Doc Holiday: What can I bring home from Christmas markets?

The best way to avoid travel strife is to declare everything on your incoming passenger card… and ditch the overseas heat packs.

Escape's Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

I’m doing a Christmas market river cruise (my first overseas trip in many years) and I’m worried about customs. Will I have trouble bringing back foods and handicrafts?

I can relate. One of my biggest fears in life is the thought of appearing on TV show Border Security. I couldn’t stop thinking about it recently when I came back from a trip to South Africa and Albania with a suitcase crammed with wooden products, bottles and jars of honey, jams and olive oil, as well as shoes caked with mud. As always, I declared every item in my bag (right down to the chocolate), and as always they cheerfully waved me – and every one of my items – through, after having carefully checked each. They also gave my runners a good clean. What’s important is that you declare everything on your Incoming passenger card.

Generally speaking, traditional foods you’re likely to buy from Christmas markets, such as cooked cakes and puddings, confectionery and gingerbread, are fine. Wooden toys (or general wooden items) tend to be okay too, but will need to be declared and inspected upon arrival.

However, the items Australian Border Force insist you do not bring or post back to Australia are extensive and include fresh or dried wreaths, toys containing seeds and/or sand, fresh or dried mistletoe, holly or conifer, bark or straw-based goods, pine cones, potpourri, raw nuts, hampers containing salami and other meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, or any other plant materials.

It’s well worth checking their website (abf.gov.au) for more details on what you can and can’t bring into Australia, just to save yourself the hassle (or embarrassment).

I would also add that you should never buy a heat pack while you’re travelling internationally. I did this while I was travelling through the US a few years ago, unaware that my daughter’s new goose-shaped heat pillow was filled with a suspicious-looking white substance. I’ll spare you the details of my many intensive shakedowns, but I will never recover from the experience.

You are unlikely to be covered for wanting to cancel a trip in response to an event that hit weeks or months before you plan to travel.

Recent floods in Spain have me thinking I might cancel my upcoming trip. Do travel insurance providers cover cancellations related to natural disasters?

You haven’t mentioned when you’re flying, or who your provider is, but I’m assuming you had travel insurance in place well before this particular natural disaster unfolded. Even so, although policies vary greatly between providers, I’ve got to say that while many will cover cancellations in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake, volcanic eruption, tsunami or flood, you are unlikely to be covered for wanting to cancel a trip in response to an event that hit weeks or months before you plan to travel.

Your first step would be to review your travel insurance policy documents to see if your policy provides cover for lost deposits and cancellation fees, says Adrian Taylor, executive general manager of General Insurance, and travel insurance expert at Compare the Market.

“Secondly, we urge policyholders to contact their insurer before making any decisions, to understand what could be covered if they decide to cancel their trip. Insurers will be closely monitoring the areas that have been impacted and are best placed to provide advice,” he says.

And keep checking smartraveller.gov.au for updates. “There isn’t currently a warning to reconsider non-essential travel, but this could change if more severe weather hits the region.”

Australians who are not dual citizens of Canada will need to apply for an eTA to transit through a Canadian airport.

I’m flying to LA with a three-hour stopover in Vancouver. I won’t be leaving the airport, but will I need to get a visa for Canada?

Australians who are not dual citizens of Canada will need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) to transit through a Canadian airport (or to visit for up to six months). All you have to do is fill out the application form at travel.gc.ca where you’ll also have to pay the $C7 (around $7.50) fee before you fly. You’ll find details about the process and what you’ll need to get started on the site.

I’m not suggesting this could be an issue for you, but it’s important to note that travellers who have any kind of criminal record, including drink-driving convictions, may not be allowed into Canada, even to transit. Interestingly, those who arrive in Canada by car, train, bus or ship don’t need an eTA.

Originally published as Doc Holiday: What can I bring home from Christmas markets?