Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
States. For specifics on what you can
bring back, download the invaluable
free pamphlet
Know Before You Go
online at
www.customs.gov
. (Click
on “Travel,” then “Know Before You
Go Online Brochure.”) Or contact the
U.S. Customs Service,
1300 Pennsyl-
vania Ave., NW, Washington, DC
20229 (
&
877/287-8867
) and
request the pamphlet.
For a clear summary of
Canadian
rules, write for the booklet
I Declare,
issued by the
Canada Customs and
Revenue Agency
(
&
800/461-9999
in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.
ccra-adrc.gc.ca). Canada allows its cit-
izens a C$750 exemption, and you're
allowed to bring back duty-free one
carton of cigarettes, one can of
tobacco, 40 imperial ounces of liquor,
and 50 cigars. In addition, you're
allowed to mail gifts to Canada valued
at less than C$60 a day, provided
they're unsolicited and don't contain
alcohol or tobacco (write on the pack-
age “Unsolicited gift, under $60
value”). All valuables should be
declared on the Y-38 form before
departure from Canada, including
serial numbers of valuables you
already own, such as expensive foreign
cameras.
Note:
The $750 exemption
can only be used once a year and only
after an absence of 7 days.
U.K. citizens returning from
a non-
EU country
have a customs allowance
of: 200 cigarettes; 50 cigars; 250
grams of smoking tobacco; 2 liters of
still table wine; 1 liter of spirits or
strong liqueurs (over 22% volume); 2
liters of fortified wine, sparkling wine
or other liqueurs; 60cc (ml) perfume;
250cc (ml) of toilet water; and £145
worth of all other goods, including
gifts and souvenirs. People under 17
cannot have the tobacco or alcohol
allowance. For more information,
contact HM Customs & Excise at
&
0845/010 9000
(from outside the
U.K., 020/8929 0152), or consult
their website at www.hmce.gov.uk.
The duty-free allowance for
New
Zealand
is NZ$700. Citizens over 17
can bring in 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars,
or 250 grams of tobacco (or a mixture
of all three if their combined weight
doesn't exceed 250g); plus 4.5 liters of
wine and beer, or 1.125 liters of
liquor. New Zealand currency does
not carry import or export restric-
tions. Fill out a certificate of export,
listing the valuables you are taking out
of the country; that way, you can
bring them back without paying duty.
Most questions are answered in a free
pamphlet available at New Zealand
consulates and Customs offices:
New
Zealand Customs Guide for Travellers,
Notice no. 4.
For more information,
contact
New Zealand Customs,
The
Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St.,
Box 2218, Wellington (
&
04/473
6099
or 0800/428 786; www.customs.
govt.nz).
4 Money
For American and European travelers,
Australia is very affordable because of
the perilous state of the Australian
dollar the past few years. Most travel-
ers will find money matters are rela-
tively easy in Australia, but beware the
small town where traveler's checks
may not be readily accepted.
CURRENCY
The Australian dollar is divided into
100¢. Coins are 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, and
50¢ pieces (silver) and $1 and $2
pieces (gold). Prices often end in a
variant of 1¢ and 2¢ (for example, 78¢
or $2.71), a relic from the days before
1-cent and 2-cent pieces were phased
out. Prices are rounded to the nearest
5¢—so 77¢ rounds down to 75¢, and
78¢ rounds up to 80¢). Bank notes
come in denominations of A$5, A$10,
A$20, A$50, and A$100.
