Travelling to san Francisco first time advice please?

Question

Hiya my name is Jo i live in the UK I am booking my family’s first holiday abroad .It will be my partner, our daughter(will be 4 at time of travel) and myself.

I would like to take my mothers ashes with me is this ok or is there anything I should know

I have a American passport but my daughter was born in the UK is it ok if she travels on a UK passport with me or do I need to tell American embassy she was born in UK and get a American passport. We are only visiting family for a few weeks. As I understand people coming to USA on a British passport need to make a esta application. I know my partner will need to apply he’s British.

I am planning too visit next June my family live in San Leandro near San Francisco I would like to try bring down the cost as much as I can as flights even in advance are expensive. I am thinking of getting a holiday rental any advice on this.

My partner holds a British drivers licence is he allowed to drive in the USA if so how do we get a car rental

Any advice on travelling to California, going through airports ,travelling on planes, the holiday or travelling with children, useful site links or anything else that I might have missed will be greatly appreciated I thought I should ask first before digging on Google =)

blackgrumpycat · Accepted Answer

I have looked on a couple of sites and the general thought is that yes, you can fly with cremains, but they need to be in a container which can be xrayed.  If they can't be xrayed, they can't travel.  Airline staff are not allowed to open them.  If you have the ashes in a stone, metal or ceramic, ask your local funeral home to put them into a cardboard or plastic container. If you have a special container for them which can't be scanned, you can always take it with you - but empty.  It is best to keep them in hand luggage as if they get lost in checked in, they are lost potentially forever.

If your husband has an international licence, he should be able to rent a car in the USA.  Check with the DVLA if you aren't sure.  As long as you are going for less time than the ESTA is used for, I can't see any reason why your daughter can't travel on a UK passport.  She will have both her parents with her anyway.
http://www.funeralethics.org/cremains.htm
As for travelling with children:
http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.co.uk/

Years ago I used to travel a lot for work and one year, I travelled with a lady who had 2 grown up children.  She did to me what she used to do when her children were small - a present every hour on a flight.  They all were little and sometimes silly, but it was things like pretty hair grips, colouring book, pencils, mini game, small soft toy - anything small and wrapped up.  It gave them something to look forward to and most of the contents gave them something to do.

Far Fallen · Answer

Well, you're going to have to check out the policies about transporting human remains internationally before this trip.

Not sure about the whole visa thing.

If you're visiting San Fran, you won't need to drive.

Mostly all I can offer is to pack a good pair of walking shoes and a light coat. Air travel is a hassle, but nothing out of the ordinary.

? · Answer

Bring a jackets its cold in San Francisco! And watch your wallets it gets crowded there.

Travelling to san Francisco first time advice please?

3 Answers