[Kerwin at Passrider.com] Happy New Year | Do I Need A Visa?

Happy 2024. Wishing you all the best for the coming year.

Author

Kerwin
December 29, 2023

Hi,

I hope you are having a fantastic Holiday season.

Note: I’m using a new email service, so please bear with me as I work out all the little idiosyncrasies. If you experience anything strange, just hit reply and let me know. If you’d like to see anything in particular, hit reply and let me know too.

It’s been a cold week, but it’s that time of the year in the northern hemisphere I guess. Not so much a fan of the cold weather. You?

It will be the start of a new year in a few days, so I wish you a very Happy New Year. Hoping your travels will be great and remember I’m here to help if you need me.

My website at Passrider.com, my Instagram channel at https://www.instagram.com/loyaltytravels, my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/passrider, and my LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.comn/in/kerwinmckenzie are all here to help you with your travels. Feel free to follow me on the channel you prefer.

How are things in your neck of the woods?

Here’s what I got for this week.

The Travel Events Calendar

  • Kwanza 2023, Tuesday, December 26, 2023 - Monday, January 1, 2024

  • New Year's Day 2024, Monday, January 1, 2024

  • Australian Open (Tennis) - Melbourne, Australia (MEL), January 14-28, 2024

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2024, Monday, January 15, 2024

  • Presidents' Day, Monday, February 19, 2024

Visa Update

As a U.S. passport holder, we get to go to many places without applying for a visa before we leave our origin city. So it comes as no surprise that some travelers are surprised when a visa or travel authorization is required before departing for their country. Here are three countries where most think no visa or travel authorization is needed, but you do need one.

—Australia

Australia requires what’s called an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before you board that plane. The good thing is that you can apply online and after paying the AUD20 charge, you’ll get an email approval almost instantaneously unless there’s an issue. Then you are good to go for a year.

At the time of this writing, citizens of the following countries are eligible to apply for an ETA: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France and the United States.

Additional Resources

—New Zealand

To set foot on New Zealand‘s soil, a travel authorization is required. It’s called the New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA). The good thing is that it is good for multiple entries and valid for two years. However, if you are denied the NZeTA, then you have to apply for a visa on their website before leaving your country of origin.

At the time of this writing, it costs NZD17.00 if you use the App and NZD23.00 if you apply using their Website.

Additional Resources

—Turkey

You can apply online before you depart or you can apply when you arrive at the airport (Visa On Arrival). There is usually a line so if you can do it before its much better.

To apply online go to https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/.

Additional Resources

The Turkish e-visa website is located at https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/. Apply for the e-visa here.

Visa Information For Foreigners from the Turkish government can be found at https://www.mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is just as important as booking your flights and your hotel; it’s a part of the journey. it gives you peace of mind when you travel. At least, it does for me. That’s why I have an annual policy. Consider getting travel insurance for every trip or an annual policy. you don’t need it until you need it.

Baseball fields in Honolulu, Hawaii

Travel Credit Cards

Do you use a credit card to enhance the travel experience?

​Chase IHG MasterCard Offer​
​One way to get hotel points is to get one of these massive credit card offers. Chase has a current offer for 4 FREE nights; this is pretty epic as it's usually about 40K+/night if you stay in popular cities. This is a great deal and you should at least check it out. I also get some miles if you get a card, so we both could win.

YouTube Travel Videos

You can see my travel videos at https://www.youtube.com/cruisinaltitude. Please subscribe and setup notifications so you will be the first to know when I load new videos.

Supporting Passrider​

THANK YOU so much for continuing to donate to keep the site going. It is truly appreciated.

If you like this newsletter and also the information on Passrider.com, please consider a donation or by clicking on the photo below. This will help to continue bringing the information to you.

And remember if you are purchasing something on Amazon, you can always use https://www.passrider.com/amazon and booking a hotel head over to
​Booking a Tour, click here to book one​
​Booking a Hotel, click here to book one [Passrider.com/hotels]​
​Booking a Flight, click here to book one [Passrider.com/skyscanner]

Thank you!

Downtown Houston, TX USA

Thank you for traveling with me this week. See you next week and have an amazing New Year celebrations. Happy 2024.

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