Travel Tips

I want to travel to the Schengen area in 13 days, but it takes 15 days to issue a visa. Can I still apply?

6/26/2016 5:54:31 AM Speaking from my experience. They’re not going to reject it but they would tell you that there’s no guarantee that you would get the visa in time because the person doing the paper is different than the person accepting the paper where you went to apply for the visa. If you explain […]

Train scheduled to leave Russia before visa expiry but is delayed – what happens?

6/24/2016 12:09:23 PM This situation is hard to answer, as the trains has much more stable schedule rather than planes, so there are no such situations I can find about Russian railways. This could be two ways – the border officers would have a previous date stamps or not. If the train would be delayed […]

How to take money to Iran?

10/22/2016 5:07:46 AM As an Iranian I give you first hand information. First of all, yes the ATMs are not connected to anywhere else in the world and you can’t get any money there with your standard credit card. You have one option, just take as much as cash you need and buy your ticket […]

I've heard there are only two back-end solutions for airfare search. Does this mean I only need to search on two different sites?

6/24/2016 5:36:25 AM Short answer: No, that’s not the case. I think what you’ve heard was a little mangled in the telling. There are indeed only three large airline Global Distribution Systems (GDS), which are the systems where both tariffs (prices) and reservations are created, stored and accessed. These are Travelport (Galileo/Apollo/Worldspan), Amadeus and Sabre, […]

Being denied entry to Israel due to political activism?

7/18/2014 5:21:15 AM I have heard of entry refusals of American citizens who had announced in advance online that they intended to enter the Gaza Strip (at a time this was physically feasible). But something like half the American Jewish community is disappointed with Israeli policy. It would be a very big blacklist. Eating fish […]

By train from Saarbrücken to Stockholm?

6/22/2016 6:51:00 PM Apart from the regular travel search, DB also features a Sparpreisfinder (rough translation: cheap price finder). You will need to use the out-of-country one that I linked (hopefully the link doesn’t die), select Sweden as the country and Stockholm as the station. It features four options from Saarbrücken to Stockholm ranging from […]

Eating fish eye in Japan

Eating fish eye in Japan

5/20/2018 8:39:55 AM The idea of Japanese dish of pickled fish eyes and rice from WW2 you’ve heard of is apparently the creative invention by Warner Bros. The image of a canned pickled fish eyes with rice can be found in one of their educational shorts series called Private SNAFU created for the U.S. War […]

What details should a good cover letter contain to back up a UK Visit Visa application?

What details should a good cover letter contain to back up a UK Visit Visa application?

6/21/2016 11:30:31 PM Based upon all you have written there is little to suggest that a cover letter would be especially helpful. It wouldn’t do any harm, but I don’t see anything that requires an act of wordsmithery or persuasive writing. So it’s really optional in this case with the main objective to avoid introducing […]

Eurostar security control: Taking pocket knife for camping

5/29/2014 4:22:01 PM To confirm what Gagravarr has said: the restrictions essentially amount to “you cannot bring a knife that it would be illegal to carry in the UK”. I have travelled by Eurostar with a Swiss Army knife in my bag: they wanted to see it (showed up on xray), but there were no […]

World map and photo storage

6/21/2016 4:39:58 PM Picasa has a feature to tag place, people and date/time on pictures, and afaik also view the map with all the thumbnails. Travelling to Portugal from South Africa via Angola 6/21/2016 4:06:16 PM If you are using your smart phone to take pictures, both Google and Apple have this functionality built into […]

Is a card without name valid for Deutsche Bahn online tickets?

1/7/2017 8:11:36 AM This question (and the current answers) are out of date. As of 1 October 2016 Deutsche Bahn no longer requires an identification card but only an official identity document (or their Bahncard). Per their help pages (in German, I was unable to find an English version) Ab dem 01.10.2016: Identifikation per amtlichen […]

Travelling to Portugal from South Africa via Angola

6/20/2016 1:01:02 PM In this episode of Let’s Ask Timatic: Neither of your parents needs a transit visa, as long as their layover in Luanda (LAD) is under 24 hours. National Portugal (PT) /Transit Angola (AO) Destination Portugal (PT) TWOV (Transit Without Visa): Visa required, except for Holders of onward tickets for a max. transit […]

How long do appeals on South African overstay bans usually take to process?

8/27/2017 9:24:31 AM if declared undesirable for a year, ensure that you check with the Immigration division (airport entry) before booking flights, because the ‘undesirable’ status will not have been automatically removed. Therefore, it’s very likely that your return may be a nightmare. Immigration Head Office need to process some paperwork before system removes undesirable […]

Sufficient Identification for Intra Schengen flights

2/14/2019 9:32:41 AM My husband is a Dutch citizen with a Belgian residency card he was refused access on an EU company even though he presented his residency EU card on boarding gate for a flight going to Italy. they requested he has a passport to his big surprise. At Brussels Midi station, can you […]

At Brussels Midi station, can you access the Eurostar Business Premier lounge when going to Lille or Calais?

At Brussels Midi station, can you access the Eurostar Business Premier lounge when going to Lille or Calais?

4/11/2015 6:56:27 PM This email enquiry (redacted)… Resulted in this reply… To access our Eurostar Business Lounge you will either need a Eurostar Business Premier ticket or be a Carte Blanche member. Alternatively, if you have a black American Amex card, you will also be able to access our Business Lounge. Source: Email from Sanne […]

Square donuts in Dubai

5/14/2014 12:25:58 PM I think that is just for aesthetical reasons. There are stores in Dubai that do sell round doughnuts, such as Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme or other stores, the only reference to square doughnuts in Dubai that I could find was the ones at Starbucks. Also on the other hand there are square […]

Driving from Bucharest to Balchik

Driving from Bucharest to Balchik

9/8/2016 4:31:30 AM I’m afraid too late now for your July trip but according to © Google Maps there is a route that is 64 km shorter (and about 20 minutes quicker) and another (E81 all the way) that though only 9 km shorter is a further 22 minutes quicker. There is also at least […]

Hong Kong Airport – Macau – Hong Kong

Hong Kong Airport – Macau – Hong Kong

11/4/2019 6:29:34 AM One may get from Hong Kong to Macau with the 24-hour bridge shuttle bus via the HZMB (Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge), which takes about 30 minutes. One first has to go to the HZMB (Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge) Hong Kong Port (e.g., by bus), where one passes the immigration and buys a shuttle bus […]

Haven't used a 5-year US B1/B2 visa for 4 years. Can I still enter the US with it?

7/10/2016 10:28:21 PM Only a CBP officer can decide if you can enter the US. Although I cannot point you to an official source for this, but from my colleague’s experiences, yes, you can present the valid visa to the CBP officers at the port of entry. I would assume flexibility in your visit was […]

How much hassle will I get flying into the Schengen zone for 7 months as a visa-exempt visitor?

4/28/2014 6:57:05 PM Having a return ticket or proof of onward travel is not required so it boils down to whether the border guards trust your story. Being able to show you have done it before and know the rules should help. Note that not staying too long is only one of the requirements. Even […]

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