Travel Tips

What happens if you bring a pocket knife to Europa Park?

1/31/2020 2:30:38 PM Well rules are… rules! It is useless to wonder whether they are pointful or pointless. A pocket knife like the swiss army knife you show is certainly not a very serious weapon. The problem is that the staff controlling the entrance need clear rules. A really pointful rule would be forbid all […]

No rail service to Ben Gurion airport on a Friday morning?

9/16/2017 9:07:54 AM There will be no trains on this date from Tel Aviv to the Airport, there will be free of charge shuttles between Tel Aviv Savidor and Lod stations and the Airport. The Hebrew site has an announcement about the shutdown, an English translation appeared later, linked from the “Updates” section. The announcement […]

Can I be refused entry due to my place of birth?

5/23/2014 12:55:57 AM The general answer is that all countries have the right to refuse entry to anyone who isn’t their citizen, for any reason. The more interesting and applicable answer is that, in practice, Israel is very unlikely to deny you entry just because of where you were born. Since Canadian citizens don’t need […]

How can I find out where to buy uncommon (for the location) items while traveling?

11/26/2019 4:03:40 AM In general, I’d just ask someone who lives there! Especially if it’s someone who sells other things in that category. That has worked dozens of times for me in Spain, Turkey, Taiwan, Korea, … For the specific laptop example, I specifically wanted a MacBook. An employee of K-tuin (Logroño) ordered one with […]

Who are all these people in the Admiral's Club?

8/24/2017 3:53:35 AM If you take a look at the Admirals Club access page, you’ll see that there are a number of ways you can get access to the lounge. A membership is one of them, and the cost goes down with higher tiers of AAdvantage status. The membership is also included as part of […]

Are there any cultures in which the "thumbs up" hand gesture is offensive?

Are there any cultures in which the "thumbs up" hand gesture is offensive?

9/28/2016 4:39:52 PM Regardless of what cultural norms have been in the past, the meaning of the thumbs-up sign is getting strongly influenced by the Internet. The biggest example is Facebook, which uses the gesture to indicate someone ‘likes’ a certain post: With this in mind, I would no longer worry about misusing the sign […]

When climbing il Duomo (Florence), are there places to rest, or ways to turn back?

10/27/2019 2:03:59 PM There is a place where you can take a break half way through. If you suffer from vertigo it isn’t recommended. From this travel guide: Usually, people start climbing the stairs full of energy and at full speed, but you start to feel tired after scaling around a hundred or so of […]

Hostel scanned my credit card

8/25/2017 2:33:20 PM The thing about my credit card: it has the credit card number and the CCV on the same side. Is that legally even allowed? Storing the CVV field after authorization (in any format, encrypted or not) is not permitted under The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. Sensitive authentication data must never […]

Renewed US passport, did not receive expired US passport

9/10/2019 12:04:01 AM This State Department page lists the steps to be taken to renew one’s US passport by mail. The page contains this text: Submit your Most Recent U.S. Passport You must submit your most recent passport with your application. Please note: Your U.S. passport book and/or card must meet all of the requirements […]

Can power banks be recharged from both 120V and 240V?

8/21/2017 3:38:37 PM They are only one voltage. 5 volt USB. All of them use a USB port to charge. It is up to you to obtain USB power locally. How you do that is your choice. You may discover your own power blocks are multi-voltage (research, don’t experiment!) and get a mains adapter borrow […]

How to not forget things?

How to not forget things?

8/15/2019 6:57:42 PM For me, it’s all about interlocking – making sure I can’t get past one thing without hitting something else. If I’m staying in a hotel, my jacket doesn’t need to hang up in the wardrobe. Best place for it is over the door handle, or hanging off the door closer. My keys, […]

Are there consequences to stamps in my passport that are not from border control?

Are there consequences to stamps in my passport that are not from border control?

10/7/2020 8:06:42 PM I also got the (in)famous Macchu Picchu stamp (no idea why they seem to so nonchalently want every tourist to stamp their passport), and I almost got refused departure by the Chinese border control when crossing from China into Nepal, since they couldn’t recognize the stamp and insisted that the passport was […]

What power supply is needed to use a CPAP machine in the EU?

8/14/2017 9:40:45 AM From the label this power supply does not have an earth, it is Class 2 double-insulated (the symbol of one square inside another, just above where it says “Class II”). This is described in and article on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/edexcel_pre_2011/electricityworld/mainselectricityrev4.shtml ESTA controls when travelling within two states in the US 8/14/2017 […]

Is there a risk to write an invitation letter for a stranger to obtain a Czech (Schengen) visa?

6/13/2019 1:12:41 PM In Czech Republic, invitations (pozvání) are highly formalized and often impractical. Here’s the process: Depending on the type of invitation (see below), you may need to prepare a bank statement or ATM slip showing how much funds you have. You visit a foreigners’ police office (odbor cizinecké policie) and fill out a […]

ESTA controls when travelling within two states in the US

ESTA controls when travelling within two states in the US

8/12/2017 10:25:10 PM If you try to cross the US-Canada border, you’ll know what the States didn’t want to have between them. The idea of no border controls is an important part of American identity. There is simply no immigration control at State borders. None. On the train, the border whisks by and you never […]

Can you throw away electronics within a foreign country as a tourist?

8/11/2017 2:26:16 AM When you enter a country, you are supposed to declare anything you bring in, especially gifts. This is so that appropriate taxes can be applied. In fact, at customs, they may stop you and ask you if you are bringing in anything of value. For example, you could be bringing in a […]

Why do Turkish Airlines gate agents at Istanbul Airport take photos of passenger passports?

3/18/2023 8:32:21 AM This happened to me while in transit at Istanbul airport. I asked the guy clicking pictures and he was like it’s required for the airlines (Turkish) by the destination country (Canada) and it was getting done for everyone regardless of nationality. They lined people up when boarding to check handbags (literally opened […]

Who pays for the return air ticket when a country refuses entry (by air)?

8/24/2017 6:05:32 PM then who pays for the return ticket? The IATA Ticketing Handbook sets out the procedure for inadmissible passengers in Section 2.23.13.2. The Handbook is in copyright so I shall paraphrase, however it is not too difficult to find online if you want to read the original wording. The final inbound airline is […]

Visa for volunteering in England

4/29/2019 10:01:16 PM The UK government website for Standard Visitor Visas explicitly says You cannot: do paid or unpaid work [some other things] so that definitely isn’t the right visa. The more detailed guidance says (on page 22): Volunteering Appendix 3 allows visitors to undertake volunteering (not voluntary work) provided volunteering is not the main purpose […]

Dual Korean-American; how can I enter Russia with visa-free Korean passport?

8/11/2017 10:29:13 AM Actually, as it states on the website of Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia about visa-free regime between Russian Federation and South Korea, the duration of visa-free regime is 60 days, not 30: Граждане государства одной Стороны, являющиеся владельцами проездных документов и не имеющие намерения осуществлять трудовую деятельность, […]

Prev posts
Next posts

Search Posts

Latest posts

Popular posts