Customs questions

[Michael Jain]

We plan on dining out several times but are also self-catering the remainder. In some of our past trips, we have brought items we already have at hand that help remove the immediate need of running off to the market. Things like dried pasta, herbs/spices, oatmeal, dried milk, snacks, etc. We'll be clearing customs in Trinidad ... from your experiences, should we be ok with items like that? Do people get stopped for inspection very often?

This might be more touchy ... my wife and I take several vitamin supplements and instead of taking the original containers that would take up a lot of room, we usually transport them in plastics bags in our checked luggage. Would this raise all sorts of red flags at customs if they searched our checked luggage ... a lot of "pills" in unlabeled plastic bags? Just typing this makes me think this might be a bad idea and perhaps we should just go without for the short time we'll be away. Any thoughts?

Oh, by the way ... is there a way to search the forum messages? Whenever I've used the "Search" box in the upper right of the forum page ... the only results I've seen so far are for the articles, but no forum messages. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks! Michael

[Julia C.]

Hi Michael

I can't answer the food question with any confidence, but for the forum search you need to click on the second down from the top, right, search button (the one with the magnifying glass by it) and then enter your terms to search the forum.

[Brian Taylor]

I would try to put a piece of the package label in every bad, so they see what it is. I never had trouble so far, always tried to keep the paper with the tabletts or part of the package. also I store them in shoes and all over the suitcae, not as a bnch in one place...
hope that helps
steph

[Ronald]

Customs in Trinidad is often more hard than customs in Tobago, and of course there´s also a different between the security persons itself. An other thing is that security sometimes is raised, because of an over-all alert or something specific.

After you have got your lugguage all of you will pass a manual security, and they very often open everything too, if not every time. And if they search you, it will take time if they found items you haven´t told them about.
Dry items are mostly not a problem, but it might take time in customs if you are "the lucky winner for an extra personal security check".
My opinion is that these items also take a lot of space for you, much more than original vitamines, you can very easily stop and buy these things on the way from the airport.

I also sometimes bring multi-vitamines with me, but as you know, they aren´t exactly full when you buy them. So, I buy two and put all tablets into same original container. I wouldn´t put them into a plastic bag with a paper from the container inside, if they check you hard, how to prove it´s vitamines?

But I would never try to hind items into my lugguage, if they search and find it, what´s you answer when they ask you "Why do you try to hide this"? Some security, both in Trinidad and Tobago, is harder than others and you never know in advance who you will meet and the over-all security level.

I sometimes bring smaller items for the T&T Cadet Force with me to Tobago, and before I leave I send a document to the National Security via a friend. Last year I´d bring down three Maces for their Bandmasters. Even if a security officer did meet me before the Security Checkpoint with the document, I had to open up one item to show the Security at the Airport what I did bring with me!

But, you are the one who travel, so it´s all up to you what you deside.
Ronald