Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
must be declared to U.S. Customs on entering or leaving, which includes filing
form CM 4790. For details regarding U.S. Customs and Border Protection, con-
sult your nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, or
U.S. Customs
(
%
202/927-1770;
www.customs.ustreas.gov).
WHAT YOU CAN TAKE HOME FROM LAS VEGAS
For a clear summary of
Canadian
rules, write for the booklet
I Declare,
issued by the
Canada Border Services Agency
(
%
800/461-9999
in Canada, or 204/983-3500;
www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
).
For information,
U.K. citizens
contact
HM Customs & Excise
at
%
0845/
010-9000
(from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152), or the website at
www.
hmce.gov.uk
.
A helpful brochure for
Australians,
available from Australian consulates or
Customs offices, is
Know Before You Go.
For more information, call the
Australian
Customs Service
at
%
1300/363-263,
or log on to
www.customs.gov.au
.
Most questions regarding
New Zealand
rules 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).
FINDING A GOOD AIRFARE TO LAS VEGAS
Airfares have been rising sharply within the United States, and some gateways
(but not all) have now reached the record levels of the pre-9/11 period. To ensure
that you don't overpay for your flight, try the following strategies before you book:
u
Consider the low-fare carriers:
Airlines such as
Allegiant Air, JetBlue,
Frontier Airlines, Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country, AirTran, and ATA
will
sometimes have better fares than the larger airlines, but they may appear on
such major search engines as Expedia. So use a broader tool such as
Sidestep.com, Kayak.com,
or
Mobissimo.com,
which search airline sites
directly, adding no service charges and often finding fares that the larger
travel sites miss. The only airline these sites don't search is Southwest, which
doesn't allow its fares to be accessed by any outside entity. If you're flying
from Europe into the United States, take a look at the fares from bmi,
Continental, Delta, Flyglobespan, MaxJet Airways, United, and Virgin
Atlantic, as these carriers tend to have the lowest rates for international
travel. I've always found that
Mobissimo.com
and
CheapFlights.uk.com
are
best for searching fares that don't originate in the U.S.
u
Fly when others don't.
Las Vegas is a weekend destination, so you'll find the
lowest airfares (and hotel rates) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday flights.
u
Book at the right time.
Sounds odd, but you can often save money by
booking your seat at 3am. That's because unpaid-for reservations are flushed
out of the system at midnight, and as airfares are based on supply and
demand, prices often sink when the system becomes aware of an increase in
supply. Also consider booking on a Wednesday, traditionally the day when
most airfare sales are announced. Be sure to monitor such sites as
Frommers.com
and
SmarterTravel.com,
which highlight fare sales.
