Are you are one of the procrastinators who still hasn't gotten around to getting your passpport? No worries -- if you are a US citizen, you do not need a valid US passport to mancation, girlfriend getaway, babymoon or simply vacation in some of the best destinations in the Caribbean.
Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are considered -- for passport purposes -- part of the US. So, Just get on the airplane with your sunscreen and your driver's license with its photo ID. Ditto American Samoa, which isn't in the Caribbean. It's in the Pacific.
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative passed by U.S. Congress requires that travelers, including U.S. citizens who travel via air to and from the Americas, the Caribbean and Bermuda, must travel with a valid passport in order to enter or re-enter the United States. Not so US citizens visiting the three islands of USVI -- St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas -- Puerto Rico or American Samoa.
So what are you waiting for? Go travel. Go travel to one of these great green islands -- green palm trees, turquoise beaches.
