food and flying internationally

calliope_music

i'm going to Cancun on Monday and i have tons of healthy snacks (almonds, protein bars, etc). i want to pack them so i'm not tempted by the donuts and other crap at the airport - can i get through customs with them just in case i have leftovers? i feel like i should be okay because it's not fresh stuff.

i've never flown internationally before, so excuse my ignorance!

abbie017

You can bring food in a checked or carry-on bag as long as it's sealed. So a plastic bag of almonds won't cut it, unless it's unopened in the original packaging. You can't bring any drinks, even if they're unopened, so pick up some water or something after you get through the TSA checkpoint.

No fresh fruits or veggies, at all, either coming in or leaving the US.

Enjoy your trip!

AddA2UDE

Nothin' like a $5 bottle of water! I carry a backpack on to the plane. I had an overseas flight a couple of weeks ago and had that backpack PACKED with protein bars. Safe travels!

cowboydan43

Basically go with prepackaged foods. Nothing liquid-ey ( like fruit cups or something). When I used to fly to South Africa we were able to pack sandwiches and the like but maybe times have changed? It has been a while. Try to bring as much as possible because a handful of crappy iceberg salad is like $10 at airports.

Irrelevant but funny story- On the way back from SA a lady had a huge crate of oranges (How they made it onto the plane? No clue) but they told her they had to be gone by landing so everyone on the plane got to chow down.

calliope_music

thanks everyone! i have tons of protein bars for my carry-on and some 100 calories packs of almonds so i think i'll be safe!