Wikivoyage:Tourist office/Archives/2014/January

Louisville

<Please send me a tourist copy of just about Louisville, Kentucky. See below-Thank You

- Please type your question above this line. Do not change the next line - it will sign & date your question --> Asked by: 107.192.182.92 17:13, 7 January 2014 (UTC) I would like a copy of a tourist pamphlet just about Louisville, Kentucky. My name is Janet Nortrom,4332 N Woodburn St., Shorewood, Wisconsin 53211

You could go to our page on Louisville and print a copy yourself; the "go next" section lists a few other nearby destinations like Mammoth Cave National Park which may be of interest. There's also a booklet from the convention and visitor bureau at http://www.gotolouisville.com/travel-tools/request-travel-guide/index.aspx which you may download online or request by mail. K7L (talk) 17:44, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

Is it still possible for Haitians to immigrate to French Guiana?

My friend is a Haitian Citizen with a Haitian passport living in the Dominican Republic. He has all the papers to travel to Brazil but the embassy in Santa Dominican is never open, so he can't get them signed and stamped. We are considering ding going to Chile instead. He HAS to get OUT of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Are there boats/ferries (ships) that go to FG from either Haiti or the DR? Any idea of the cost and schedules or where we can look? The situation there is desperate and we want him to get out as soon as possible. —The preceding comment was added by FreeAtLast (talk • contribs) 22:57, 7 January 2014‎

For what it is worth, it may be a better idea to direct this question at our Tourist Office, which is a more appropriate page to ask this kind of stuff and where it will receive a larger audience. Nevertheless, there is no reply guarantee, and it might go unanswered. Vidimian (talk) 15:02, 8 January 2014 (UTC)

Actually there aren't many ferries between the Caribbean islands at all. I'd say he should fly instead. The Wikipedia article for Las Américas International Airport near Santo Domingo says you can fly to Cayenne, French Guyana, by Air Caraibes. If you want to go to Chile, have a look at Punta Cana International Airport, where it says LAN Airlines flies to Santiago de Chile. Check the airlines' websites for timetables and fares. You will probably also want to have a look at our travel guides (alternatively Wikipedia's articles "Visa policy of /country/" ) for each country he wants to enter to learn if he needs a visa or not. ϒpsilon (talk) 16:39, 8 January 2014 (UTC)

Several questions about Saint Pierre and Miquelon

I'm planning on travelling to Saint Pierre and Miquelon via the ferry from Newfoundland next summer. I would like to visit both islands. Is there a ferry service to Miquelon, either from Saint-Pierre or directly from Newfoundland, that accommodates automobiles? If not, what would be the best way to access the island?

Also, I'm given to understand that hotel rooms in SP&M sell out quickly in high season. How far in advance should I reserve? My Plan A is to stay in Saint-Pierre for two nights at some time in July (what I presume would be the absolute high point of tourist season), but I would also be open to staying on Miquelon if necessary. As an absolute last resort, are there any campgrounds on the islands? If so, where?

-- AndreCarrotflower (talk) 05:07, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

There used to be a car ferry, the w:Atlantic Jet, still listed by a few outdated sources. Currently, there seems to be just a passenger ferry from Fortune on Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula which takes about an hour . It's also possible to fly. It would seem that to get to Miquelon, one must go to St. Pierre first and then take either another boat or a 15-minute flight. There are no hire cars on the islands, but a taxi or tour bus should be available in St. Pierre and within the village itself it's possible to walk anywhere. Most of the lodging appears to be on St. Pierre, although there are campgrounds on Miquelon. Not sure how far ahead one should reserve. K7L (talk) 10:58, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

Thanks, K7L. It's a bit disappointing that there's no option for those who'd like to bring their car over from the mainland. Are visitors to SP&M allowed to leave their cars at the ferry terminal in Fortune (or anywhere reasonably close by) until they return? -- AndreCarrotflower (talk) 20:44, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

Yes, there is parking at the Fortune terminal. K7L (talk) 21:08, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

Passport validity requirement and alternate forms of ID in European Union (Schengen) countries

I am a Polish citizen living in the US as a permanent resident (i.e. with green card), planning to travel to Iceland soon. However, I was recently surprised to learn that my passport must be valid for at least three months (90 days) beyond the period of stay. My passport will be valid for the entire duration of my trip, but it expires about a month later, and while did I apply to renew it several weeks ago, I'm getting worried that it won't arrive in time for me to make the trip exactly as intended. So it seems like if I tried to travel from the US to Iceland, I would be denied entry because my current passport expires less than 3 months after I arrive -- is this correct? (On a practical note, would the airline (Icelandair) check my passport in the US and simply not let me board, or does the check occur when I try to leave the destination airport and enter Iceland itself?)

Assuming my new passport doesn't arrive in time, I'm trying to find a way to get to Iceland with minimal disruption to the original plans. I understand that "free travel" within the Schengen area permits EU nationals to go between member states without showing their passport (for example, as stated here). So, my idea is to first fly to Poland, where the "external" border controls of my home country shouldn't care about the expiration limit; then transfer to a "domestic" (intra-Schengen) flight to Iceland. Is this feasible? What forms of ID are acceptable for such flights, aside from the passport? In particular, since I unfortunately don't have a Polish identity card, could I use my US green card or driver's license as valid proof of ID abroad?

Really hoping that the new passport is ready soon, but just trying to make the best of a not-so-ideal situation. Thanks in advance.

Asked by: Murd (talk) 19:16, 12 January 2014 (UTC)

Hi, Murd! I'm 99% sure the 90 additional days limit applies only to people who are not citizens of the EU. According to this directive EU/EFTA citizens can travel and live infinitely in another EU/EFTA country. You should get to Poland before your passport expires, though. In a pinch you might be able to travel with an expired passport (if it's inside the EU, you have tickets to Poland and a good explanation) but I would definitely not recommend it. And a passport or an European ID card are the only valid travel documents for travel inside Europe - a driver's license or American Green Card aren't. ϒpsilon (talk) 20:27, 12 January 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for asking your question again Murd. Ypsi, yesterday I had IRC chat with Murd and I told him the same that travelling inside the Schengen area with an EU ID would be fine albeit if the passport is expired. --Saqib (talk) 20:49, 12 January 2014 (UTC)

That last advise is absolutely incorrect would only work if he had an official ID card, Saqib. It is not fine to travel inside Schengen with an expired passport and depending on the country you are in (assuming it is not your home country) and the official you are dealing with, that may cause some serious trouble, costs and delays. Most airlines will not let you board a plane.

However, the 90 days validation rule does not apply to EU citizens travelling in other EU countries. So you should be able to get in to the EU and travel around there for as long as your passport is still valid. It all depends on how long you will be in Iceland and where you are going after that. If you can make sure to get a new passport before it expires, and before you would like to leave the EU, you should be fine. Otherwise, I would suggest contacting a Polish embassy in your region if you have one, or Polish customs in Poland, and inform for an emergency passport. I don't know the Polish rules for those, but in most European countries they are not too expensive (45 PLN for a Polish one) and that would allow you to travel anywhere without worries. Good luck! JuliasTravels (talk) 11:53, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

This page reads "If you are an EU national , you do not need to show your national ID card or passport when you are travelling from one border-free Schengen EU country to another. Even if you don't need a passport for border checks within the Schengen area, it is still always best to take a passport or ID card with you, so you can prove your identity if needed (if stopped by police, boarding a plane, etc.)." --Saqib (talk) 14:59, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

Yes, but he said he doesn't own an ID card :). In many European countries it isn't mandatory to have one and in some such a card isn't issued at all (and if the person isn't resident in Poland he doesn't need one). In Finland the card isn't mandatory, almost nobody has it and in my opinion it's just a waste of money. It's more expensive than a passport, valid for five years like a passport and you can just travel inside Europe. For identification purposes (authorities, banks, purchasing age-restricted things like alcohol etc.) most people over here use their driver's licence, Health insurance card or passport. ϒpsilon (talk) 15:45, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

Indeed. Lastly, although you will normally not be checked at an overland border, air travel (which is what we're talking about here) is another business altogether, as it comes with specific regulations and will require a valid ID card or passport. Not being checked is also not the same as not needing to carry an ID. Several countries do have a general obligation of identification and what will happen if you are asked for your ID and can't present a valid one, depends on the country. Once you're in the Schengen area, you will always be granted time to prove you indeed are a EU citizen with a right for free movement, but you don't want the hassle and possible fines if you can possibly avoid it. A temporary passport can be a good solution as it is made on the spot. JuliasTravels (talk) 16:19, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

Thank you all for the great discussion. I should have posted these links in my initial question, but here is some of the official word on the 90-day rule that got me worried to begin with. This page on who does not need a visa to enter Iceland states "The validity of the passport or recognized ID card must be at least three months beyond the proposed stay." And Article 12 of the Regulation on Foreigners states "The period of validity of a passport shall extend at least three months past the planned stay in Iceland." The US department of state travel site advises "Your passport should be valid for at least three months beyond the period of stay", but it's probably specific to US citizens, and it says the same thing for any European country I checked, so not necessarily applicable to my situation.

Anyway, so today I ended up going to the Polish Consulate General in New York to try to figure out what was causing the delay in receiving my official 10-year passport. Turns out the entire printing batch was held up in Warsaw, they weren't sure why, so who knows when it'll arrive. But when I told the clerk how soon I needed it, she said I could get a "paszport tymczasowy" (temporary passport), which only took them about an hour to print up! And it only cost $20 (USD)! I was quite pleasantly surprised, because I was under the impression from my first visit (when I applied for the full ten-year one) that they would only produce a temporary passport in case of emergency, and that it would take a few days. So that was a huge relief. Problem solved! (Thinking back on it, they must have thought I was asking about an expedited process for my application, but it's strange that they didn't offer the temporary passport the first time I was there.)

Since I had an hour to kill while waiting, though, I decided to head up to the Icelandic consulate and ask about this whole 90 day validity limit thing. At first he said that since Poland is a Schengen country, I should have no problem getting in with my old passport, etc. I kept pressing him, and after some discussion amongst each other, he said that they had never heard of anyone having this be an issue. But he cautioned that I would "be on my own" if either the airline or border control did decide to stop me and enforce this technicality -- so better safe than sorry! I guess I could have also visited the Danish consulate, since apparently Denmark (and Sweden and Norway) can issue visas on Iceland's behalf in the US. But that'll have to wait until I eventually go back to collect the ten-year passport, and I imagine that they would probably say something similar. To further this experiment, when I go to the airport for my trip, I'll ask Icelandair what they would have done if I tried boarding with only my old expires-within-three-months passport; same with getting through immigration in KEF airport.

One note about some of the external sources in the responses above is that they only refer to travel between member states, across internal borders. They say nothing about external border crossings (e.g. from non-Schengen countries such as the US), even for EU nationals, so I figured they might impose different requirements. Which is why the idea of getting into my home country and then going from there seemed like the safest bet.

Last thing for this wall of text. This story from The Guardian quotes a spokesperson for the European Commission: "As an EU citizen, you should always be able to cross the border with a valid national identity card or passport. It does not need to have validity of at least another three months. If the travel document is valid, you are in the clear." (This was in the context of a British person erroneously being prevented from boarding a flight to Cyprus. Neither of which are in the Schengen area actually.... Incidentally, Iceland isn't part of the EU.) Finally, the UK also has a foreign travel advice site which states "Your passport should be valid for a minimum period of 3 months from the date of entry into Iceland", whereas for all the other European countries that I checked, it essentially says in unequivocal terms that the passport only needs to be valid for the proposed duration of your stay, no longer.

Murd (talk) 04:59, 14 January 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for getting back to us and making us part of your little experiment, Murd :-) I'm glad the temporary passport thing worked. It saved me once before too. That 3 months statement on the Icelandic state site is quite interesting. I'm rather certain that standard European regulations (as the EU official also stated) allow for Schengen ID holders to move freely for the entire validity of their documents. The Schengen treaty in itself posts no additional validity requirements. However, I checked the Icelandic laws, and the 3 months provision does seem to be an official part of Iceland's Regulation on Foreigners (art. 12, to be exact). So it would seem that although part of Schengen, Iceland might actually refuse you when your passport is not valid for 3 months after your stay. I've glanced through the official documentation (but the Schengen files are large and complex ones), and I haven't yet found an official provision from Iceland in which they would explicitly distance themselves from that particular article - but that doesn't mean it isn't there. I really would wonder how it would work in practice, so it would be nice if you could let us know afterwards what the Iceland officials told you. In any case, I'm glad you won't be the test case ;-) Enjoy your trip! JuliasTravels (talk) 14:49, 14 January 2014 (UTC)

Train transportation

Is there passenger train transportation from Omaha Ne to Rapid City SD or anywhere close to Mount Rushmore?? Asked by: 68.226.49.185 17:29, 15 January 2014 (UTC)

There is no Amtrak interstate passenger service to South Dakota or Wyoming, per . There's a tourist steam train from Hill City to Keystone but nothing to Rushmore. K7L (talk) 17:46, 15 January 2014 (UTC)

The historical Hill City 1880s train is strictly an out-and-back tourist attraction. If you want to take public transportation to Rapid City, your best bet would be a Greyhound bus. The route from Omaha, Nebraska north to Sioux Falls is somewhat pleasant, as it travels along the river and you can see the river bluffs left by retreating glaciers. Once you turn west on I-90 at Sioux Falls, however, this 400-mile stretch of highway becomes increasingly monotonous, until you reach Wall/the Badlands; from there you can see the Black Hills in the distance. --Neotarf (talk) 03:43, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

Toll roads

Is there a toll on Florida hwy 836 between hwy 826 and hwy 953? Thank you Asked by: 12.249.80.70 17:40, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

That section looks clear from w:Florida State Road 836#Exit list, although there are three points outside that section which are tolled. K7L (talk) 17:50, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

honeymoon in austria

I am planning a honeymoon trip to austria in april 2014 .what are my options ? How much will it cost? And hows the place? Asked by: 117.211.161.214 00:59, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

We have an article on Austria & it links to various places within the country. There is also one on Wedding and honeymoon travel. Pashley (talk) 02:39, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

From motorway to Underground

What's the best way to connect from the UK motorway network to London public transport?

More specifically, I'm getting a lift with a relative going M40-M25 south-A26. Any suggestions of convenient drop-off points, ideally onto the Piccadilly line? M.R.Forrester (talk) 13:55, 23 January 2014 (UTC)

If you want to get on the Piccadilly line, both Uxbridge and Heathrow (if you're feeling brave) are close to that side of the M25. If you're not too bothered, you might be betting getting a conventional BR train into central London and changing from there. Hope this helps! :) --Nick ^talk 13:38, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

High Wycombe (Chiltern) is just off the M40... It has mainline services.

Other options are Denham, Iver etc.. 80.176.129.180 15:13, 31 January 2014 (UTC)