Travel Advise

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We have summarized some of the important details in respect to international travelling. Even a seasoned traveler does miss on some items ...sometimes. before you leave, there are a lot of things to be taken care of and arranged. Our checklist might be helpful.

Passport, most countries demand a minimum validity of 6 Month from day of entry. There  are exceptions, check with the embassy of your destination country.

Visa, most countries do not require any visa for tourists and businessmen. Work is in many countries prohibited without a proper visa. As rules do change, please check with the embassy of your destination country to be updated. Most travel agents assist in this respect as well.  

Endorsements, most countries do stamp your passport. Check that your passport is stamped. If not ask why. Check as well the time given you are entitled to stay in that country. So called overstaying or not having a stamp in your passport at all can carry fines and even jail.

Vaccination Card, check carefully with the respective embassy, medical center in your town or country or click here for travelers health. Vaccination is not only to protect you, but as well to protect others. If you come from an infected area, the immigrations authorities will probably stop you from entering without proper vaccination.  

Tickets, might it be by air, bus, sea or train, read the conditions as they might vary in respect to validity, restrictions of varies kinds and restricted refunds if cancelled or only partly used.

Coupons of airline tickets have to be used in the sequence they are in the ticket itself.  

Reconfirmation of your onward travel is still requested by a number of carriers. Don’t miss out on this as your seat might be cancelled if not reconfirmed.  

Refunds of tickets and single coupons might be restricted and limited by time. Some carriers do impose a handling fee.

International Driving License, if you  wish to drive, an IDL might be necessary. Check with you Automobile Club or embassy of your destination country.  

Clothing

Dimensions

Temperature

Different countries do have different habits. Respect this and you will have

a good stay. Religion, traditions and habits do vary widely by country and race.

Check on your destination. Touching people can be an offence and in some countries

be fined. Topless or nude on beaches is prohibited in many places. Taking photos of

 people is nor alway appreciated, ask before you shoot.

DRUGS, it’s bad. To stop it, a number of countries do consider the

pocession of drugs as a serious offence and do have mandatory 

death penalty. 

SAVE OTHERS LIFE AND SAVE YOUR OWN, DON'T USE DRUGS !!

The voltage does vary from 110 to 240. you can buy travel transformers to 

overcome this problem. Make sure your computer is protected. Plugs do vary from 

country to country (protectionism) as well. Buy the international travel adapters that 

cover almost the globe.  

To protect your equipment check the voltage at your travel destination. NOTE, 

travelling by air prohibits the on board usage of a wide range of electronic 

equipment. To mention some, hand phones, modems, radio guided toys, computers 

with built in CD drives, . Airlines do have different rulings, check with your carrier to 

avoid trouble. Some  carriers do take you to court if you don’t follow their 

instructions.       

Hotels are normally categorized with number of stars *.

*  Budget  **  Tourist  

***  Middle Class  ****  Deluxe  

*****  Super Deluxe.

However this only gives you an approximate indication, as not all countries do have equal quality standards. Pricing can vary tremendously. A ** hotel in downtown Manhattan cost more than a *****  hotel in Bangkok (which probably is even better).

When you book check for the small extras you can get. Breakfast is included in the price, pick up to from airport, non smoking floor, female floor. Check as well on the bed, single, queen size or king size. Many hotel offer late check out, especially when not fully booked. Pets are in most cases not appreciated. 

Religion is a very personal and sensitive issue. When you travel respect other peoples believe and their habits based on their religion.  See Christianity, Buddhism,

Hinduism, Islam 

Security is for your own and others safety. It starts with the screening at airports,

instructions how to behave in emergencies up to how to protect your property and

valuable in a hotel.

Security checks at airport, are sometimes troublesome. Observe the check in

times to have the time to stand in queues for security checks. They want to see

everything and don’t mind to dig in your wallets ???? without your permission.

Computers can explode, make sure the battery is loaded for a “test run” to see if

that notebook might blow up in everybody’s face.

Guns, explosives and weapon in general are NO-NO’s. Sharp items like knifes,

tools and gadgets are prohibited as well. Check with your travel agent or airline in

case you need help.

Don’t flip your big bucks around, unless you want to help pocket thieves.

Diamond's and jewelleries have made some women to loose fingers and got

strangled. Be sensitive. In hotels you have either a safe in the cashier’s area or in

your hotel room. Make use of them. They are in most cases FREE of charge and

give you peace of mind.  

There are three main issues in respect to these favourite  holiday activities.

Every country has its own telephone system. Hotels do put a surcharge on the the phone calls you make from your room. Check the price before you get a surprise. To get access to an international call you need to dial the international access number which is different from country to country.

Hand phones supporting the GSM service, makes it easy as you only have to use a + and the system knows that you want to make an international call. (+/ country code/ area code/phone number). It is wise to check which GSM system is used in your destination country 900, 1800 or 1900. Your home operator must have a roaming agreement, so you can use your hand phone (roaming) in the destination country.

You might be used to that refreshing drinking water from home. Don’t expect the same every where. In many places water can be quite hazardous. Be careful, check with your travel agent when you book your hotel and check again in the hotel.

The  weather from one side of the globe to the other can vary tremendously. You might have minus 25ºC in Canada and plus 40ºC in Australia the same day. The difference is 65ºC. If you have problems with these huge differences, check with your doctor. An advise, some of the most beautiful holiday spots are in the southern hemisphere. Even though the sky might be cloudy, you can still get a tomato like sunburn. Be careful, definitely with small children.  Don't forget your sun lotion.

Women traveler have a wide range of concerns when traveling alone. We would like to touch some of these concerns.

Woman Traveler .

Some of the major hotel chains do have "Female Floors". It's worthwhile to check it out.