Now that we have done the extra research about Real ID, it is time to double check our passports to make sure that we have at least 6 months on our passports beyond the time we will be traveling and that we have at least 2 empty pages for passport stamps and visa stamps for each country that we are visiting. Along those same lines, since we are headed to Kenya and Tanzania, we need to go online to order our mulit-visit visa for Kenya.

We will not be getting our Tanzania visa before we leave home. We don’t want to send them our passports and hope we get them back. Also, there is more than one type of visa to visit Tanzania. There is one for people who are transiting the country. At the time of this writing, that is about $30. For those who are visiting Tanzania, the fee is about $100. Also, they want newer, clean, crisp $20 dollar bills, or in the case of the transit visa, a couple of $5 dollar bills to go with your $20. Also, if you are with a guide, they won’t believe that you are transiting the country so make sure to have the $100 in clean cash.

Another thing to think about when we discuss getting a visa. For many years, most countries listed the United States on a short list of countries that did not have to apply for a visa to visit that country. Things are changing. Many countries, such as New Zealand and Australia, now require us to apply online for an ETA. An Electronic Travel Authority. You need to do this before you leave home, so don’t forget to check the countries you are visiting to make sure you are good to go.

While waiting for the visa and your eta’s, it is time to get started on shots. Some countries require you to have your shot card with you as well as a document from your doctor that shows you have received certain shots, such as a yellow fever shot, depending on which country you are visiting or have visited in the recent past.

When we went a couple of years ago, we had to get a series of shots, some before the trip and a final one after we got home. So, I called Kaiser to set the appointment with the Travel Nurse to discuss what shots and meds that we may need for our trip.

Don’t forget that you need to consider the re-entry process when we return to the U.S. The first choice for many people would be to get the Global Entry paperwork done before hand, but for us that means going to San Francisco to do the interview. A pain in the back side. Also, after you fill out the documents and paying the fee, you can still end up waiting months before you get your conditional approval. We applied in May for an October trip. Still no joy and it is already September.

After you get the conditional approval, you need to sign up for the interview. Unfortunately, it could be several more months before you can go in for your interview. If you have your conditional approval, you can get an interview on the fly if you return from an international trip and land at one of the several dozen airports that allow it, you can do your interview there after you disembark. When landing in an international terminal follow the signage directing you to CBP officers who can complete your Global Entry interview during your admissibility inspection. Click here for info on that process.

Also, since our Pre-Check was expiring, we had to renew it because of the long delay in getting Global Entry.

The second option is using the app on your phone called Mobile Passport. We continue to use this second option while we wait for the government to get back to us.

One final thing to think about is that because child trafficking is a huge problem around the world, many governments are also requiring you to have your child’s birth certificate, along with passports. Better to be safe than sorry, carry a legal copy of your child’s birth certificate when you travel.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

• Packing Checklist
• Parent Authorization Letter For Unaccompanied Minors
• Medical Treatment Authorization Letter
• Travel With Minors – Permission Letter

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

They want to know if they need an adapter or a converter.

Let’s start with basics. In the USA, we use 110 volt AC appliances, except for electric ranges, electric water heaters and electric heating and air conditioning systems. Those use 220 volts AC.

In most of the rest of the world, they use 220 volt AC appliances.  I should also point out that AC stands for Alternating Current.

Our cars and most electronics use DC or direct current but you don’t need to worry about that. Why, because when we charge our electronics we use a USB plug or a plug with a built in converter that will convert either 110 volt AC current or 220 volt AC current to the appropriate DC voltage for our phones, cameras, tablets or our laptop computers.

With that background, lets move on to talk about adapters vs. converters.

An adapter is a device that allows you to plug your American appliance or charger into a foreign plug. A converter, converts the electricity coming out of the wall from 220 volts to 110 volts.  Newer adapters do have a limited converter to convert the 220 volts AC to the 5 volt DC voltage for the USB outlets.

As an aside, none of the adapters shown in this article will work in South Africa or Swaziland. If you are going to South Africa, make sure to pick up the appropriate adapter for that country. They use a type M plug down there. You can order type M adapters from Amazon.

This is an old travel hair dryer with a small round switch that allows you to use it with either 110 or 220 volt systems.

Back to the discussion of the need for adaptors or converters.

In most hotels and cruise ships, they have a 110 volt circuit in the bathroom for an electric shaver. Don’t plug your hair dryer into that slot. Many cruise ships don’t even want you to bring along a blow dryer or a flat iron for pressing your clothes. They tend to overload their circuits. Facilities that are set up to handle the electrical load, generally provide blow dryers in the cabin or the hotel room. It may not be the one you are used to using, but it will do in a pinch.

Don’t plug your hair dryer into an adapter either, unless you have a hair dryer with a switch that will move it from 110 volts to 220 volts. You will burn it up. As for your curling iron or blow dryer, since you could not leave home without it, why not just buy one from a store in Budapest when you arrive. You can get one for about 20 Euros. Then you won’t need to use one of your adapters.

If you need a converter you have dozens of options. Here is a link to one, and

here is another option that you can get on Amazon.

Most of us don’t carry converters any more. We just carry adapters for the country we will be visiting. I always carry more than one so that my wife can plug her phone or tablet, etc. in on her side of the bed and I can plug mine in on my side of the bed.

Just make sure to pick them up from Amazon or your favorite retailer before you leave home. You know your battery will be dead when you arrive unless you remembered that on most international flights that there are generally 110 outlets or USB outlets in the plane. Sometimes they are under the seat, so that you can keep your device charged up. If you don’t already have transportation waiting for you at the airport, you will want to use your phone to order up Uber or Lyft to get you to your hotel.  You did remember to order an international plan for your phone before you left home, didn’t you??? Go to the Tips page for more tips.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

• Packing Checklist
• Parent Authorization Letter For Unaccompanied Minors
• Medical Treatment Authorization Letter
• Travel With Minors-Permission Letter

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

]]> https://jackstraveltips.com/adapters-vs-converters/feed/ 0 2450 https://jackstraveltips.com/budapest/ https://jackstraveltips.com/budapest/#comments Fri, 25 Aug 2017 18:49:06 +0000 https://jackstraveltips.com/?p=2443 Budapest, Hungary

Why do YOU want to go to Budapest? I have been there and I know that it is a wonderful city to visit. Plenty to see and do. Very friendly people. But unless you are an avid traveler, most people don’t have Budapest on their list. Yes, they have Paris, or London, or Lisbon, or Madrid, or Rome…

I will admit that, although I heard great things about Budapest, the reason that we traveled there was to take a Viking River Cruise from Budapest to Passau.  That cruise is called “The Danube Waltz”.  They have a similar cruise, called The Romantic Danube that goes between Budapest and Nuremburg. Viking River Cruises has several trips that start or stop in Budapest, but I really liked the Danube Waltz because of the interesting stops along the way. It looked to be a great itinerary, and it was.

Whenever we book a trip like a river cruise, we don’t want to worry about missing the boat, so we plan for a couple of extra days to decompress, make up for missed connections, and to even get some time to visit a new destination. The other part of our planning involves getting our phones ready. That means adding the international plan on both my phone and my wife’s phone. Making sure that I have the apps that I want to be able to use. For example, we want to have Gate Guru, Uber, Delta or the particular airline we are using, Tripit, Viator, Big Bus Tours, Rick Steves audio tours, and the metro app for the cities we are visiting. I also want to have Google Earth or something with a great street view that works on my phone. As I noted above, both phones are set up because one will not work. At the airport in Budapest, mine did not work, so we used my wife’s phone to order up the Uber driver to get us to our hotel.

The other thing I do in preparation, is to use the street view on Google maps to “walk the streets” in my destination city so that I know the area. I also look at the routing from the airport to the hotel so that I know if my Uber or taxi driver is actually taking me to my chosen destination by the shortest route. If there are any videos available online I will watch them before we go as well.  I also look for Delicious Destinations for info on the great restaurants in the city.  I especially like Wolters World videos. I will also check out their facebook page as well to ask questions about the destination. Another one that I like to view is Rick Steves. I have their current travel guides for the places that I plan to visit. I also have watched every video that he has published. And as noted above, if he has a walking tour for a city that I am visiting, I will have it on my phone as well.

Now, if you are not a real seasoned traveler, you may not want to go it alone and you may want a complete package in place before you leave home.  If I am taking a river cruise, I always use Viking River Cruises and they will put the whole trip together for you. That includes airfare, transfers from the airport to your hotel or the cruise boat you are traveling on, and back to the airport to home. All you really need to do is get to your local airport and get from there back home. Viking will do the rest. Their people will be waiting at your destination with their red signs directing you to the bus that will take you to your boat. Nothing could be easier. Also, if you are like me and want a little down time before the cruise, they have pre-cruise additions that will give you that opportunity. A great way to see the city before you start the cruise. They are also flexible enough if you want to do your own thing before or after the cruise. There is a small fee for that and you will have to handle your own transfers, but with Uber, that is not a problem.

When we did our Danube Waltz cruise, we spent 3 days in Budapest before the cruise, and then 3 days in Saltzburg and 5 days in Vienna after the cruise. They provided the airfare before and after the cruise so all we had to do was make sure that we arranged for Uber to get to our hotel in Budapest before the cruise and that we got to the airport in Vienna after the cruise.

Now, back to Budapest. We stayed at the Leo Panzio Hotel. A small boutique hotel just down the street from a metro stop. We prefer small hotels over huge hotels that make it look like we are still in the US.  I always make sure that the hotel we use is close to a metro stop as well as a Big Bus stop if they have a tour in the city we are visiting.

In Budapest, everything was in walking distance for us so we didn’t even use the metro. We did take the Big Bus tour and got off and on whenever we wanted to. We also got a dinner cruise on the Danube from Viator so that we were able to fully enjoy the city, day and night.

The list of places to visit in Budapest is more than you will be able to see in 2-3 days, so don’t worry about what you missed. Just plan on visiting again. Maybe take one of the other Viking River cruises. Keep in mind what you will tour with your cruise and plan to see the other sights in town.

Here is what to expect on the cruise; “Today we visit highlights of the once separate towns of Buda and Pest, starting with Pest’s National Opera House and historic Heroes’ Square. In Buda, walk along Castle Hill to Fishermen’s Bastion and Matthias Church. Enjoy lunch aboard your ship, with the rest of the day to explore on your own. You may wish to visit the Art Nouveau Gellért Spa, or one of the many other lavish facilities in this “City of Healing Waters.” Return to your ship for a traditional Hungarian farewell dinner.” With that in mind, I would want to visit the central market, the Citadel, the Parliment Building, and don’t forget to look for the Ronald Reagan statue near Liberty Square.

So much more to share, but I will sign off for now. Time to plan my next trip to Budapest.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

• Packing Checklist
• Parent Authorization Letter For Unaccompanied Minors
• Medical Treatment Authorization Letter
• Travel With Minors-Permission Letter

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

]]> https://jackstraveltips.com/budapest/feed/ 1 2443 https://jackstraveltips.com/what-do-you-have-in-your-essential-cruising-carry-on-bag/ https://jackstraveltips.com/what-do-you-have-in-your-essential-cruising-carry-on-bag/#respond Tue, 29 Sep 2015 21:47:23 +0000 https://jackstraveltips.com/?p=210 Although men and women may see this list differently, I believe this list will meet the needs of both, especially when you consider what they each may already have in their pockets, purse or fanny pack.  Everything noted here would easily fit into a lightweight backpack (day-pack), like the kids use for their book bag in school these days.  And, to make things easier for all, I will suggest that everything that you both need is laid out on the bed, then packed into the two backpacks so that each of you is carrying an equal amount of weight; maybe the guy will carry a little extra.  Yes, I am over 60 and I am a gentleman.

The essential carry-on bag –

Each person should have his or her own passport, identification, money, etc… in their own carry-on bag. In fact, the money, except for a few small bills should be in your money belt. Don’t include aerosols; use pump sprays in your carry-on bag.

If you stayed the night before departure in a hotel, then you may want to transfer some stuff from your luggage to your carry-on bag and vice versa.  Depending upon the flight and the amount of time I expected to be sitting in the airport, I may have had my phone chargers and even a portable DVD player or mp3 player and charger in my carry-on bag for the flight.  On the other hand, my pocket-knife or mini-Leatherman would have been in my luggage.  I will put the chargers and DVD player back in the luggage and the pocket-knife in my pocket so that my carry-on is lighter and only has what I will need until my luggage has arrived at my cabin.

When I get on the ship and find my cabin, I will change into my shorts, short sleeve shirt and sandals, maybe grab a book, and head up on deck to enjoy the departure.  Only when it is time to dress for dinner, will I actually wonder if my luggage is in my cabin. If it’s not, then it will be casual dress for dinner, with a quick check with the cabin steward to ask about the luggage.

You will see that the laptop is not on the above list.  If I do have to bring it, it will be in my backpack.  I am trying to leave it at home.  I can do most everything I need to do on the smart phone, except easily update my websites.  I can even update my blog with my smart phone. If I save enough money, maybe I will add a tablet or notebook to the list.  Have I missed anything? Is there something you would add to this checklist?

———————————————————————-

Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

• Packing Checklist
• Parent Authorization Letter For Unaccompanied Minors
• Medical Treatment Authorization Letter
• Travel With Minors-Permission Letter

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

]]> https://jackstraveltips.com/what-do-you-have-in-your-essential-cruising-carry-on-bag/feed/ 0 210