Fellow travelers on this trip 6/11
Reaching out to any one on this trip.Would like to know what is the best way to get the required visas for Tanzania and Kenya.
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Reaching out to any one on this trip.Would like to know what is the best way to get the required visas for Tanzania and Kenya.
Comments
On line. The trip is wonderful.
Thanks ;I have read your posts.Looks like Tauck has given a travel document with details needed for online visa application including local contacts etc.Will give it a try .
Just a note for people, traveling 6/11:Was able to get TZ visa the main issues were trying to fit the image size for both the pass port photo and the pass port page.The return ticket was a problem to scan ; however that did not matter .Documents were considered complete once the photo and passport page was uploaded.
Kenya visa site does not have the entry date for our trip not open yet;looks like you can’t start the application till 90 days before.
No you can’t get the Kenya one too early. Tauck tells you in the info. But you can get the Tanzania one early and it does not start until the day you enter.
Kenya ETA came through quickly last week. Problem was the last valid date falls short of 3 days of our entry date.Applying for Kenya ETA took me from 3/14 through 3/15 AM ;their server does not work well ; when it worked the approval came instantaneously.Because the valid date was wrong I have sent two emails and tried calling multiple times with no success.I would not have applied if the dates were greyed out ; but they were not.I have since tried to apply again ; the website says system is undergoing upgrades and to call or email.Nothing works.Luckily I have time to get this done by camping out in front of my computer.Any ideas?
You can only apply for the Kenya visa 90 days prior to the end of your trip. The easiest thing to do is reapply if you did it too early.
When I last went to Africa via Tauck they clearly stated not to apply before 90 days, which is correct for Kenya but not Tanzania.
We applied for our Tanzania visa much earlier than that as we were going to be out of the county too much within the 90 day window. But the Tanzania website clearly says when you can apply.
To be honest, Tauck did not give accurate info. Of course, if you get the visa too early and then have to cancel the vacation, there is no recourse.
Thanks British.I have been trying to re apply ;however the message saying their system is being upgraded is constantly there;does not allow progression of the steps to complete the application.I am not one to give up but I might have to use the visa service after all.They have a great message at the website saying email or call including WhatsApp #or chat but no response.Don’t know if this is temporary.I would not have applied if the dates of entry were greyed out!
How about calling Visa Central to see if they are also having difficulty because of this before you put out big bucks for them to do it for you? I just checked the visa website and it still says about the system upgrade.
When does your tour begin? We went in 2019, we were the first group of people to ever stay in the One and Only Gorillas Nest. I’d love you to take pictures and post them of the landsacaping there, it looked as if it was going to be amazing once established.
Fortunately we don’t enter Kenya till 6/17.I will keep trying for a couple of weeks and see. I also contacted the Journey Prep team in Tauck.Because there was just 3 days difference between entry date and the last valid date,I thought may be 5hey will change the dates on ETA; especially when all the docs I provided indicate the date of entry..
I would not risk going without the correct date on the visa.
I had two different visas (Egypt and one of the Southeast Asia countries) processed by Visa Central that came back with incorrect dates. Fortunately, I had enough time to get them corrected. For that reason, I hesitate to use Visa Central. If I have to use them in the future, I'll be sure to do it early and carefully check the dates as soon as I get them.
Agreed .Can’t travel without proper visa.
To change the size of photo -- take a selfie with white background -- then send photo via email (share) to yourself -- options given is "you can reduce message size by scaling the image with one of the sizes below. Small (100KB); Medium (156 KB) Large (572 KB) or Actual size (1.5 MB) -- I guess you can resend received image and reduce photo size more if needed.
Tauck Journey Preparation Center 866-951-0077 answers questions related to Visa questions. (such as entry point and exit point),
Note: these are two of the most tedious visas needed -- I was able obtain online applying myself.
To Scan a document -- use NOTES app on iphone -- hit square with pen in lower right corner -- then hit "paperclip" -- Attach -- press scan document -- then save in lower left corner ----- then rename scanned document, if desired -- and then press Share to send -- this scanned document on Visa application .
Our worst visa experience was the one for India some years ago. It’s simpler now but back then my husband was so frustrated he was going to cancel our vacation! I had to beg him to keep trying.