Carrying Medications

[luvtravel88]

We are doing 3 B2B cruises as well as spending 10 days traveling in Australia before boarding our ship. We are both on several different prescription medications. I know going through customs when we land in Sydney can be difficult and want to be sure we're doing everything correctly as it applies to bringing in our medicines.

We will have everything in a bag or bottle with a pharmacy label but is this enough? Do I need to get a paper Rx for each prescription from my Dr. to carry on with us?

Thanks for the help!!

Edited May 21 by luvtravel88

[Free2bMeForever]

I flew into SYD from the US in early April and spent about 10 days in Uluru and Cairns prior to boarding my cruise. I also have several prescription medications, but never had to show any of the medication or prescriptions going through customs or immigration. I would advise you to read the carry on requirements for domestic flights, however.  I was quite surprised to read what is considered a “liquid” and although there is no quantity restriction on domestic flights, there seems to be a requirement for a “clear” bag for such items and medications.

[possum52]

6 hours ago, luvtravel88 said:

We are doing 3 B2B cruises as well as spending 10 days traveling in Australia before boarding our ship. We are both on several different prescription medications. I know going through customs when we land in Sydney can be difficult and want to be sure we're doing everything correctly as it applies to bringing in our medicines.

We will have everything in a bag or bottle with a pharmacy label but is this enough? Do I need to get a paper Rx for each prescription from my Dr. to carry on with us?

Thanks for the help!!

Why do you think going through customs in Sydney can be difficult? As long as your medications are in their original packaging, you should be fine. We also always carry a printed list of prescribed medications that our doctor provides for us. You don't need a copy of the prescription. This link may help - 

Travelling into Australia with Medications.

 

Don't forget to carry them in your carry on luggage. 

 

This link may help with what Free2bMeForeve mentioned in their post above - 

Powders, Liquids, Aerosols and Gels

Edited May 22 by possum52

[possum52]

6 hours ago, Free2bMeForever said:

I flew into SYD from the US in early April and spent about 10 days in Uluru and Cairns prior to boarding my cruise. I also have several prescription medications, but never had to show any of the medication or prescriptions going through customs or immigration. I would advise you to read the carry on requirements for domestic flights, however.  I was quite surprised to read what is considered a “liquid” and although there is no quantity restriction on domestic flights, there seems to be a requirement for a “clear” bag for such items and medications.

There is no limit on the amount of liquids, gels or powders on domestic flights in your carry on luggage and no requirement for those containers to be in a clear bag either unless you are leaving from an international terminal on a domestic flight which your ticket will specify. What Can You Bring on a Plane?

[luvtravel88]

On 5/21/2024 at 10:11 PM, possum52 said:

Why do you think going through customs in Sydney can be difficult? As long as your medications are in their original packaging, you should be fine. We also always carry a printed list of prescribed medications that our doctor provides for us. You don't need a copy of the prescription. This link may help - 

Travelling into Australia with Medications.

 

Don't forget to carry them in your carry on luggage. 

 

This link may help with what Free2bMeForeve mentioned in their post above - 

Powders, Liquids, Aerosols and Gels

Thanks!

[luvtravel88]

On 5/21/2024 at 3:58 PM, Free2bMeForever said:

I flew into SYD from the US in early April and spent about 10 days in Uluru and Cairns prior to boarding my cruise. I also have several prescription medications, but never had to show any of the medication or prescriptions going through customs or immigration. I would advise you to read the carry on requirements for domestic flights, however.  I was quite surprised to read what is considered a “liquid” and although there is no quantity restriction on domestic flights, there seems to be a requirement for a “clear” bag for such items and medications.

Thanks!

[Carol28]

On 5/21/2024 at 3:42 PM, luvtravel88 said:

a paper Rx for each prescription from my Dr. to carry on with us?

Hi! What I did is fill out a form at my drug store (which is a Publix supermarket) and they printed a form of all my medications within a time framework and it can be any date you select.  Mine is actually too long because I started it from last year and many meds are just repeated.  In any case, I just put the list in an outside pocket of my carryone.

[Carol28]

On 5/21/2024 at 10:11 PM, possum52 said:

their original packaging

I sorted my meds into a 20 day container.  But I have a list of meds from my pharmacy. There are too many containers to bring in my carry-on.  Will the list suffice?

[luvtravel88]

18 minutes ago, Carol28 said:

Hi! What I did is fill out a form at my drug store (which is a Publix supermarket) and they printed a form of all my medications within a time framework and it can be any date you select.  Mine is actually too long because I started it from last year and many meds are just repeated.  In any case, I just put the list in an outside pocket of my carryone.

I spoke to my Dr. this week. They are going to print out a list of my meds to take with me. I will print Rx labels from our pharmacy, which are on the website and put those onto medication baggies that I have purchased from Amazon. The baggies will have original pharmacy labels on them.

[Carol28]

23 minutes ago, luvtravel88 said:

which are on the website

Not mine.  Do you think what I described is good enough? Once you are in Australia, are you going to re-distribute your meds into a daily case?  I really have too many, taken at different times.  Nothing too extraordinary, just allergy, asthma, Gerd stuff and vitamins.  And what will you do with the vitamins.  We are getting to know each other pretty well!

[PoppyVelvet]

I’m Australian so keep in mind it may be different to be a returning citizen than a visiting American, but I never take medications in or out or anywhere I’ve been for that matter, nor do I carry a doctor’s letter or the prescriptions and I’ve never had any trouble. I’ve entered Australia, USA, UK, Germany, Japan, Singapore with both OTC and prescriptions medications.

 

In Australia domestically there are no liquids restrictions but some airports require aerosols to be taken out of your carry on and put in a tray to go through the scanner. 

[luvtravel88]

On 5/25/2024 at 4:38 PM, Carol28 said:

Not mine.  Do you think what I described is good enough? Once you are in Australia, are you going to re-distribute your meds into a daily case?  I really have too many, taken at different times.  Nothing too extraordinary, just allergy, asthma, Gerd stuff and vitamins.  And what will you do with the vitamins.  We are getting to know each other pretty well!

Yes. Once we get to Australia, I plan to re-distribute to a daily med case. I also take stuff at different times of the day. I'm just going to put vitamins in those baggies and just write on the baggie what they are. If they happen to be taken, I can just go buy more of those in Sydney. We might be over thinking this! And yes, we're getting to know each other!!

We have already been talking about making a list of items that we're going to buy once we get to Australia that we don't have to add as weight in our suitcases.

[luvtravel88]

3 hours ago, PoppyVelvet said:

I’m Australian so keep in mind it may be different to be a returning citizen than a visiting American, but I never take medications in or out or anywhere I’ve been for that matter, nor do I carry a doctor’s letter or the prescriptions and I’ve never had any trouble. I’ve entered Australia, USA, UK, Germany, Japan, Singapore with both OTC and prescriptions medications.

 

In Australia domestically there are no liquids restrictions but some airports require aerosols to be taken out of your carry on and put in a tray to go through the scanner. 

Thank you!