I am in the midst of booking a RTW for Jan 2008. I was wondering if anyone had any advise on how they acquired visas for multiple countries. Did you use an agency or just do it on your own with each consulate? We plan to go to South Africa, India, Singapore with LCC to Vietnam and Cambodia, then to Bali and last to the Marshall Islands. Any advise would be welcome

more info would be helpful

- what is your citizenship?
- how long will you stay in each country?
- are you going to try and work there?
- how close are you to an embassy or consulate?

in general - most of the countries you list (I think) don't require visa for US citizens or issue them on arrival. the country's embassy's website or state dept is the best source of info

if you have plenty of time, the visa services don't really do anything of value. they only really help when you need to turn it around quick. Most of them have contacts at the embassies and can get rush orders turned around faster than a general applicant can

US citizen
Looking to stay in each place about a week
Located halfway between Baltimore and Philly

I guess booking this far out I should just send my passport to each consulate
My other question is how to get Vietnam and Cambodia visas without knowing exact dates of arrival and departure

Oh sorry, all play no work!

SkyTeam?

Yes Skyteam RTW award. As a side note, thanks UpgradeMe. I did a lot of research for my last RTW (only 1 visa) here on FlyerTalk and all of your info and postings were very helpful!

India and Vietnam are the only ones you'll have to get beforehand. Cambodia is available on arrival and you don;t need visas for the others.

Thanks. Mr Coopervanning and I went to Cambodia a couple of years ago and I couldnt remember if we got visas before we went or at the airport.

DO have at least 4 photos handy.. it can be those machine booth ones.

You need 2 for the Cambodian visa upon arrival (US$20), and you'd need one for the Temple Pass (I assume you'll be visiting the temples while you're there).. A few years ago, you can only get the visa if you applied in advance. Now to attract tourism, Cambodia (and other ASEANs) have simplified visa applications.

Same for Indonesia as well, but you're not going there this time, are you?

Always good to have one spare lying around.

Yes Bali is in Indonesia, however they do not require any photos, its just cash and stick. Also regarding Cambodia, I didn;t need photo's when I got one, maybe it has changed.

As you are in MD (I used to be in DC) - wouldn't it just make the most sense to hit Mass Ave in the city and knock it all out?

Can I do that on a day trip to DC? It would be worth it in the sense that I hate having to send my passport thru the mail. Also, does Mr Coopervanning need to be there or can I just take both passports with me and do it myself?

Cambodia has required one photo for VOA for as long as I know, but if you don't have one, no problem, they will gladly accept either one picture of George Washington or a couple of green pictures of Thailand's King Adulyadej as a substitute.

Wife and I did both Vietnam and India in the past 16 months. I'm in NYC so I did both in person. India involved showing up in the morning with my paperwork and picking it up that afternoon. Be prepared for long lines and crowds, much like India. For Vietnam I dropped them off and came back a week later to pick it up. For the arrival date problem in Vietnam I'm pretty sure I had ours dated a day or two before we actually planned on arriving, just in case we changed our sked while on the trip.

S.

A couple of years ago, I used TDS (http://www.traveldocs.com/) to get my visa for China. While I too was initially uncomfortable letting my PP out of my sight, I have to say that it was a great service and I was very happy with how everything worked out. I used it because the China embassy didn't accept mailed passports. You had to drop it in person, though I don't know if they still have that requirement. But TDS even caught something on my app that would have been a red flag, thereby potentially jeopardizing my visa, and let me know about it before submission. They held my passport while I got them a revised app and I had my passport back about a week after. I was told that they have a central office and just physically take the passport to the corresponding embassy. Being in MD it may be easier just to go into the city, but at least you have other options. For me, the $40 or $50 charge by the company was less than I would have paid in gas, let alone taking a day off work. Maybe they would do you a deal having multiple visas.