I’m staring at my passport and thinking about Travel Docs You Need for Each Continent that looks like it personally survived a war crime. Buckle up because this is gonna be brutally honest.
North America – Basically Just Your Driver’s License Travel Docs (Sometimes)
I drove to Canada last summer with nothing but my passport card and a questionable amount of confidence. Turns out for most land/sea crossings from the US you can still get away with the passport card or enhanced driver’s license.
Mexico is basically the same vibe unless you’re going super deep inland and they get weird about it.
Real talk moment: I once tried to enter Canada with just my regular driver’s license + birth certificate like it was 2004. The border agent looked at me like I just confessed to tax fraud. Lesson learned.
South America – The Land of “It Depends Horribly” Travel Docs
What travel docs you need in South America changes faster than my seasonal depression.
- Brazil → visa for Americans again (as of late 2025 – yes I cried)
- Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru → just passport, usually 90 days visa-free
- Bolivia → you can get the visa on arrival but they will make you print like 47 things and pay in exact USD
- Venezuela → lol good luck
Europe – Schengen Shenanigans & the 90/180 Rule That Haunts Me
90 days in any 180-day period. No visa needed for Americans… yet. (I’m convinced they’re gonna change this in 2027 just to spite me.)
Passport valid 3+ months beyond departure
- Proof of funds (they almost never ask but one time in Greece they did and I almost died)
- Return/onward ticket
ETIAS is supposed to start in 2026. It’s like $7 and online. I will forget to do it until I’m at the gate.
Africa – Yellow Fever Certificate = Your New Best Friend
What travel docs you need for Africa is basically passport + yellow fever vaccine certificate + prayer.
Countries that almost always demand the yellow fever card:
- Kenya
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Ghana
- Rwanda (sometimes)
Some places (Ethiopia, Zambia) are more chill but still might hit you with it.
Morocco & South Africa → usually just passport, no yellow fever unless coming from an infected area.
I got denied boarding in Istanbul once because my yellow fever card was in my checked bag. Never again.
Asia – The Visa Gauntlet from Hell
Asia is where dreams go to get paperwork.
- Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand (under 30–60 days) → visa-free for US
- Vietnam → e-visa or visa on arrival (easiest it’s ever been tbh)
- India → e-visa but the application is a psychological stress test
- China → visa required again (RIP 144-hour transit visa-free party)
- Indonesia → visa on arrival or e-visa
- Cambodia → e-visa is shockingly painless
Australia & Oceania – The Most Polite Rejection Possible Travel Docs
Australia: ETA or visitor visa. Apply online, $20 AUD, usually instant.
Proof of funds
Onward ticket
- No criminal record (they actually check harder than you think)
They are aggressively polite while denying you.
Antarctica – You Need a Cruise Company to Even Try
You don’t apply for a visa for Antarctica. You pay an extremely large amount of money to a cruise company and they handle the paperwork with Argentina/Chile.
Passport required. That’s it. (And like 12 layers of thermal underwear.)
Final Rambling Thoughts While My Coffee Gets Cold
Look. What travel docs you need changes every six months now. Governments love moving the goalposts. I check official embassy websites Plus the U.S. State Department travel advisories like a paranoid ex checking Instagram.
- Passport valid 6+ months
- Download all visa apps/forms 3 months early
- Set Google calendar reminders labeled “DON’T BE AN IDIOT”
- Keep digital + physical copies
- Accept that you’ll still panic at the gate
Drop it in the comments so I can live vicariously through you while I debate whether my passport has enough blank pages left to survive another year of my terrible life choices.
