Florida is bracing for another major hurricane on Monday just as the state was still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
25.09.2024 - 14:41 / matadornetwork.com
For those of us who work online, vacation mode often means reduced or no screen time. That said, it’s rare for me not to travel with at least one laptop if not two — even if I’m on PTO. And I’ve never considered for a second (other than for my mental health) that this would be an issue. But this week, USA Today reported that a seasoned traveler named Tammy Levent was fined approximately $200 for possessing multiple electronic devices upon entry into Cancun International Airport.
Levent’s recent experience at Cancun aiport highlights a seemingly growing trend: the imposition of strict limitations on the number of electronic devices that can be brought into Mexico. This regulation, often unknown by visitors from the US, can result in significant fines.
According to Mexico’s General Rules for Foreign Trade, under the baggage allowance section, foreign arrivals are permitted to bring only one portable computer per person. This restriction applies to both laptops and tablets. Travelers who violate this rule may face taxes of up to 19 percent of the deemed value of the device, with a maximum value of $4,000. The law is designed to prevent the smuggling of electronic goods for resale and to discourage the establishment of personal electronics manufacturing facilities within Mexico.
But this is the first I’ve heard of it. I’ve been to Mexico a handful of times with either two laptops or a laptop and iPad and never had an issue. It was news to Levent, too. She has visited two to three times a year on work trips over the past decade and had never encountered this before.
“At the end of the day you want tourism but you’re driving people away,” Levent says to USA Today. “You have huge companies like pharmaceutical companies…(bringing bring groups in) and they’re coming with laptops and iPads.”
Cancun International Airport is the busiest airport in Mexico, serving over 13 million passengers annually. With such a large volume of travelers, it is likely that many are unaware of the electronic device restrictions. As a result, the airport has seen an uptick in the number of cases where travelers have been fined for possessing multiple devices says the Riviera Maya News.
Considering my personal experience traveling into Mexico, and specifically Cancun airport, it seems these checks and the follow-through with fines are happening at random. And that’s exactly what furious Levent claims, too. Levent has followed up this experience with a letter of complaint to Mexican officials. USA Today contacted Cancun Customs Administration for a statement, but at the time of publication, they have not had a response.
Although these regulations seem outdated, they are legal and travelers to Mexico should adhere to the one permitted
Florida is bracing for another major hurricane on Monday just as the state was still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Looking to book a cruise in the next few weeks? If you act fast, you can get thousands of extra American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
As a beer aficionado, I've been to my fair share of brew festivals throughout the US, several of which were "Oktoberfest" themed.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Celia Robbins, an American who relocated to Berlin with her family. She works at the Embassy of the United States of America in Berlin. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines is the most likely to bump passengers, far surpassing other major airlines in the United States.
There are two types of train trip: The long, slow, and often luxurious train journey that takes you through beautiful scenery that you book specifically to spend time on the rails; and the speedy, no-nonsense, cheap train ride you take to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. In the first category, you’ll find grand trips like Australia’s The Ghan, South Africa’s Blue Train, and Britain’s Caledonian Sleeper. In the second, there are trips from London to Brussels in just two hours, from Rome to Venice in four hours, and from Miami to Orlando in three hours. And if you’re a train traveler who belongs to the second category and likes getting places fast without flying, there are plenty of trains in this world that do just that at speeds previously unimaginable on land, including the fastest train in the world and its closest competitors.
According to a recent Pew Research study, 51 percent of people think their pets are not just part of the family, but also say they love them as much as the human members of their families. And when you narrow it down to two-person households with no kids — as my husband and I happily have — that number skyrockets, with 65 percent of people saying they love their pets as much as human members of their family.
At a time when most airlines, budget or otherwise, are determined to make you pay through the nose for any piece of luggage you want to bring with you on a flight, Avelo Airlines, is going against the grain. Since May 25, 2024, Avelo, a US-based budget airline, lets adult passengers departing from Sonoma County Airport (STS) fly with one case of wine for free. As of September 16, 2024, however, the airline will be expanding its Wine Travel Free program to and from all its routes in the Western US.
I think of myself as a well-traveled individual with a very solid knowledge of geography and tourist sights. Most of the people at Matador Network see themselves in the same way. After all, we live and breathe travel day in, day out. Yet, apparently, none of us know much about Germany.
A version of this article originally appeared in Condé Nast Traveller India.
Cathay Pacific will launch a new route from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), the airline said on Tuesday.
Members of American Airlines AAdvantage have a new option in South America via budget airline JetSmart.