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Traveling Abroad for Passover – What You Need To Know

Hello dear readers,

As you all know, I’m super excited to be traveling to Boca Raton to our kosher Passover hotel in Florida. It’s actually our first pesach out of New York in 8 years!! Reuven was just two years old then. That pesach we were in Israel, and I don’t need to tell you about all the mishegas about celebrating pesach in Israel and one or two days of yom tov. (I’m working on a post about whether to keep one or two days – check back in around two weeks!)

Still, things can be different if you take a pesach vacation, especially if you’re traveling abroad. Since I haven’t been abroad for pesach since that Israel trip 8 years ago, I’ve enlisted my good friend and neighbor Miriam T. to share a few tips. (Miriam’s husband Thomas is British, and they usually visit his parents in London on their way to a European pesach vacation. This year, they’re going to a passover hotel in Italy—the Four Seasons Hotel in Florence! They also found it on leisuretimetours.com).

TIP #1: DON’T FORGET YOUR PASSPORTS! Whether it’s a simple drive across the border into Canada or long flight across the pond, you must must must bring your passport. I know it sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how often people forget the simplest things. Oh, and also make sure that your passports are valid for at least six months after your scheduled return date!

TIP #2: BRING MATZAH! Obviously, if you’re going to a pesach program you’ll have food provided, but you might want to bring a box of matzah just in case. You never know when you might need a box of matzah, especially if you don’t know where to shop for kosher food in a foreign country. Another reason to bring kosher matzah is…

TIP #3: BE CAREFUL OF AIRPLANE FOOD. Not all airlines provide kosher-for-pesach meals (some don’t even provide kosher meals, period!), so be careful not to order a Coke in-flight if, say, you’re flying on chol hamoed.

TIP #4: BRING YOUR FAVORITE HAGADDAH. (Miriam wanted me to spell it “favourite”. Miriam, you’re not even British—your husband is! Give it a rest with “favourite” and “colour” and all that). Anyhow, Miriam was telling me about a pesach vacation in Paris from a few years back, and all the hagaddahs had French translations but no English. Consider bringing your own hagaddahs with English for a more meaningful seder experience, especially for the kids!

TIP #5: TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES! And develop them afterward. Traveling for pesach is a great family experience, so don’t let your photographs sit on your phone forever! Ronit made a BEAUTIFUL album from our last family trip to the Grand Canyon, and she said she’ll help me design the next book from our upcoming pesach vacation in Florida.

TIP #6: HAVE FUN! It’s a family vacation, so enjoy yourself!

More soon,

Ariella

Have you considered spending your holiday at a Passover kosher resort? Visit us online for more information on our beautiful resorts or call 800-223-2624 today.


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