Veteran as well as first-time travelers contemplating a journey outside the United States will want to ensure that they obtain proper documentation. Passports and visas are the all-important keys to the kingdom of travel. You need to know when they are essential, and how to procure them.

A passport is an internationally recognized travel document that verifies the identity and nationality of the bearer. Only the U.S. State Department has the authority to grant, issue or verify U.S. passports. Examination of your passport by immigration officials at the point of entry and exit is required by most foreign countries. Many countries will bar a traveler whose passport is due to expire within six months.

Passports will be mandatory for air/sea travel to and from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, Panama and Caribbean islands by the end of 2006 and for all U.S. border crossings by Dec. 31, 2007.

Considering that we live on a huge, intriguing planet begging to be explored, I recommend that every young person's rite of passage into adulthood include obtaining a passport.

For those grown-ups who don't have one, now is an excellent time to become a citizen of the world.

Every American-born or naturalized person, of any age, is required to hold an individual passport when traveling abroad.

More than 7,000 acceptance facilities — most U.S. post offices, many federal and state courts, some public libraries and a number of country and municipal offices — will supply passport forms and process your completed application. There are also 13 regional passport agencies and one Gateway City Agency that serve customers, by appointment only, who are traveling within 14 days or who need foreign visas for travel.

The Honolulu Passport Agency is in the Prince Kuhio Federal Building, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 1-330, Honolulu, HI 96850. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, excluding federal holidays. The automated appointment number is (877) 487-2778.

A first-time applicant 14 or older will need to apply in person to an approved passport acceptance facility with completed — but not signed! — form DS-11. (Both parents must be present or consent in writing to the application of a child younger than 14.) All applicants must produce two recent 2-inch-square color or black-and-white front-view photos, proof of identity (driver's license or government ID card), plus acceptable proof of U.S. citizenship (certified birth certificate).

Cost of a new passport for citizens 16 and older is $55 for the application fee and $12 for a security surcharge, both made payable by check to the U.S. Department of State, plus a $30 execution fee, paid separately to the acceptance facility, for a total cost of $97. Applicants younger than 16 pay a $40 passport fee, $12 security surcharge and $30 execution fee (total: $82). Routine service takes about six weeks in peak periods, and expedited delivery is about two weeks for an extra $60.

Renewal application form DS-82 may be picked up at a post office or other acceptance facility and mailed, preferably by trackable overnight postal service, to the nearest Passport Agency, along with your old passport that has been issued in your name within the past 15 years, two 2-inch-square photos and $55 passport fee, plus $12 security surcharge (total: $67). The $30 execution fee is waived for renewals by mail.

If you are a frequent traveler and need to add extra pages to your existing passport, mail completed form DS-4085, Application for Additional Visa Pages, with your passport to: National Passport Processing, P.O. Box 13408, Philadelphia, PA 19101-3408. There are no fees for this process.

All necessary information, passport forms and instructions can be downloaded from the State Department's official Web site, travel.state.gov. To speak to a customer-service representative at the National Passport Information Center, call (877) 487-2778, Mondays to Fridays, 7 a.m. to midnight Eastern time, except federal holidays.

Some countries require foreigners to receive advance permission to enter their borders. Proof of valid permission is known as a visa, a stamp that's placed on your passport page by the foreign government's embassy or consulate before or at the time of your entry. This "pass" will specify how many times you may enter the country, and how long your presence will be welcomed.

Visa applications ask for such routine information as your name, nationality, marital status, address and countries of birth and residence. Other questions could include the purposes of your trip — business or tourism — whom you know in the country, where you'll be staying, mode of entry and exit transportation, etc. Visas typically cost a nominal fee, charged by the sponsoring government.

To determine if destinations you're interested in require visas, you can ask your travel agent, a consulate or government tourist office, or check the U.S. State Department (travel.state.gov/foreignen tryreqs.html) for a complete rundown of foreign visa requirements. Embassies and consulates are listed with Web sites from which you can download visa application forms and instructions.

For convenience, contact a reputable visa bureau that, for varying service fees, will supply you with information and visa forms and handle all of your applications. Two wellreputed outfits are Zierer, (866) 788-1100 or www.zvs.com, and Travisa, (800) 421-5468 or www.travisa.com.

The importance of your official travel documents cannot be overstated. If you lose your passport, or it's stolen, your travel itinerary could be severely disrupted. And in some countries, a traveler without a proper passport could be in serious trouble with local authorities. Contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or consulate to report a loss.

As a precaution, and for ease of replacement, photocopy the identification pages of your passport before leaving, and keep a copy with a friend or relative at home, place one in the luggage of your travel companion and one in your own baggage.

Irene Croft of Kailua, Kona, is a travel writer and 40-year veteran globetrotter. Her column is published in this section every other week.

Irene Croft Jr. of Kailua, Kona, is a travel writer and 40-year veteran globetrotter. Her column is published in this section every other week.