Passport and Day Trips

Okay, i saw somewhere (please correct me if i am wrong) that some people go to Niagra Falls as one of the trips during the summer.

Should i apply for my passport for such trips or are they so rare that it wouldn't matter?

I wondered the same thing does anyone have some advice? I also thought i took months to get your passport back. Is that true?

If you wait til may (high season) passports can take 3-6 mo. I got my new one october like 3 weeks after i applied but it was a renewal. New ones take longer. Currently they say 4 weeks but the time changes as the summer gets closer.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/processing/processing_1740.html

The Niagra Falls trip I'm pretty sure stays on the New York side of the falls. There is a foot bridge you can walk across if you want to get to the Canadian side, but you wouldn't need a passport if you just stay on the US side of the falls.

Other trips they had last year (which doesn't guarantee they'll have them again this year) were New York City, Washington DC, Put in Bay, Kennywood, Kings Island (which got canceled) a trip to some shopping outlet in Aurora, OH and I think there may have been a Chicago trip. I believe the Washington and New York trips were two day trips, and at least one of not both of them happened on weekdays in early Sepember when the park was closed.

awesome, good to know! : ]

If interested though, there is a ferry that leaves from Sandusky and goes to Canada. A couple hour trip but makes a good day trip.
http://www.jet-express.com/

The Jet Express does NOT go to Canada. It only goes to Put-In-Bay, Kelly's Island, and South Bass.

If you are lucky you can get a group of people and take 2 days to go to Niagara falls prior to June 1st. As per the Western Hemisphere travel initiative Passports are not required when traveling to Canada or Mexico until June 1st 2009. So up until June 1st you must provide a state certified Birth Certificate that meet Customs standards and a state ID.
All that is written on the Customs and Border Patrol Website FAQ

If you would like to get a passport there are two options. A standard Passport which is more expensive or now they have a passport card which is like a State ID except it is a National ID and can only be used for ground or water travel to the US, Canada, or Mexico. They are roughly the price of a CP season pass.

CP only travels to the New York side as many international employees make the trip and many only have VISA clearance for the US and cannot enter Canada.