handler wants to steal something, they'll just take the entire bag. There's nothing you can do to stop it, apart from not sticking laptops/cameras/cigarettes into your luggage in the first place.

Oh, and one last tip - always keep your house keys in your hand luggage...!

Hope this helps,

Drew

scottishperson2

Gillingham wrote: »

I presume that you do not have any convictions or have never been arrested? If you have then you are not entitled to apply for an ESTA and you will have to go to the US embassy to get a visa

Sorry, thats just garbage. Please read the questions on ESTA before giving out advice that is blatantly incorrect.