U.S Virgin Islands' passport-free discount

There's a 95 percent chance Senior Editor Christine Sarkis is thinking about travel right now. Follow her on Instagram @postcartography and Twitter @ChristineSarkis.

Christine Sarkis is an SATW-award-winning journalist and executive editor at SmarterTravel. Her stories have also appeared on USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Huffington Post, and Business Insider. Her advice has been featured in dozens of print and online publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and People magazine. She has also shared travel tips on television and radio shows including Good Morning America, Marketplace, and Here & Now. Her work has been published in the anthologies Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

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The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) is embracing its status as one of the very few Caribbean destinations you won’t need a passport to return to the U.S. from by air starting on January 23, 2007. Its No Passport Required promotion offers 20 percent off 2007 rates at participating hotels for bookings of five or more nights made by December 31, 2006.

I think the discount is great for people who are planning on visiting the USVI next year and want a little motivation to book now. But, I don’t think that anyone should decide against visiting another Caribbean island (or Mexico, or Canada, or anywhere else for that matter) just because they don’t have a passport. Because there really is no better travel accessory and you only have to get one every ten years. With the Department of State passport website, it’s easier than ever to get one, and if the cost really is a hang-up, a number of hotels in Jamaica, SuperClubs around the Caribbean, and other resorts are offering deals that cover the cost of a passport.

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