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Under proposed rules, you will soon need a passport to re-enter the U.S. after traveling to any other country--even if you're going on a quickie getaway to the Caribbean or Canada. But the rules are confusing because they keep changing. This winter, a new rule required passports for flights home from Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean, just like other countries around the world. But the government was overwhelmed by a deluge of passport applications, and it responded by relaxing the rules for the summer. Until Sept. 30, if you have a confirmation slip that your passport application has been accepted (which can take a week or more for you to receive), you can still fly home from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, or the Caribbean with a government-issued ID, such as a birth certificate or a driver's license. The rules are different if you're driving across the border or sailing a cruise. You won't need a passport for those trips--at least not for this year. But next year, even driving across the border may require either government-issued ID or a passport, according to the most recent announcement from the Department of Homeland Security. By early January, U.S. citizens may be required to show a passport or an acceptable alternative form of I.D. The bad news: It apparently won't be good enough to show a traditional state driver's license. Under proposed rules, states will be required to create enhanced forms of identification that are more secure than standard driver's licenses. For example, the state of Washington is developing an "enhanced driver's license" that will provide Washington residents, who voluntarily apply and qualify, with a document that is acceptable for use at U.S. land and sea ports. The enhanced driver's license will cost slightly more than a standard one, and residents will need to go through a process of proving their citizenship and identity that is similar to the process for applying for a passport. The enhanced licenses may include electronic chips for faster identification by border control officials using electronic scanners. Until Aug. 27, you can tell the government what you think of the proposed new rules for border control by visiting Regulations.gov and searching for docket USCBP-2007-0061. The website will fetch for you the proposed rule with the title "Documents Required for Travelers Entering the United States at Sea and Land Ports-of-Entry from within the Western Hemisphere." To the right of the document, you'll see link that says "Add comments." Click on the icon that looks like a cartoon balloon of someone talking, and you can submit your comments on the proposed rules. Update (7/5; 9:30 ET): As I have emailed most of the people who commented below, if you want your comments read by the government, you need to submit your comments to the government through the Regulations.gov website, as I described above. Comments posted below are not being forwarded to the government because the government requests that individuals submit their answers individually.

Cecilia Weckstrom has designed several toys for Lego, such as Exoforce, Power Racers, and Sponge Bob. Since April, her job title has been Experience & Innovation Director. She travels the globe spotting business opportunities for Lego. She's rarely at home for two weeks straight. Clearly, Cecilia is a great person to ask for travel advice. She has broad travel experience as a Finn who works in the U.K. for a Danish company. Plus, she's a professional innovator, with a sharp eye for creative vacation spots. So where in the world would Cecilia say you should go on vacation? "My recommendation has to be Pietra Santa in Tuscany, Italy, a stone's throw from Pisa, known for the leaning tower. Pietra Santa is the home of sculptors from all over the world. Originally even Michelangelo lived here. It has the best foundries in the world, having cast sculptures for Ferdnando Botero, Henry Moore, Mitorai and many more. It further has countless marble-yards, where you can turn up, rent yourself a spot, a block of marble and the tools and have a go yourself and not forgetting the delicious food and cappuccinos in-between. Italians have turned having lunch into an art-form and if you want a piece of the real Italian culture, in an authentic setting unspoilt by truck-loads of tourists--look no further. My dad moved there in the early nineties, which is when I discovered it too. I have visited many times--almost every year if I can make it! Pietra Santa is great for a day trip from Pisa, or you can stay at the many tiny little hotels around and in Pietra Santa itself, and go dip your toe into the sea at Forte di Marmi, the beach resort nearby. It is affordable, genuine and a wonderful place to get your creative juices flowing!" Can you recommend a restaurant in Pietra Santa? Restaurant Gato Negro just by the Piazza del Duomo is excellent and hugely popular. So try to stop by earlier in the day to reserve a table to make sure you get one. Another little known restaurant is Da Piero's, just over the railway bridge, whose sea food pasta Frutti di Mare with a little Frizzante white wine is the best I've ever had--all fresh ingredients and simply unbeatable value. I've tried both and each serve excellent food. Gato Negro is a little more expensive, but then they are in a prime location. Signora who runs Da Piero is very friendly and greets everyone like a long-lost relative, whether you can speak Italian or not. A stroll around the city is good fun, try to stick your nose into the Duomo and the little chapel at one of the side streets to see amazing murals painted by Ferdnando Botero himself, another resident of the town, make sure you also stumble into a marble yard and have a look at what people are working on, it's simply amazing and of course a cappuccino at the Piazza is a must. Is this a place children will like? Italians love children so wherever you go, don't be surprised if your little one becomes the centre of the attention in a shop, a restaurant or a cafe. The town is not a child-specific place as such, so not a lot of play areas or entertainment specifically for children, but then if it's a day trip make sure to visit ice-cream shop next to the Piazza del Duomo, nothing beats proper Italian Ice-cream! What is it about this place that draws you back? The town is unique as the center for sculpture in the world, but it also is a quintessential little Italian town so it is a very genuine experience of what life is like away from the big tourist traps. It is a very beautiful place, a truly authentic Italian town at the foot of the mountains, it seems to time has stopped here--life has a different rhythm and it is very easy to relax here and it is impossible not to get infected by the creativity which seems to be abundant here--everyone is an artist and if you aren't already, you soon fancy being one too! And it makes for an easy daytrip from (or to!) Pisa, Florence, Lucca, and Forte di Marmi. Any hotel or rental car recommendations? I haven't stayed in hotels here, but there are plenty to choose from both around Pietra Santa and in the town itself, in many different price ranges so you are guaranteed to find something to your liking and budget. You can also rent a car at Pisa airport and go visit places like Lucca and Florence too, which are neat little day trips. How to book it: Fly a U.S. discount airline to New York City, and then hop a flight to Bologna on Eurofly for about $700 round-trip during peak season. Or fly on Zoom to London, and hop a discount carrier (which you can find at WhichBudget) to Bologna, Rome, or Florence. Rent your car through AutoEurope for cheap rates. Look for hotels via online booking website Venere. Related: 14 Top Questions About Italy, Answered. Earlier: Where does the Guinness master brewer go on vacation?

Many members of American's AAdvantage frequent flier program recently received an email reminder that their reward miles are in danger. Here's the key quote: "Effective December 15, 2007, mileage balances will expire from AAdvantage accounts that have not had miles either earned or redeemed within the previous eighteen (18) month period. This change will not impact you as long as you remain active in the AAdvantage program." In other words, American will be deleting the miles in any account that has been stagnant for 18 months, as of mid-December. Luckily, you can keep your miles alive--even if you don't fly. For example, you can redeem some of your miles to buy magazines or other products by shopping at aadvantageshopping.com. This spending counts as "activity," keeping the rest of your miles alive for another 18 months. One cheap option is to buy a bag of Starbucks coffee beans from--of all places--Sears.com, for $11. Budget Travel recently published an online chart of the best options for saving miles on American and seven other major airlines--Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, Southwest, United, and US Airways. Click here to see the online version of the chart. Correction: In the chart that accompanied this blog post and the article in the magazine, we erroneously said that a participant in American Airlines' reward program could keep their account active by buying a gift card from partner Starbucks. Instead, you need to buy a bag of coffee via Starbuck's retail website StarbucksStore.com. Thanks to reader R. Giovinazzo for noticing the error.

New digital cameras allow you to link any photo you take to the exact latitude and longitude where you took it. For a rough idea of what this means, click here and check out the map of the world. Click on any of the numbers on the map, and you'll see the photos that the photographer took at the marked locations. Geotagging, as this process is called, leapt into the news today when Google announced that it is about to buy Panoramio, a website containing millions of photos whose exact locations are mapped via Google Earth. (For Budget Travel's explanation of Google Earth, click here.) Travelers who merely want to create an online map for their own use can do just that, too. You can upload your photos to a personalized map on Flickr, Yahoo, or Google, and showcase your years of globe-trotting. For any given photo, the camera--or a connected device--pinpoints its location by talking with satellites that orbit the Earth as part of the Global Positioning System. The camera notes the latitude and longitude. When the photographer later uploads the photo to an online map, the photo's exact location is plotted. Anyone else in the world reading that online map can see the photo. Why bother with geotagging? Well, the more trips you take, the more digital photos you'll have...and the more difficult it will become to remember where many of your photos were specifically taken. Geotagging will help you remember the "backstory" behind any photo. And, as technology progresses, new software will make it easier to use this information to organize your photos in an intuitive way. Even if you don't want to bother with the technology, you can still benefit. By going to a photo-sharing website such as Flickr.com, you can search for photos of your travel destination and do some armchair traveling. Just type in a destination, such as Croatia, at a website like Flickr.com/maps. Here's how you can get in on the fun if you want to start geotagging. First, you'll need a hi-tech device that can detect and record your camera's location. One example is Sony's GPS-CS1, which was invented to pinpoint your latitude, longitude, and time readings on Google Maps. The lightweight device costs $150. Other companies, such as Samsung and Jobo, also offer these devices. Note: The owners of online maps are picky about the types of photos they allow users to upload. For example, Google says it only uploads high-quality photos that tell something about a place and aren't just random photos of yourself, your pet, your car, etc.