Vacations BY RAJAN

18/02/2023

08/09/2022

Japan Eases Travel Restrictions
Beginning on September 7, Japan will relax some of the strictest Covid-19 border controls among major economies by allowing non-guided package tours from all nations and allowing more than twice as many people to enter each day
In an effort to boost the ailing tourism sector amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Japan has eased the travel restriction for international travellers and also increased the daily entry cap from 20,000 to 50,000
Furthermore, visitors to Japan who have received three vaccination shots will be exempt from taking Covid-19 tests 72 hours before departure
Photo Credit Travel Daily

31/08/2022

Message from British High Commissioner to India
Alex in the video message posted on Twitter said;

“Students and visas, the UK is an amazing place to go and study, and that why we are our own records, for the number of student visas which we have issued globally until June 2022. This coming academic year with you will get even more and India is number one source country of students coming to the UK.”
UK Priority And Super Priority Visas Available For Students, Apply ASAP: British High Gregory Weston

31/08/2022

GST On Cancellation of Confirmed Train, Hotel and Flight Bookings
According to the notification, the cancellation fee for a first-class or AC coach ticket would be subject to 5% GST, which is the rate levied on the ticket.
The cancellation charge, according to the Ministry, is a payment rather than a breach of contract, so GST must be paid. Cancellation of a ticket in such a case would now be subject to 5% GST on the cancellation charges

29/08/2022

Things you need to know before your overseas travel
Passport Validity
Most of the countries require your passport to be valid for up to six months after your intended return date
Right packing
Travel in our own country, we have no trouble figuring out what clothing to pack and we don’t need power adapters
We need to check the voltage for the countries we w’ll be staying in and those we may be traveling enroute. It is worse getting delayed overnight in Zurich with an adapter that only works somewhere else and needing to charge your phone
We also need to do some research on what locals wear in the country we plan to visit.
Wrong luggage
If we can’t carry our bag up several flights of stairs without help, we will have a problem in many European countries. If we ’re headed to a quaint city with cobblestone streets or an island with a long sand beach we have to traverse to get to our sweet bungalow, wheels on our suitcase will cause drag rather than speed things up.
Data Plan and our phone
What’s the best way to use our cell phone?”
• We can rent a phone at our destination - this is a popular for shorter trips and relatively cheap.
• We can use VoIP apps (like Skype and Whatsapp) to avoid roaming charges - this is popular for longer trips. Keep in mind; these apps need Wi-Fi access though.
• We can switch out the SIM card in your phone - this is popular and inexpensive but not all mobile devices can be unlocked to use a local SIM card
Carrying Illegal medication
If we take any prescription or over-the-counter medication, we should verify that it’s legal to bring it into the country we are visiting; Here are some examples:
• Sudafed is illegal in Japan
• Codeine is illegal in Greece
• Benadryl (even in Tylenol PM) is illegal in Zambia and Japan
• Adderall is illegal in Saudi Arabia and Japan
• Ambien is illegal in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria and you’ll need to apply for a license to take it into Singapore
Even very minor quantity of some medications can cause big problems and the laws change often.

Access to money
Before boarding, we need to make sure that we will be able to access our money and know what the local rules are. In many rural places, for example, credit cards aren’t accepted so we’ll need cash.
• Check bank’s ATM network at our destination and stopover locations.
• Inform bank about traveling so they don’t accidentally block our account. (Many banks don't require this step now, but check to be sure.)
• Find out whether our bank will charge international transaction fees.
We may be able to get foreign currency through our bank before our trip, but we also don’t want to be carrying around a lot of cash.
Checking the weather
This sounds simple, but. if we’re not used to deep temperature dips at night, we won’t have a warm jacket when we need it in Paris. If we don’t check the typical weather in Bali in February, we probably don’t know that it’s very hot and muggy then.
Jet lag
Jet lag is no joke. It can take days to fully recover from the symptoms and that first 24 hours is really tough.

Keep in mind, the oxygen levels in most aircraft are typically lower than we normally breathe, and dehydration can also contribute to our jet lag symptoms.
Have a strategy for managing it. Some of the most common tips are:
• Drinking plenty of water before and during your travel
• Eat light, healthy snacks
• Move around regularly and stretch
• Avoid strong sleep aids on the flight
• Expose yourself to natural light as soon as you arrive
• Be prepared to go to bed early the first couple of nights on your trip

Photo Credit Indian Express

25/08/2022

European Countries Which issue Schengen Visas
The Schengen zone includes the 26 countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement which allows citizens of member countries to travel within the zone freely, without passing through passport and border control.
Each member country of the Schengen zone can issue Schengen
visas.

22/08/2022

12 Easiest Countries to Get A Schengen Visa
if you’re planning a trip to Europe, here’s a list of the 12 easiest countries to obtain a Schengen visa for.
1. Lithuania; 2. Estonia; 3Finland; 4.Iceland; 5.Latvia; 6. Poland7. Luxembourg; 8.Slovakia; 9The Czech Republic; 10.Greece; 11. Belgium;12 Switzerland

22/08/2022

ANY ONE INTERESTED ??

18/07/2022

Tourism Fee on Foreign Visitors to Thailand
The Tourism Fee is likely to be imposed without exceptions by the Thai government since it would act as insurance coverage of up to 500,000 baht per person, including for accidents and natural disasters.
It is worth noting that the implementation of ‘Tourism Fee’ has been continually postponed since it was announced early last year, and it is unclear when the collection would begin.
According to certain media reports, all international tourists arriving in Thailand in the coming months would be required to pay a tourism fee of 300 Baht ($8 or ₹650)
“The 300 baht fee will guarantee insurance coverage during foreigners’ stay in Thailand for up to 30 days,” said Mongkon.
According to the government, coverage for travellers involved in an accident, riot, terrorism attack, natural disaster, or other occurrence is limited to a maximum of 500,000 baht, while coverage for any damage caused by mental distress is limited to 20,000 baht.
The insurance pays out 1 million baht per person in the case of death, with crematory expenses covered up to 150,000 baht per individual. According to the government, Covid-19 and other forms of illnesses are not covered.

18/07/2022

INDIAN TRAVELLERS MUST CARRY HARD COPIES OF VISAS ON DEPARTURE
Foreign Visa copies of all the Indian nationals departing from India should be scanned in the immigration counters at all the ICPs Hence, carrying hard copies of foreign visas by Indian passport holders has been made mandatory by the Govt of India.
This new rule is applicable for all who have eVisa, eTA, or ENTRI Visa; Those travelling with a sticker visa, on the other hand, are not needed to carry a hard copy of the same.
All Indian Passengers (excluding the sticker visas which are pasted in the Passport) departing from all International Airport should compulsorily carry a hardcopy of the visa and the same may be produced to the Immigration officers at the airport
The Bureau of Immigration, MHA, Govt of India also issued an order to all international airports regarding the same and ask them to bring the subject to all airlines that fall under their jurisdiction for compliance and accordingly guide the Passengers
As a result, it is recommended that all Indian travellers with foreign visas be informed of the aforementioned requirements, particularly those travellers carrying a soft copy of their visas on mobile phones.

06/06/2022

Thailand’s New Entry Requirements effect from June 01 2022
According to an announcement made by the tourism authority of Thailand, the following rules will be in effect from June 01 2022, with specific requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated travelers from all countries/territories with scheduled arrivals from today (June 01)
Pre-Arrival Requirements
Vaccinated travelers must have the following documents for entering Thailand:
A valid passport or a Border Pass for arrivals via border checkpoints
A Thailand Pass (via https://tp.consular.go.th/) (Thais are exempt from this requirement.) Once all essential details have been completed via the system, the QR code will be automatically issued (no waiting time)
An insurance policy with coverage no less than US$10,000. .
A Certificate of COVID-19 Vaccination
Everyone 18 years of age and older must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 with an approved vaccine at least 14 days before travelling to Thailand.
Travellers 5-17 years of age travelling to Thailand unaccompanied must get vaccinated with at least 1 dose of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before travelling to Thailand. Those travelling with parents are exempt from this requirement.
Travellers with a history of COVID-19 infection who have recovered by medical treatment, and travellers who have received at least one dose of an approved vaccine post-infection must have a certificate of COVID-19 recovery.
On Arrival Requirements
Upon arrival in Thailand, all visitors must go through entry screening, including a body temperature check, and produce the necessary documents to the Immigration/Health Control officer.
The vaccinated visitors will subsequently be given entry and will be free to travel across the kingdom.

05/06/2022

EU COUNTRIES THAT REMOVED ALL COVID-19 TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
Many European Union nations have relaxed whole Covid-19 travel requirements for all visitors, including those who are non-EU nationals.
Indians can currently access the 14 below-mentioned EU/EEA (European Economic Area) countries regardless of their vaccination status. This means that non-EU visitors to these nations are not needed to provide a valid Covid-19 Pass, vaccination certificate, recovery, or negative RT-PCR test reports
1. Czech Republic
2. Denmark
3. Greece
4. Hungary
5. Iceland
6. Ireland
7. Italy
8. Latvia
9. Norway
10. Poland
11. Romania
12. Slovenia
13. Sweden
14. Switzerland
All they need to do now is have the relevant travel documentation, such as a valid passport and, a Visa, if necessary.
Apart from being allowed restrictions-free access into these nations, non-EU visitors no longer need to be concerned about domestic COVID-19 regulations, as the majority has been lifted.