Reciprocity fee for Argentina
For all those going on the Antarctica tours, don't forget to go on line and pay by credit card the $160.00 reciprocity fee for Argentina. You need the on-line receipt with your passport or they won't let you enter Argentina.
Sheila
Sheila
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Now the fun part. Not everything on the site seems to work, but don't fear, it is still fairly painless. What you want to do is "Add documents" once you have logged in. This means name and passport number for each person who will be traveling, done one at a time. Once completed the info/traveler is added to your shopping cart and you can then "Add" again for the next traveler. When the process is completed you go to "Pay". Prior to this you are shown the information, one person at a time. If correct, you move to the next person's info for review. In my case, my wife's passport number was appended to mine, so it was incorrectly displayed. There is a "Modify" button which takes you back to the data entry page, where I could and did re-enter her number, but upon submitting the newly entered number, I was told this number already existed. There was no way to modify it. So I went back to the shopping cart to delete her entry and retry. The "Delete" doesn't work on the cart.
To make a long story short, with the problem reoccurring numerous times, the good news is when you log out your cart is emptied and you can do one person at a time; log in, do it, log out, do it again for a new person, etc. But wait, there is more!
Now you get to pay. When you click on the "Pay" button a new window opens asking for credit card information, etc. Very normal. Once entered, you click the "Send" button and nothing happens. No visual graphic feed back of a button being pushed, no change in the window, it just sits there. Did it go through, was I charged? Who knows? So…log out, log in. There is an option to view your documents, which I did and lo and behold, mine was processed! PRINT IT OUT and bring this with you. I then went through the same process for my wife's document and this time upon pushing "Send" (still no visual feedback) the payment window did change after awhile and things went well.
The only question left to be answered is how many times was I charged on my first attempt. Oh well, that's what disputing charges can be used for!
One thing I will point out is that the fee varies, depending on the nationality of the traveller. For Australians planning on making a trip to Argentina, take heart! Our fee is currently US$100. Even given the whims of the FX gnomes … it's still a good deal!
Cheers,
Jan
-Tim
http://www.migraciones.gov.ar/accesibleingles/?doc_viaje
The links to the visa system are down the right hand side of the page.
Cheers,
Jan
I had no clue to do this...
As a very basic part of any I Want to go Somewhere Else project you need to find out about other countries and their rules. They make their own rules about who they want to visit them and the procedures for entry. Identification is the basic building block of the international visitor/access process. You need an appropriate identification document (normally a "passport") issued by your country of citizenship to leave and then enter another country. You may also need extra documents (visas & possibly other documents) to enter other countries. It is always the responsibility of the individual traveller to find out what they need then to get it. As an individual, your situation is unique. But there is a lot of help available ... from the internet, your travel agent and from Tauck ... as mentioned above.
Cheers,
Jan
The whole thing was a most excellent, Monty Python "moment". I took a long time to type out my reply. Some questions are like that and some answers just ... um ... take longer to ... compose, really. Composure is not always readily at hand.
Yes, me, too.
Quite some years ago now, there was a change in the rules for Australians visiting France. We needed it get a visa! There were all sorts of horror stories about Aussie backpackers being turned back.:-0 .... Thankfully the usual EC rules now apply for Australians visiting France. At least one thing you don't have to check before you go. Still .... I always do check with DFAT because immigration rules often change. I know there is a facility with the US State Department that does a similar job of keeping US travellers up to date and aware of things. Always a good place to check.
Cheers,
Jan
Tauck are dammed if they do and dammed if they don't. To what level can, or should, they hand feed clients? At which point will other clients run screaming from the room because they can't bear the thought of travelling with a company that micro-manages to such a degree? Then there's the thought of travelling with people who need that much molly coddling. It would probably make them feel ill enough to book themselves into a boot camp for brain plasticity awareness instead of that Tauck trip.
It's a fine line between providing excellent service and going too far and turning the whole thing into a 1984, "we have ways of making you enjoy this", exercise. I am really surprised that Tauck goes to the level of hand holding they do. Surprised, amazed and yes, grateful. As an Australian, I have a different world view. I don't want a travel company telling me what to think or where I can go. I know from my extensive US travels and other travels with US citizens that as a mindset, it is the individual which is preeminent rather than the community. (Naturally there are exceptions, but as human beings we do generalise.) Frankly, I'm surprised that an individual would rely totally on a travel company to tell him every thing he needed to do, rather than taking on the responsibility of educating himself. That just seems counterintuitive within the (small r) republican* environment that is the US.
Cheers,
Jan
* A form of government, constitution, etc., belonging to, or characteristic of, a republic.
I haven't received my final documents yet, but I should within a day or so since I paid my final bill yesterday. I am figuring that the information will be in the booklet. Waiting for that booklet is tough though, since it will arrive here just eight weeks from departure. In my case, I leave for another trip in just one month. That could make getting the documents even more difficult.
I am not sure I know the answer. But that answer is probably way above my pay grade anyway. I am sure they'll work it out.
It is so much easier to do all that these days than it used be. Sure, I know someone's Personal Assistant might have had that role down pat in a working/business travel environment, but I've always taken care of myself in that regard. These days, the internet makes these things almost too easy. So the Tauck checklists is really handy! Of course, I have to read the tips differently because they are primarily written for a US clientele, but nevertheless the basic principles still apply.
My travel agent is a gem, but it's taken me many, many years to find someone who understands me (poor soul .... she deserves a sainthood!) and who is also there the next time I ring! The work force is such a fluid thing, particularly in travel. Font of all knowledge that she is, I don't think she's ever told me about visas. Mind you, I may not have asked, which brings us back to the "individual" discussion. The one recent exception was the reasonably new "this is not a visa because we said we'd never make you get one" pre-paid, online ESTA thing we need to get before visiting the USA. It was such an extraordinary event when it was introduced a few years ago that it was on the news. Australians would have had to be living in a tin shed in ... um ... the wilds of ... um ... Montana to not know they needed to get this I-can't-believe-it's not-a-visa thing before getting on a plane in Australia bound for the States!
I just live in fear that I might have forgotten something Really Important ... and that if I have, I remember in time to do it. Get it. Or at least so Nurse can pat my hand and administer the appropriate medication in time to restore order.
Cheers,
Jan
PS I hope your wonderful possum/merino socks have arrived! I'm sure you and your socks will have a wonderful time in Yellowstone then later, down on the Ice.
Thanks for the tip.
The trip is getting close and I am getting quite excited. Got my travel booklet today (and yes, it tells you in there about the Reciprocity Tax). We paid our tax, ordered our boot rental, got our appropriate clothing and hiking poles so all we are all set. Looking forward to meeting everyone, speaking Spanish (not bad) and being on a French ship (I speak French). I usually have good weather karma for vacations so lets hope it holds up!
At least on the summer trips, a couple of pairs of pants, some shorts and a pair of athletic shoes gets the job done. Winter coats, sweatshirts, big boots, gloves, hats, etc., can be a problem in the packing department. I'm sure it will all work out. It is too bad the Yellowstone trip is before the Antarctica trip, otherwise I could use the big red coat from Antarctica there. I might just send my heavy coat home before the flight south.
See you in Buenos Aires Sherri. Travel safely. I think you said your travel partner and you get in the day before. If so, we'll have to get together for a "walkabout" (as Jan would say) the day before and the morning of the tour. I'm busy looking for some activities before the tour starts since I get there three days in advance. It shouldn't be a problem.
I still would like to know if the guy that complained about Tauck not letting him know about the reciprocity fee made into Argentina.