Hi, My mom and I lost our passports earlier today and we are supposed to be leaving for Mexico at 9 in the morning tomarrow.. We can't find them anywhere! What can I do?

If by "lost them" you mean you misplaced them while getting ready for your trip then KEEP LOOKING - you can't travel internationally without them.

Pray to Saint Anthony, the Patron Saint of lost things. Somehow this works. You can give credit to Saint Anthony, or you can credit just a moment of calmness then your memory returns.

In any case take a deep breath, clear your mind and the location of your passports will probably pop back into your memory. Get out of the panic mode and you will think more clearly. Good luck and please let us know if you find them.

If you are truly unable to travel tomorrow do NOT forget to contact the airline. If you cancel ahead of time you may be able to retain some of the value of the tickets.

If you are just a no-show then all bets are off.

If I lost my passport the day before my flight, the last thing i'd be doing is registering on Fodors to ask what to do


I'd be on the phone to the airline and then on my way to the nearest passport office to get an expedited replacement . . . not wasting time searching the internet for travel boards . . .

I find it is useless to rely on my memory in this sort of situation. Often a ‘memory’ will pop into my head and I will think,’Great, now I know where it is!” but when i look there, it isn’t there. Agreed, calming down is the first order of business. Then a methodical search, first in the likely places, and then if necessary a room by room. Use your hands as well as your eyes, check pockets, under things, empty purses and, if necessary, suitcases. The passports didn’t walk away. They are there somewhere. You just have to identify ‘somewhere’.

One of you keep looking; the other one, figure out where the nearest passport office is to you, and whether you can get there in time to still make your flights tomorrow. That's Option A, best case scenario.

Option B is to postpone your flights by calling the airlines (and hotel.resort) and then hustle to the passport office. This will cost you change fees with the airline, of course.

Or you can bag the trip, eat the change fees, and save what the airline "banks" for you and reschedule after you have new passports.

(Lesson: check your passport when you book international travel, or, ideally before you book. It might be expired or close to expiration, or it might not be where you thought it was.)

OP, what happened? Did you find the passports? Skip the trip? Try to get new expedited documents?

scdreamer: the OP is almost certainly a troll . . .

Thanks, janis. I am too naive for this world ...

>>I am too naive for this world …<<

Not really There isn't really anything in this particular OP that screams "<i>I'm a Troll</i>". But looking at the big picture, we got three brand new members all registering and posting on the airlines board over about 30 hours with weird passport questions.

Oh well, a bit of a change from chatting about “when should I buy tickets" and "can I make my connection”

I thought a secret code to identify trolls had been developed... something like, "Have you looked under the bridge?" or some such.

<i>Pray to Saint Anthony, the Patron Saint of lost things.</i>

He only listens to Catholics.

If you spend all your time calling people trolls, are you yourself a troll?