Passport Question

[tummysmummy]

We are going on the Celebration on 6th April, and my hubby has realised he has less than 6 months to go on his current passport. I know that the entry requirements of certain countries say you must have at least 6 months validity from date of return. We will be visiting Egypt and Israel so can anybody advise? Do we need to make a quick trip to the passport office? :o

[pmh]

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/passports1/

 

Entry Requirements - Passport Validity Israel

If your passport has less than six months’ validity, you may be refused entry by Israeli immigration authorities. If you suffer immigration problems on entry to Israel, our ability to intervene is limited, as Israel has the right to refuse entry to anyone it wishes.

 

Entry Requirements - Passport Validity egypt

Your passport should be valid for at least six months.

 

 

This advice is from the foreign & commonwealth office, link above. Hope this helps.

Pauline

[kruzseeka]

I'd get that trip to the passport office organised!!! :eek:

[milamber]

We were in the same boat (no pun intended) a couple of weeks ago. Thomsons say that the passport has to be valid for 6 months from the date of entry for Cyprus, though this conflicts with the FCO advice which simply says it has to be valid for the stay.

 

Advice for Egypt and Israel has already been given. You might be o.k., but we decided it wasn't worth the risk.

 

We sent our daughter's passport off first class on a Monday and got it back on the following Monday so you have plenty of time as it's simply a renewal. There is no need for any of the countersigning on either the photos or the form. Just a couple of photos, a couple of sections on the form and the fee.

[tummysmummy]

I'd get that trip to the passport office organised!!! :eek:

 

Yes either that or just leave my husband behind!! Would serve him right for not checking on these things earlier! :D

 

Thanks for the advice milamber - will get him to do the form and get it off tomorrow, and hopefully the dash to Glasgow won't be needed!

 

Not taking any chances when it comes to Israel as they go over your passport with a fine tooth comb! Have had experience of Israeli customs before and don't really want to tangle with them again! First time we were there on a cruise, Thomson had made tons of errors in the information they gave to the customs officers (spelling errors etc) so when they were cross-referencing with our passports they were having to ask nearly a third of the passengers to step aside and wait. We were an hour and half late getting away on the excursion!! :rolleyes:

[tummysmummy]

Meant to say got my tickets today!! Whoop whoop!!! Will be spending this evening planning my excursions I think! :D

[kruzseeka]

Meant to say got my tickets today!! Whoop whoop!!! Will be spending this evening planning my excursions I think! :D

 

 

Hi there tummysmummy

 

I'll be really interested to find out which trips you decide to do - and your opinion of them. We do this itinerary in late April and I'm especially interested in the excursions for Israel and Egypt. Please let us know how it goes - and I'd really appreciate some feedback on the excursions. Have a great time - and enjoy your planning!:D

[jaceyar]

If you use the Post Office check and send service, your passport will be back in about 8 days.

[tummysmummy]

Kruzseeka - I'd be happy to report back on ports/excursions. Watch this space! :)

 

We've done some of the ports before with Thomson, so can give you an idea of what some of the excursions were like...

 

From Port Said we did the Pyramids & Tombs, mainly because the Tutankhamen treasures were on world tour at the time so we thought it would be better to leave Cairo Museum to another time. That said though, I would the Pyramids & Tombs trip was excellent and I felt we probably saw alot more than we would have if we'd done the museum. The step pyramid at Sakkara and the giant statue of Rameses II at Memphis are were worth seeing! Whatever trip you choose though you will have to put up with the obligatory stop at the Papyrus Institute for souveniers and the guide will try to flog you stuff before you even get there!! :rolleyes:

 

Alexandria we did our own thing, but wish we went on an organised tour as the hassle we got from taxi drivers on the walk into the town was unbelievable. Didn't like the experience at all, but I remember watching the cruise DVD preview on the TV in the cabin and thinking everyone looked like they were having a whale of a time on the excursion so was obviously missing out on something!! :D Will probably do Greek & Roman Alexandria this time round.

 

We did Jerusalem & Bethlehem from Ashdod - wasn't a good start to the day due to problems already mentioned and it meant that the rest of the day was very rushed. There were more problems in the afternoon because the Israeli guide jumped off the bus before we got into Bethlehem because he couldn't cross into Palestinian territory, and so we were unescorted with only a driver who didn't speak any English for the afternoon! This was the first time Thomson had come across this issue so were unaware, and we all got compensation for being abandoned! Now I believe a new guide comes aboard on the other side, so you should be ok. I want to go back to Jerusalem because there is just so much to see, but I felt that everywhere we went there seemed to be the same tour groups turning up - would have been good if the itinerary was reversed or something so that the same groups weren't all trying to fit into the same church at the same time etc!! :rolleyes: I am thinking of doing the Jerusalem Through Time trip this time. There isn't really anything else to see in Bethlehem other than the Church of the Nativity. And the place is entirely different from what you imagine Bethlehem to be so be warned!! :)

 

Also been on the Paphos trip from Limassol and saw Aphrodite's Rock, Tombs of the Kings and had some free time at the harbour. Was a very pleasant excursion and guide was extremely informative!

 

It is Haifa that I really want to see - in fact it's the reason we're doing this itinerary - as my grandad spent some time there in the army. Really looking forward to seeing it. Alanya looks nice too but may just do our own thing there.

[kruzseeka]

Kruzseeka - I'd be happy to report back on ports/excursions. Watch this space! :)

 

We've done some of the ports before with Thomson, so can give you an idea of what some of the excursions were like...

 

From Port Said we did the Pyramids & Tombs, mainly because the Tutankhamen treasures were on world tour at the time so we thought it would be better to leave Cairo Museum to another time. That said though, I would the Pyramids & Tombs trip was excellent and I felt we probably saw alot more than we would have if we'd done the museum. The step pyramid at Sakkara and the giant statue of Rameses II at Memphis are were worth seeing! Whatever trip you choose though you will have to put up with the obligatory stop at the Papyrus Institute for souveniers and the guide will try to flog you stuff before you even get there!! :rolleyes:

 

Alexandria we did our own thing, but wish we went on an organised tour as the hassle we got from taxi drivers on the walk into the town was unbelievable. Didn't like the experience at all, but I remember watching the cruise DVD preview on the TV in the cabin and thinking everyone looked like they were having a whale of a time on the excursion so was obviously missing out on something!! :D Will probably do Greek & Roman Alexandria this time round.

 

We did Jerusalem & Bethlehem from Ashdod - wasn't a good start to the day due to problems already mentioned and it meant that the rest of the day was very rushed. There were more problems in the afternoon because the Israeli guide jumped off the bus before we got into Bethlehem because he couldn't cross into Palestinian territory, and so we were unescorted with only a driver who didn't speak any English for the afternoon! This was the first time Thomson had come across this issue so were unaware, and we all got compensation for being abandoned! Now I believe a new guide comes aboard on the other side, so you should be ok. I want to go back to Jerusalem because there is just so much to see, but I felt that everywhere we went there seemed to be the same tour groups turning up - would have been good if the itinerary was reversed or something so that the same groups weren't all trying to fit into the same church at the same time etc!! :rolleyes: I am thinking of doing the Jerusalem Through Time trip this time. There isn't really anything else to see in Bethlehem other than the Church of the Nativity. And the place is entirely different from what you imagine Bethlehem to be so be warned!! :)

 

Also been on the Paphos trip from Limassol and saw Aphrodite's Rock, Tombs of the Kings and had some free time at the harbour. Was a very pleasant excursion and guide was extremely informative!

 

It is Haifa that I really want to see - in fact it's the reason we're doing this itinerary - as my grandad spent some time there in the army. Really looking forward to seeing it. Alanya looks nice too but may just do our own thing there.

 

 

Thanks so much for all that useful info. I'll take a copy of your comments so I can look at them alongside the destinations guide to weigh it up when we get there.

 

We will certainly do excursions to Cairo and from what you have said and from previous impressions I'd picked up (to say nothing of recent issues) I think we'll take an excursion in Alexandria too - I think the Greek and Roman may be the one will be the one we'll do.

 

We do go to Haifa too - I'd thought perhaps we may do our own thing there and visit the gardens which look quite impressive. We'll have three trips in four days - Alex, Cairo and Ashdod - and two of those very long ones too so think perhaps a more relaxed day wouldn't be a bad thing. We have friends who did a DiY approach and enjoyed Haifa and found walking around no problem at all.

 

Our friends thought Alanya was lovely too and again had a Diy day. Actually, we don't go to Alanya as it's strictly speaking not the complete Holy Land itinerary - it's the relocation from Limassol to Marmaris - we do all but Alanya from your itinerary then do a few Greek ports of call before ending up in Marmaris from where we fly home. I'm really looking forward to it as the Isreal/Egypt destinations will all be new to me so we'll be seeing as much as possible and then taking a bit more of a relaxed approach to the other ports.

 

Thanks again for your help - it won't be long now before you go. Have a great time - I'll look forward to hearing all about it. :)

[tummysmummy]

Have been having a look at info on Haifa on the web and it seems like quite an easy place to get around on your own, so that might be worth thinking about for us too.

 

I know what you mean - having Port Said and Ashdod one day after the other is a bit exhausting if you decide to do the trips, which most people will. Found that the last time - didn't get back on the ship till nearly 10pm on way back from Cairo, then had to be up bright and early for another long day at Jerusalem next day! :o

[Malch_uk]

I'd get that trip to the passport office organised!!! :eek:

 

Don't forget to register the new passport details on-line with Thomson when it arrives.

[tummysmummy]

All sorted today so looks like I'll have my husband tagging along afterall! :D

[kruzseeka]

All sorted today so looks like I'll have my husband tagging along afterall! :D

 

Well that's a relief - I think!!! :confused: :D:D