Travel for field and laboratory research are regular activities for most ARF researchers. This page contains information and links for travel related resources.
UC Field Safety
See the ARF web page for a list of safety trainings and permits focused on field and lab safety.
Before you depart
UC Berkeley encourages anyone anticipating university-related foreign travel to review and implement the following actions, as applicable:
- Trip registration is required for all university-related international travel. Register your trip for travel insurance, 24/7 travel assistance, and a destination-specific trip brief, if applicable. Travel booked via ConnexUC is automatically registered. You may also register manually via UC Away. Familiarize yourself with the UC Travel Insurance plan before you go.
- Review campus guidelines and requirements for university-related international travel, including US Department of State Travel Advisories. Note that international travel to State Department Level 4 / 'Do Not Travel' destinations and study abroad or group student international travel (with the exception of Berkeley Study Abroad and UCEAP programs) require additional campus review (see Guidelines and Requirements for International Travel).
- It is the responsibility of the traveler and approving department to ensure the financial, health, and safety risks associated with foreign travel are assessed before authorizing travel. Review the DOS Travel Advisory for your destination(s) in detail, and contact risk@berkeley.edu with questions. In the event of a crisis, after contacting local emergency responders, please notify the Office of Risk Services (510-289-8282 or risk@berkeley.edu) for additional travel assistance.
- Protect your data and familiarize yourself with cybersecurity recommendations. Berkeley IT recommends bringing devices separate from your primary work computer and smartphone when traveling internationally. Please see our security tips for international travel for additional guidance. Consult with your local Departmental IT or IT Client Services for additional assistance.
- If your trip includes field research, complete field research training, applicable to your activities and site, and create a written field safety plan. See the EH&S Field Research webpage and UC Field Safety Leadership Training Library for more information.
Please refer to Campus Resources for International Travel for requirements on U.S. export and sanctions regulations, reservations/reimbursements, travel policies, field research, risk services, and cybersecurity, as well as the resource, Strategies to Support Safe & Inclusive Off Campus Research. Wishing you safe travels,
Additional advice from ARF
Airline Ticket Purchasing
While you may purchase airline tickets using a personal credit card, you won't be reimbursed until you provide boarding passes at the conclusion of your trip. Purchasing your airline travel through Connexxus (UC Travel Program) avoids the use of your personal credit card however your airline ticket purchasing options may be more limited. If you find better airline travel prices (on the website of the actual airline, not a consolidator) these better rates may be suggested to the Travel Management representative.
Visiting multiple places on your travels? Using services like Orbitz in Multi-city mode you can put together trips with long stayovers (weeks or months) at numerous places sometimes without increasing the cost of your ticket.
Pre-check Luggage
Restrictions around checked bags have increased in recent years. If you are traveling with equipment it is worth checking the website of the airline you are traveling with the ensure that your bags do not exceed their restrictions. With some airlines you can save money by pre-registering your checked bags prior to traveling to the airport.
See the Kayak.com - Airline Fees webpage for a useful summary table showing fees and restrictions together with links to the relevant airline websites.
The ARF has several hard cases for travel with delicate equipment including some long cases on wheels for transport of tripods and stadia rods. For heavy items we have portable scale at the ARF that goes up to 200 kg.
Related Services
UC Berkeley Field Safety Plan Template (for remote sites or hazardous work off-campus)
UC Auto Insurance Programs (managed by Risk Services)
Prevention, Response & Support (regarding sexual violence & sexual harassment)
Funds and Reimbursements
Receipts and boarding passes
Keep all receipts, boarding passes, and itinerary information from your travel. Your non-airline travel will be provided as a travel advance, the airline ticket portion of your travel will be processes upon your return when boarding passes are provided.
All receipts must be taped to a letter sized (8.5 x 11") page. It's fine to use the backside of clean recycled paper for taping down receipts.
Receipts and Currency Conversion
For your own records and for efficient processing you are encouraged to put your submitted receipts into a spreadsheet with the following structure. This system is especially useful when one or more foreign currencies are involved. Here is an example of a table that might be created using a spreadsheet program:
| Date | Business | Category | Currency2 | US Dollars |
| 10 Sept 2011 | Cafe Tanta | Food | S/. 131 | $48.52 |
The fields in the last column should be calculated using the current currency conversion at the date specified (in this case "=* 0.370"). The total in US Dollars is provided to ARF for submission to R.E.S. Please email a digital version of this table as well.
Research Enterprise Services (RES), the UC office that processes ARF travel reimbursements, uses this currency convertor.
Online Currency Converter
http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/