Taking Soil, Sand, or Water Home as Souvenir?
 

In a few weeks I will be going to the Sahara Desert (Egypt). Will it be ok if I take a handful of sand home with me as a souvenir?

I've heard that taking soil and water is not encouraged because of the foreign bacteria, etc. but how about sand?

I know US Customs asks specifically if you are carrying any soil, fruit or seeds with you and will probably confiscate those items when returning to the US. I haven't tried carrying sand through customs, but I'm guessing that it would be considered a soil since it can still hold bugs, seeds, bacteria, etc. in it.

:pI collected snail shells while enjoying the sun in Vancouver, then put them in my checked bag and visited Los Angeles, went thru LAX and IAD and arrived in Buenos Aires. I didn't have a small bag or recipient for the sand though. Now I'm happy I got "a piece" of Vancouver and I have it here till I get the chance to see this beautiful city again. Never though of it as harmful or dangerous or anything, and luggage is going to collect bacteria at the airports in a way or another.

Legally you would be required to declare it and it would most likely be confiscated. Are you going to get caught if you don't declare? Probably not but you might be bringing in bacteria or other pests into the US. I would not do it

Domestically I have sand from FL and HI, and possibly AZ (can't remember)... Haven't tried int'l yet...

Usually no issue if checking the luggage... once when I was much younger... I filled up an empty milk gallon jug full of sand... it put my bags overweight so I put it in my backpack... needless to say, TSA was like what? I wanted to dump it out and send it thru in their trays, but my parents would not let me... so I had to leave it... :( [It was too thick for the xray to see thru the sand]

Smuggling sand - that's a new one!

I would imagine that the laws of Egypt (or whatever other country in other cases) would prohibit the removal of sand from the country; is it really that interesting? :rolleyes:

It would definitely be a disease risk and come under scrutiny by Aussie customs officers; I'd imagine it could cause trouble in the US or other countries, but check the local customs rules.

Why not just have some in your sneakers? :)
It's not like you really need to bring too much, right? :)

According to the CBP website under the Soil, Sand, Minerals, and Shells section
-http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/clearing/agri_prod_inus.xml:

Pure sand, such as a small container of decorative beach sand, is usually allowed. Always check with the permit unit in advance for details.

It's the soil and earth that they have issues with. I remember I went to a cheese farm in Canada and played with some goats (hey, I do strange things on vacations). On the Customs form, I did indicate that I went to a farm and had been handling livestock -- the agents (politely) asked for the shoes and clothes I was wearing to check for any soil that may have been left. There wasn't, but if there were, they said they would have cleaned and disinfected the shoes or garments. Although, that situation wasn't really that big of a concern because I had been in Canada (the place is cleaner than the U.S. for the most part.), but had I come from Asia or Africa there would have been a greater concern.

I think you may be OK to re-enter with sand from Egypt, but check with the Egyptian laws to make sure you can take it out of the country.

don't take sand (or rocks or any other mineral) from hawaii. madam pele does not approve.

I've heard that of lava... rest assured, mine is not of the black variety...

I really wanted to keep some when I was younger, as my family had hiked on the Big Island out to the active lava flow and I got to stick my hiking stick into the flow and stir it around a bit... pulling some out and subsequently cooling it... but rest assured, my parents wouldn't hear it...

I am taking a geology class right now and was useful to bring in to class ^

Yes, it would be confiscated if you were trying to take it into Australia and you would be subjected to heavy fines if you hadn't declared it.

I imagine that US customs regulations would be similarly strict, although they might be enforced with less rigour than the Australian ones.

Taking seaside rocks from Maui can get you a fine and maybe some time in the local jail. Not certain about soil or sand removal.

MisterNice

The post offices in Hawaii regularly get lava rocks returned. Here are some of the letters that came with the returned rocks:

http://www.volcanogallery.com/lavarockstories_New.htm

Interesting stories.

I have always found that the best recourse is to declare it, even if you run the risk of having it confiscated.

I brought nuts (yes, toasted and salted, but it's agriculture products nonetheless) back from Israel. Since they were roasted and handled at the corner vendor and not pre-packaged like a snack food, I always declared them. Most of the time no one cared. Once or twice the agents had me run the nuts through the X-ray machines, claiming that if there were any small insects inside, they would not survive the x-ray.

It happened some years before Customs developed such concerns, but the Marquis de LaFayette made a tour of the U.S. late in his life and returned to France with a substantial quantity of soil from Virginia, in which he was eventually buried.

There are some rather interesting and inspiring stories surrounding these facts.

I recently brought a bottle of sand from Omaha beach back-no problem.