Good morning everyone, greetings from the beautiful Sheraton Presidente San Salvador Hotel. Over the last week, I traveled from Bolivia, to Guatemala, to El Salvador and I am flying to Nicaragua tonight. During this trip, the one thing I noticed is that every country has a different process for immigration, customs, and filling out the custom form. Some airports only require a custom form on arrival, some require custom forms on arrival and departure, some require visas, and some require a small cash payment. But no matter what the process is, you always need to fill out a custom form.
Image source: http://www.theseoulguide.com
In general, when you board your flight departing from one country and heading to another country, the airline will pass out custom forms before takeoff. I always like to fill out the custom form as soon as possible before we take off. It’s much easier to fill out the custom form before the plane takes off (bumpy turbulence makes writing legibly a challenge) and I hate waiting until the last minute and rushing to get the custom form filled out before departing the plane.
As an observation, during the last few flights, passengers asked the flight attendants for pens so that they could fill out the custom form. Usually, the flight attendants only has a few pens available, so I highly recommend you bring a pen (or two) with you when you travel. You can also take a pen from the hotel that you are staying at and any basic black or blue pen will get the job done.
If you are feeling nice on your flight, you can share your pen(s) with the passengers near you who forgot to bring their own. It’s a small piece of advice that will make your travel more enjoyable and less stressful. Do you travel with a pen? Do you have any other simple pieces of advice that you want to share? Have a great day everyone.
Here are all parts of my Central / South America trip:
- Adios Amigos! I’m Traveling Around Central / South America (LPB, UYU, GUA, SAL, MGA & LIR)
- PSA / Tip: Always Bring a Pen When You Travel
- Riding the Cable Cars (Mi Teleférico) Around La Paz, Bolivia for Under $3
- Salar de Uyuni: Bolivia’s Magical, Mirror-like Salt Flat Oasis (2018 Dakar Rally & Crazy Photos)
- PSA: Check Existing Airline Confirmations for Cancelled Flights a Few Days Before Travel
- Hotel Review: Courtyard Marriott Guatemala City & Amazing Guatemalan Restaurant Nearby (Casa Chapina)
- Visit the Amazing (93 Years Young) Guatemala City Zoo for $5
- Hotel Review: Sheraton Presidente San Salvador Hotel (Great Location, Lounge & Breakfast)
- Day Trip: San Salvador Volcano & Restaurant La Pupusa Loka
- PSA: Get Yellow Fever Vaccine Before Visiting Nicaragua (& Some Other Central / South American Countries)
- My Incredible 14 Seat Cessna Flight from San Jose (SJO) to Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR)
- Andaz Papagayo Resort Part 1: The Resort is Beautiful
- Andaz Papagayo Resort Part 2: The Room was Great
- Andaz Papagayo Resort Part 3: The Food is Expensive, but Delicious
I practice this in daily life, too! I usually keep a pen (or two … or three…) in my purse.
Great (traveler) minds think alike :)
I always try to have a pen with me when I travel because of this – on my flights between the US and Mexico, when they make the announcement that they will be passing out forms, they often explicitly say that the flight attendants do not have pens for passengers to borrow.
The worse offender of this was a SWA flight to Cabo San Lucas (SJD) where there were only 10 custom forms in English, the rest were in Spanish and there were only 5 pens to go around the whole plane. The flight attendants had to translate every line multiple times over the PA. Add alcoholic drinks and wild kids to the mix and it was a disaster.
My backpack (carry on luggage) is full of pens I collected from various airlines and hotels. These come in handy when need to complete immigration forms at various ports of entry :)
Fancy hotel pens are the best. I just have 2 cheap pens from who knows where.
I usually have 2 with me so I can let someone borrow the other one while I complete my form. I can’t imagine how some people still don’t bring a pen when they travel when you have to complete a form pretty much anywhere you have to go internationally. BTW, how was your trip to El Salvador. I’ve been curious about going but somewhat apprehensive because of what I read on the news.
El Salvador was amazing. From the Priority Pass lounge at SAL, to the Sheraton Presidente, to the volcano tour and papusa lunch, and especially the very warm people, I highly recommend visiting El Salvador. They have many connections at their hub in SAL.
Don’t forget Hawaiian Islands, they also have an entry declaration form.
Of course, who could forget the forms at the Hawaiian Islands (thanks for the reminder, I will be there in April).
We collect pens from our hotel stays too. Always have enough pens so everyone on our group can fill out the custom forms. When other passengers borrowed the pens and not returned them, we won’t mind.
You are probably hero’s on most of your flights then. Any favorite pens you’ve collected from your travels?
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