YAC

Does anyone know of a private tour guide to use in Quito for a one day private tour post Galapagos trip?  Thanks

We will be playing golf 20 min north of Cairns in the morning. Is it worth the drive up to Kuranda in the afternoon? Where do we drive from? We are staying in Port Douglas; 1 hour north of Cairns. Thanks for your help!:confused:

anybody know the name of the restaurant for hugh portions of fish and chips in Manly as soon as you get off the ferry? thanks:)

EasyETA is the way to go! Visa coordinated with your passport number confirmed in 14 hours:D

Which town car would you recommend? We are a group of 6! thanks:p

Both of those locations are very handy for Federal Golf course. Nagee apartments are spread out all over Canberra with the office (where you need to pick up the keys) in Manuka itself, so if you go with them make sure the address of the actual apartment is in the close proximity to Manuka or it may prove rather inconvenient.:D

MicCanberra - you are my contact for Canberra! Did you like the Meriton Apartments? Also, do you have any good suggestions for restaurants nearby? The only one that sounded good to me was Water's Edge Restaurant. I really appreciate your help!:rolleyes:

On our first trip to Australia (years ago) we flew United and it was done automatically. At least that's the way I remembered it! So when we booked United tickets again for our upcoming cruise from Sydney, I assumed it was done. Luckily, I called and asked. They checked and said it had not been done, but they took all our information over the phone (passport numbers and details) and after a few minutes, they said it was attached electronically to our passports and would show up when they were scanned at the airport.

 

I'm not sure if all airlines will do this for you, but I would certainly call and ask. It was easy and free :D

I just called American Airlines and they do not do the Visas...so, I guess it's Easy ETA! From my research, it sounds like we need to get the visa before we leave and not on the plane like a landing card!:D

Sorry, I do not know about the Nagee apartments but have utilised the Meriton ones in Kingston several times, it is reasonably priced to stay there. Kingston is a suburb which Manuka is a shopping precinct nestled between Kingston, Griffith, Forrest and Barton both are fairly close to Capital Hill. I would think price may be an indication as they are probably fairly close to each other (300 m).

I would think being closer to Civic (Turner, Acton, Braddon) would be a better location in Canberra but this all depends on what you want to do and how long you are here for and if you have your own transport.:D

Thanks for the update MicCanberra. We're actually driving from Sydney along the coast before going inland to Canberra & then playing golf at Federal and staying in Canberrra overnight before the next drive to Lake Entrance & onto Melbourne. I just wasn't sure which apartments to stay at since both are about the same in pricing!:o

Sorry to butt in - question for MicCanberra. We're going to be in Canberra in March. Do you know anything about the Nagee apartments in Manuka vs the Meriton apartments in Kingston? Which one is the better one??? Thanks!!:confused:

I just used Easy ETA for the second time. We used them several years ago, too. Took me about 3 minutes to do 2 visas, got my receipt and acknowledgement in about 10 seconds, used PayPal which has a buyer protection service. It's all good.

 

The Aussies really know how to make it easy with their electronic (and inexpensive) travel visa.

Do you know why it's legitimate to use Easy ETA & not the official Aussie website for the travel visa???

Thanks:rolleyes:

Thanks for all your help! If it costs A$20 for the official site & Easy ETA, I'll stick to the official Australia site. I didn't go through all of the online submission, but I was leary about Easy ETA because they had the visa listed for $9.95 and the website didn't look very official! :D

You don't say where you are coming from - my brothers come over from the UK and South Africa and their TA's do it all for them each time they come - and they have been over a number of times - I recall my brother from the UK saying they paid 30.00 UK pounds each (he came with his wife and daughter and son in law)for their visa's two years ago on their last trip through his TA.

We're coming from the US. Thanks:cool:

Where's the best place to get an Australia Travel Visa? The internet shows some sites charging $9.95 and up to $39 for a visa. Is the Easy ETA $9.95 visa a legitimate service or we better off using the ones that are higher priced?????:confused: Thanks for your help!

forgot to mention - Sanctuary Lodge had mismatched walking sticks to loan but you were only able to use them on the Huaynapicchu climb - 1 1/2 hours each way; but we were greeted with "bravo...you made it" by the young ones. We were the oldest climbers for the day at age 60!:D

Here's my quick reply on our MP trip this past January and posted in March 2013. Flights from Lima to Cuz are unreliable. You DO need to confirm your flights and get a seat assignment at least 2 days in advance otherwise you will be bumped. You need to bring minimum luggage - they're very strict about luggage size & weight. We were delayed by 1 1/2 hours. We met someone at MP - too cloudy and they had to return to Lima. We stayed at the Westin Hotel in Urubama - has their own train station & used their travel agent on the premise to book our train & MP tickets that MUST be purchased in advance; otherwise the websites to purchase these tickets were difficult to navigate. Don't lose your landing card otherwise you will be charged the 10% hotel tax. Note that if you're planning to stay in the Sacred Valley and tour there; it's best to stay at the Westin in Urubama. The bridge that goes across the river went down in January & they were not allowing cars to go over; but people could walk across. Percy drove to SV & met us at the bridge to walk to his car; otherwise it's a 3 hr drive back around to see the SV.

Our private tour guide in Cuzco was Percy - great guide. (munditur salas [mailto:smunditur@hotmail.com]

Our private tour guide in Lima was Renalto - also great!

TaxiLimaPeru (google this for his email address)

Here's the MP info:

Tikariy: Teléfono: 51-84-581790 Celular: 993598373. (located at Westin Hotel in Urubama)

http://www.tikariy.com.pe/ Joel Saire.

Ejecutivo de Actividades -Urubamba.

11/11/12 - Cost: $350 per person; send guarantee for charge to room (We made all of our hotel reservations & paid for all of them ourselves)

The Vistadome trains have beautiful panoramic windows offering unsurpassed scenic views and photographic opportunities as you enter the Inca's territory in search for Machu Picchu Citadel. With glass surrounding them on all sides, passengers feel as if they are part of Peru's remarkable landscape. Entertainment on board, snacks and hot and cold refreshments are included on the journey

Details and tour timings:

January 6th:

 06:20 a.m. Meeting in the Lobby of Hotel Tambo del Inka and walk to the Hotel Train station (5min)

 06:50 a.m. Departure of train from Urubamba train station.

 09:24 a.m. Arrival to Aguas Calientes train station.

 Time at leisure to visit Aguas Calientes town and then Machupicchu.

 Over Night on our own in Sancturay Hotel -

January 7th:

 10:00 a.m. Visit to Huayna Picchu.

 02:40 p.m. Transfer from Machupicchu to Aguas Calientes by bus of Consettur

 03:48 pm: Board train for return journey to Urubamba.

 06:43 pm: Arrival at train station at Tambo del Inka and transfer to Cusco.

Services includes:

 Train Tickets Tambo del Inka Resort & Spa – Machupicchu and vice versa.

 Round-trip bus from train station up to the ruins.

 Entrance tickets to Machu Picchu for the first day and Huaynapicchu for the second day.

 transfer to Cusco

Have fun - I'm not going to check in on this website:rolleyes:

Thanks for your replies! We always like to put up a map to see the route and input or log information on the map! LOL about being magnetized to the wall with all of your bling!:D

When we were on the Princess cruises, the walls in the staterooms were magnetic so we could hang our maps on the wall. Does anyone know if the walls on the HAL ships are magnetic or should I bring some thumbtacks!!!:D

How far of a walk is the Enterprise car rental from the pier? thanks:cool:

The falls are 5 minutes by car, so maybe 15 minutes by bike. Bikes are for rent Loyalist Plaza.

Thanks Acey-SJ for the information. So, if we were to rent the bike, what route and sites would you suggest? Is it worthwhile to do the jet ride to the falls?:cool:

How long does it take to ride a bike to Reverse Falls vs renting a car and driving to the Falls? We're not sure which venue fits our needs better. Thanks!