Comments on: How to Sort Out Visas for an Extended Trip

By: Naomi

Naomi — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:43:29 +0000

Hmm, the Thailand example isn’t a good one because the 15 and 30 day options are actually a visa free waiver period. People do visa runs in Thailand to get a real 2 month visa. Similar for USA, 3 month visa free waiver period but if you want to stay longer you have to apply for a visa.

By: Passport Dave

Passport Dave — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:35:09 +0000

Awesome article. Covers the basics pretty well. I am planning on leaving this year myself and am still debating on which way to setup my visas. Will probably get a 2 month Thai and 10year Indian visa at home and the rest on the road.

By: Jody

Jody — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 20:57:29 +0000

For working holiday visas, definitely do your research before leaving home.

Some of them can’t be obtained on the road (you must apply in your home country), and some have very strict requirements (notarized bank statements, documents from your government, etc.).

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:11:53 +0000

Central Asia is a bit of a pain, especially if you want to try to do it without a Letter of Invitation. I’ve spent weeks, before, trying to get all of my -Stans in order before a big trip that way!

By: Christin

Christin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:41:23 +0000

My “favorite” overland visa experience was Zambia. Arriving from Namibia with a car, I had to pay several fees. One of them only accepted the local Kwacha. Problem is, you’re not allowed to take Kwacha out of the country, so upon entry into the country, there is no way you can have Kwachas legally. There was no ATM, the nearest was in a small town 5 minutes away, and a police officer escorted me there in a taxi. Off course, it but didn’t work. The next one was in Livingstone, a good two hour drive away. However, both the empoyees and several “freelancers” that hung around would exchange money with you, both US and Namibian Dollars. Quite sure that’s not your best deal. However, my problem was no currency, so I had to go back to Namibia. Thank goodness, a few phrases in one of the major, local languages made them extremly friendly, so they just let me right through back and forth, and I didn’t have to buy anouther single entry visa (50US!) when I returned.

By: Hannah @ Getting Stamped

Hannah @ Getting Stamped — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:31:28 +0000

Great article! We plan on getting our Vietnam and India visas in Bangkok. We wont have hotel accomadation ever booked but we will have a future flight, it might not be departing from the country we are getting visa for. Thanks for info!

By: KMM

KMM — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:22:42 +0000

If traveling to the Middle East, I’d also recommend checking what visa stamps you don’t want in your passport. Many countries won’t let you in if your passport has been stamped by Israel, for example. For Americans at least, you can apply for a second passport and use that to gain entry into places like Iran, where an Israeli stamp will preclude you from entering, if you can’t get around the Israelis stamping.