For any of you intrepid travelers who may be planning to attend the Winter Olympics in Russia in February 2014, it is not too early to take a look online at the Russian visa application form. It is daunting.
Although the Russian Consulate will not accept a visa application until 45 days prior to your trip, finding out what is required ahead of time will help.
Travelers flying out of the Benito Juárez International Airport near México, D.F. (Mexico City), Mexico, should be aware that airport security agents may confiscate their contact lens solution and certain other liquids from their carry-on baggage. That’s what happened to me on Dec. 22, 2012, in Terminal 1.
The following is ITN’s summary of a more-than-a-year-long investigation. — Editor
A subscriber, “Mr. Z,” wrote to ITN on Dec. 26, 2011, regarding a Caucasus-region tour that he took to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia with Kutrubes Travel (328 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02116), Sept. 14-28, 2011.
Travel in countries ending with the letters “stan” has always been challenging, particularly navigating the visa requirements. Kudos to Kyrgyzstan, which in 2012, I just learned, became the first “Stan” country to waive visa requirements for citizens of core nations, including the US.
For details on travel requirements for Kyrgyzstan, visit this page on the State Department website.
CYNTHIA RIGNANESE
Winter Haven, FL
As India expands its “Visa on Arrival” program, the VoA booths in the Immigration areas of international airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Goa and several other cities in India may confuse some arriving air travelers.
Only citizens of 11 countries currently qualify for the VoA program: Cambodia, Finland, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. Visitors from other countries still must procure their visas prior to arrival. Negotiations are under way to add up to 15 more countries to the program.
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 448th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.
At Washington’s Sea-Tac Airport one time, a friend of mine was not allowed to board her flight to the Philippines because her Canadian passport had an expiration date within the 6-month limit for a return passage.
She had used a travel agent, but when she called her agent she was told, “I can’t help you. You should have asked me about this.”
My friend had to watch her family leave without her, after which she got a new passport issued (paying extra for expediting its processing), paid $250 to change her ticket, and arrived a week after they did.
The US Congress passed a law requiring that by June 1, 2013, all full-body scanners used in US airports must produce only a generic outline instead of an image of a naked body.
The maker of one of the two types of full-body scanners is unable to meet that deadline, so the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been removing 250 backscatter x-ray scanners from the 30 airports where they were used and replacing them with millimeter wave scanners.
Returning from a Botswana trip in October ’11, I stayed with a friend in Johannesburg, South Africa. While in her car, I was the victim of a “smash and grab” in which my passport, two credit cards, iPhone and cash were gone in five seconds. Luckily, I was able to obtain a new passport the next day in time to make my flight home.
Effective Jan.1, 2013, Americans traveling through China to another country via Beijing or Shanghai may stay in their transit city for 72 hours without securing a visa. In Shanghai, transit travelers holding third-country visas and plane tickets can enter the city through two airports: Hongqiao (SHA) or Pudong (PVG). In Beijing, transit passengers can enter only through Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK).