Travel guides: U.S. trips and African safaris

Facts last checked October 27, 2026 against the official sources listed at the end of this page. Rules, fees and advisories change; confirm with the official source before you book. Not a government website.

Walk-In Passport started as a directory of passport offices. People who need a passport usually need it for a reason: a first trip to New York, a road trip down the California coast, a family safari. These guides cover the trip itself, with the same rule we use for passport facts: every fee, deadline and requirement comes from an official source that we link and date.

Choose a guide

• New York City first trip

  Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial, the Met, subway fares and airport transfers.

• New York State beyond NYC

  Niagara Falls, the Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes, Adirondacks and Long Island.

• California road trip

  Highway 1 and Big Sur, Yosemite, San Francisco, Joshua Tree and Southern California.

• Top U.S. destinations

  National parks, reservations and fees, REAL ID at the airport and when a passport card helps.

• Africa travel tips

  Passports, visas, vaccines, malaria, advisories, money and medical evacuation cover.

• Safari planning guide

  Choosing a country and season, park fees, operators, safety in the bush and packing.

• Kenya

  eTA, the current advisory and Ebola notice, Maasai Mara fees, health and safety.

• Tanzania

  The $100 visa, Serengeti seasons and park-fee rules, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro and safety.

• South Africa

  No visa under 90 days, the two blank pages rule, minors, Kruger fees and crime precautions.

• Botswana

  Visa-free stays, the three blank pages rule, children's documents, Okavango and Chobe, wildlife laws.

Which ID do you need?

The right document depends on where you are going, not on how far it is.

TSA has enforced REAL ID at airport checkpoints since May 7, 2025. Since February 1, 2026, travelers without an acceptable ID can pay a $45 TSA ConfirmID fee so TSA can attempt to verify their identity another way; TSA suggests paying online before you head to the airport. A passport book or passport card avoids the issue entirely, and TSA accepts either one. Our U.S. destinations guide explains the passport card in more detail.

Passport timing for international trips

The State Department's processing times are posted on travel.state.gov and change through the year. They do not include mailing time in either direction. For a trip abroad, work backward:

• Six months or more before departure: check the expiration date on every passport in your group, including children's. Children's passports issued under age 16 are valid for only five years, which catches many families out.
• Look up the entry rules for every country on your route, including where you change planes. Several African countries want six months of validity left on arrival and a set number of blank pages.
• If your trip is within a few weeks, read our urgent passport guide before you book anything else. Passport agencies serve customers traveling within 14 days, by appointment.
• If you are renewing, check whether you qualify to renew by mail or online instead of applying in person.

Safety and health resources worth bookmarking

These are free, official and updated more often than any travel article, including ours.

• State Department travel advisories rate every country from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel), often with stricter levels for specific regions. Read the full advisory, not just the number.
• The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) sends you security alerts from the U.S. embassy in the country you are visiting and helps the embassy reach you in an emergency.
• CDC Travelers' Health destination pages list recommended vaccines, malaria areas and current outbreak notices. Book a travel-medicine appointment several weeks before departure; some vaccines need time or more than one dose.
• U.S. embassy websites post local security alerts, such as demonstrations or road closures, that may not make U.S. news.

How these guides are written

• Facts come from official sources. Government agencies, park authorities and the operators that agencies name as official (for example, the only authorized Statue of Liberty ferry). Each page lists its sources with the date we last checked them.
• No invented prices or hours. Where an official source does not publish a figure, or publishes it in a way we could not verify, we say so and link to where you can check it, rather than guessing.
• No fake personal stories. These are planning guides, not trip reports.
• Things change. Park reservation systems, visa fees and travel advisories change every year, sometimes with little notice. Confirm with the official source before you pay for anything.