Wikivoyage:Tourist office/Archives/2013/December

Tropic of Capricorn

In Wikipaedia, it states that the Tropic of Capricorn is gradually moving north by 15m per annum. Why? Is the axis tilting by that much each year or is there another explanation for this bizarre fact?

Asked by: 114.77.111.246 01:42, 4 December 2013 (UTC)

According to w:Axial tilt, the Earth's axial tilt relative to its orbital plane is decreasing by about 0.47 arcseconds per year. 0.47 arcseconds is about 15m. LtPowers (talk) 18:53, 4 December 2013 (UTC)

Christmas Villages

Does the Wikivoyage community have any suggestions for it's readers on Christmas villages to vist?Sfan00 IMG (talk) 17:25, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

Asked by: Sfan00 IMG (talk) 17:25, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

For the commercialised Santa version of the holiday there's North Pole (Alaska) and North Pole (New York), although our coverage of both is a bit incomplete. K7L (talk) 18:12, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

There's a huge "Santa's Village" in Rovaniemi, in northern Finland, as well. -- AndreCarrotflower (talk) 18:39, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

And if you decide to pick Rovaniemi in the Christmas season, take the warmest clothes you have. Right now it's -25°C up there (-13°F, and BTW in the middle of January you often get to experience -40°C/°F) but probably you still feel tempted to go on reindeer sleigh ride with Santa and/or a snowmobile safari once you're there :). ϒpsilon (talk) 21:53, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

We had -40°C (-40°F) up there yesterday :-) I think some of the businesses have suitable cloths for their customers, but don't freeze your fingers and ears off before you get at them. The newspapers told about people from Britain enjoying their husky safari, but promising never more to complain about the weather at home. --LPfi (talk) 12:37, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

Not sure it's what you're looking for, but when I was a kid w:Santa's Village (Jefferson, New Hampshire) was a really big deal. :) There's also a few others listed in the w:Santa's Village (disambiguation).--— Rhododendrites ^talk |  15:31, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

Ferry service to Îles-de-la-Madeleine

I'm planning my triumphant return to Quebec next summer and will spend a few days in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. I plan on taking the Cap-aux-Meules–Souris route on my departure from the islands, but if possible, I'd like to get to the islands from somewhere on the Québécois mainland, preferably the Côte Nord.

The information at Îles-de-la-Madeleine#Get in appears to be outdated.

Can anyone who is familiar with this route help me out with information—pricing, frequency of departures, etc?

-- AndreCarrotflower (talk) 21:37, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

There is a passenger vessel that sails between Port Chandler, Quebec on the Baie de Chaleur and the Îles-de-la-Madeleine but I'm not sure this helps your journey // Il y a un navire à passagers qui navigue entre Port Chandler, Quebec sur le Baie de Chaleur et les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, mais je ne suis pas sûr que cela aide avec votre voyage. JR de la Colombie Britanique 2013 le 11 dec

History of white line marking the side of the road

Asked by: 2600:100A:B10F:A299:6DB5:18ED:DB04:E453Jeannine Hoffmann I want to know about the history of the white outside lane on roads. You give an excellent history on the center lane, but nothing on when the lane on the outside began being painted and who suggested it. I have some information, that the suggestion was made by George Door (or Doer or Doerr)'s wife. Then George persued the matter and got the lines in his state. I would like the whole story, but I have not been able to find it ~

how to plan a multi-week, multi-country trip?

What are some ways to plan and execute a multi-week, multi-country trip starting from the USA?

I realize I will need visas for some countries. I know that I could get an international drivers license and rent a car although I would prefer to take other modes of transportation.

Should a travel agent be used? Is buying an around-the-world plane ticket a good way to go? What websites help plan this kind of trip?

How does health insurance while traveling work (I am living in the US)? If I get sick how do I go about getting medical care?

Is it necessary to book flights and hotels completely before the start of the trip, or can this be done along the way?

What about money? Is it sufficient to have US credit cards? And an ATM card?

Is it possible to rent an apartment as a foreigner (for weeks/month timeframe)?

What about earning some money while traveling? Is a work visa necessary? What kind of work can be done?

Can phone minutes be readily bought for use on a GSM phone worldwide? Can I set it up to ring using my own number (or a fixed number across multiple countries/SIM cards)?

Are there certain supplies which should be brought from home?

What other issues need to be considered?

I'm just trying to get a taste for the possibilities. Thanks for any advice!

Asked by: 71.179.165.215 20:56, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

Articles like Round the world flights, Travel insurance, English teaching, Telephone service for travel ... may help. There's an index at Travel topics.

Also look at region and country articles for the areas you are considering. Pashley (talk) 01:28, 14 December 2013 (UTC)

I would also say it all starts with you deciding roughly which regions/countries you'd like to visit, when you'll go, how much time you have (3 weeks or 6 months is a big difference), and what your approximate budget per day is. Many of the answers you are asking for depend on that. Overall let me say I've never used a travel agency to assist in planning travels: you can, but you won't need it and you will of course pay for it. I've never been a very thorough planner in any case: I usually get roughly in my head what I'd like to see and book a flight. I find the rest of my way and the details out as I go. I've always liked that flexibility and more often than not it has resulted in me taking very different routes than I'd ever imagined at home. You most certainly do not have to book all your hotels and trips beforehand for a long trip. I can't advise it either: it will take your flexibility and will also not allow for changes as you find out what you like or as your budget changes for better of worse because you undertake more or less activities on the road.

For me, there's a few basics that have to be covered and all the rest will work out: you need a decent travel insurance. That will save you when you find yourself robbed an without money, sick or stuck. Read the conditions to know what's included (e.g. extreme sports or search missions when you'd get lost in the Andes ;-)). Credit cards, ATM cards and some cash dollars should be fine. Visas differ per country. If you have your insurance, money and the passport with visas for the places you are sure you'll go, you'll be fine. In many cases, it's possible to acquire additional visa on the way, as some countries issue them upon arrival and others can be arranged at embassies throughout the world.

Yes, most countries allow foreigners to rent, but in many you will need a different visa than "just" a tourist visa. Making some money is quite possible in many countries but will typically require you to stay in one place for a while and again make visa arrangements. In some countries this is easy (e.g. Australia and New Zealand, where you can get a Working Holiday Visa) while in others it can be quite a hassle. In most cases you'll be looking at low wages, mostly interesting for backpackers who want to linger in a place for a while without using their budget. There are exceptions however, if you can work as e.g. an English teacher (e.g. in Vietnam), where fairly good wages for local standards are paid. World wide call cards do exist, but if you're visiting a limited number of countries, you might just want to buy a local prepaid SIM card in each country, with a local number. It's easy, in most countries its cheap. Make sure however that you bring a suitable GSM unlocked phone: the frequency used in the US is not the same as that used in most overseas countries.

Hope that gives some first ideas :-) JuliasTravels (talk) 08:09, 14 December 2013 (UTC)

Visiting a few countries in a few weeks there is of course not that much time for any specific place. You could opt for the Round the world flights, visiting very different countries, or fly e.g. to Europe and travel around by rail. You have to make a trade-off about seeing many places or to get a real grip on the places you visit. With rail you can stay or leave as you want (especially with the Eurail pass), but you probably do want to stay a couple of days in most of the places (renting apartments suggests you want to stay longer in one place, which can be a good idea, but mixing that with visiting multiple countries is not necessarily convenient). --LPfi (talk) 13:27, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

I would say a good travel guide to the country or region you are visiting is indispensable. For most countries, Lonely Planet is the obvious choice, although it can contain serious errors. The Rough Guide is another favorite, especially for countries in the Middle East, and tends to have more in-depth write-ups. The quality and utility varies from country to country and year to year. Get the most recent year possible. Something that was published last year will be two years out of date, and you risk that many businesses listed will have gone out of business. It is best to go to the travel section of a comprehensive book store and browse the books yourself. Failing that, Amazon often has good customer book reviews. The type of book you want may also depend on your budget and the level of comfort you expect while traveling.

I like to book accommodations a day in advance, through the internet, for two days. You don't want to spend your first day in a place looking for different accommodation. Tripadvisor is good for this, in SE Asia Agoda is good also. There are also some Hostelworld type websites that will do bookings. Some countries are cash only, check your travel guide to see if you need to come equipped with crisp new dollar bills. If you want to work, and have teaching credentials, or want to get them, check Dave's Internet Cafe, especially the country-by-country teacher forums. In general, it is better to bring more money and less suitcases. Medications are widely available worldwide, and often without the expensive doctor appointment needed in the U.S. to get a prescription. Immodium may be impossible to obtain in some countries, heaven help you if you should need it.

That said, I did my first 5-month trip without any of that. The best advice? Just go. --Neotarf (talk) 05:57, 21 December 2013 (UTC)

Of course our goal here is to provide guides at least as good as the published guides and we sometimes achieve that. We are fairly often more up-to-date since published guides have schedules and a long lead time. On the other hand, we rely entirely on volunteers so we cannot always be as thorough as a published guide. Personally, I generally use both WV and one of the published guides. Pashley (talk) 15:01, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

Oh, it is Dave's ESL Cafe not Internet Cafe. ESL = English as a Second Language. There's a link in our Teaching English article. Pashley (talk) 15:03, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

visiting volkswagen factory

Asked by: 92.225.167.126 18:02, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

Their main factory is in Wolfsburg & we have a guide to the town. They have many other factories, though, both within and outside Germany. Countries that I know have VW factories are China (where they are one of the commonest brands of car), Mexico and Brazil. I am sure there are many others.

I have not looked at this in over 30 years, but VW used to have deals where you could go to a local dealer in the US or Canada, order a car built to your specifications and to your country's safety/pollution/etc. standards, fly to Europe, pick up the vehicle, drive it around Europe some, then put it on a boat and bring it home. This was alleged to save money. Pashley (talk) 18:13, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

If you visit Germany, you will find the most interesting VW factory in Dresden 1 . It is open for visitors. -- Grüße, Joachim Mey2008 (talk) 14:14, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

Wow! Thanks for that. The video is well worth a look even if you have no plans to visit the area soon. Pashley (talk) 15:23, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

What's open in Munich on January 1

Hi, everyone. I arrive in Munich on the morning of January 1. Will I find any Brauhaeuser, bakeries, restaurants, or supermarkets open on that day, or will everything, and I mean everything be closed for the holiday? Ikan Kekek (talk) 08:15, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

Supermarkets and bakeries will be closed but you should be OK with Gaststätte. If you are on your own simply joint a table with other at a Brauhaus, if in a group I would recommend booking a table. For example Weißes Bräuhaus in the centre has on-line table reservations.--Traveler100 (talk) 10:11, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, Traveler100. There will be two of us. Will places like Turkish kebab houses be open, too? Ikan Kekek (talk) 10:16, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

I'd say most of the places serving food are open (been to Düsseldorf on the German Unity Day), after all this isn't Good Friday or Christmas Day. Also, if you need some snacks, toothpaste etc. Turkish/Balkan convenience stores and kiosks often are open when major stores aren't. Ps. don't go near this place. ϒpsilon (talk) 11:35, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. I appreciate the info and the warning. Ikan Kekek (talk) 13:01, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

In case you need something special, you can also check the gasstations, usally 24/7 and always with shop and backery. Have a nice trip, --Bernello (talk) 13:20, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

Dankeschön! Ikan Kekek (talk) 13:38, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

From memory of living there, you will find most restaurants and bakeries in Munich city center open on Jan. 1st. Supermarkets may be open albeit with shortened opening hours and perhaps half the shops will be open. Actually I have nice memories of walking up Leopoldstrasse on a sunny new year's day. The most important thing to note is that this only applies to the center of Munich. If you plan to go further out into the countryside then you will find almost everything closed except for gas stations. Andrewssi2 (talk) 13:54, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

Ah, I didn't realize you weren't still living there. We won't be anywhere but the centre of town, at least on that day. Ikan Kekek (talk) 14:03, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

Actually I haven't lived in Germany for many years (based in East Asia now) which is why I don't contribute so actively to that country. Andrewssi2 (talk) 14:08, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

Brauhaeuser same as all Restaurants will be open, some bakeries will be open (mostly near the underground stations), Supermarkets will be closed with the exception of those at the Main Railway Station and those at Railwaystation "Ostbahnhof".--Bbb-Commons (talk) 22:17, 28 December 2013 (UTC)