Applying for a non-immigrant US Visa

Ever had the feeling those US folk would really rather not have foreigners come visit? If you've stood in line at Immigration at a US entry point or, worse still, had to apply for a visa in advance you could be forgiven for thinking that was the case. However, some of us are still not deterred and now that our friends at the Massachusetts Travel and Tourism Office have asked us to come and film their spectacular state, the hoop jumping could no longer be avoided. I thought I would share my experience...

Filming/reporting/journalism requires an I Visa and so it was that I ended up in a queue outside the US Embassy at 7.15 am this morning, clutching my passport and assembled documents. I was not alone - ahead of me were 12 other early birds and by the time the doors opened for security at 7.30, the queue behind me was disappearing around the corner of Grosvenor Square.
Luckily the sun was shining but if its raining/cold you are in a for a grim time.

8am is the designated appointment time although it turns out everyone is told the same time and it is first come, first served. Security being as it is, you are not allowed to take any electronic items into the Embassy - including mobile phones, i pods, even car key fobs. 2 out of the 12 ahead of me fell at the first hurdle and were sent with tail between legs to a shop down the road that's making a killing offering short term safe deposit for such items.

After 3 separate security checks, I made it into the building, just before 8am. Another check of paperwork and then you are assigned a number. Then its up into the waiting area where you watch the screens like a hawk til your number is called. This took about 15 minutes then there was another check and fingerprints and then a further fingerprint check at another window until you are sent back to your seat to wait again. It doesn't seem to go in number order so I guess some visa types take longer to process than others. I've heard stories of others waiting hours at this point (there are toilets and a cafe area) but, as it turned out, mine was just 10 minutes.

A nice man from the Embassy gave me the once over, asked a few pertinent questions re my intentions stateside and then stared at his screen for a very long time (well, seemed it anyway) until he finally announced I was good to go. A quick stop at the courier service to organise having my passport sent back to me and I was out by 8.30am. Result!

And the damage... well, a 5 min phone call to set up the appointment in the first place (charged at £1.60 per minute = £8), the charge for the visa itself $130 (approx £86), peak rate train ticket to get to London in time for the 8am appointment, £22.50 and £14.20 for the courier cost of the passport - a grand total of £130.70. Of course if you don't happen to live within striking distance of London (or Belfast) you'll have more travel costs, time wasting, possibly even overnight accommodation on top of that.

They don't make it easy do they?!

Anyone else had good/bad experiences applying for visas? Feel free to leave a comment.

Late season skiing - best snow for 25 years

Sharing information just in from the Ski Club of Great Britain...

Conditions in the Alps and Pyrenees are as good as they have been for 25 years, according to the Ski Club of Great Britain. Skiers and boarders wanting to get to the Alps for a break over the Easter holidays will find pistes in excellent condition with good snow cover off-piste and deep snow bases.

Al Morgan, Information Manager at the Ski Club of Great Britain said, “there is still plenty of time to fit in a ski holiday before the end of the season. Many tour operators have fantastic deals available and run holidays right through to May. This is definitely the year to make the most of the excellent snow conditions. Skiing in March and April offers long days for skiing, sunny terraces for leisurely lunches and less people than the busy periods. Get out there if you can!”

Resorts open until 26th April include: Flaine, Les Arcs, Avoriaz, Meribel, La Thuile, Bormio, Davos, Wengen, Zermatt, St Anton and Lech.

Resorts open until 3rd May include: Val d’Isere, Val Thorens, Are, Pas de la Casa, Soldeu, Ischgl, Obertauern, Obergurgl, Solden, Andermatt, St Moritz, Cervinia and Hemsedal.

Only wish I had the time to go...

travelgurutv on Twitter

Its the latest social networking tool that's hard to ignore - celebrities, journalists and seemingly well, everyone seems to tuning in to Twitter right now. Including me! (twitter name travelgurutv)

For the uninitiated, its basically gossip online. But the great thing is, its gossip that you can tailor to your own interests - you choose to 'follow' people who you think might have something interesting to say but, if and when you find out that they don't, you simply unfollow them. Nothing personal, just tailoring the information flow. Likewise people do the same to you and before you know it, you're getting great little nuggets of info from a whole host of people all around the world. For those interested in travel its brilliant - from breaking news and travel articles to great website finds and local travel tips. It works best as a two way street - its all about sharing information. Ask a question and almost certainly someone will be willing to give you an answer.

Posts are limited to 140 characters so short and sweet is the order of the day - and what you can't say in a couple of lines can always be expanded on with links to full articles and blog posts.

To find some travel folk to follow, feel free to start with me, (Twitter name: travelgurutv) and my list of follows - look forward to tweeting you soon...

alltop lists travelguru.tv

In our continued efforts to spread the word about quality travel video online, we were delighted to get noticed by alltop.com, the site that claims to have all the top stories. Apart from the fact taht we are in it, its travel section is well worth checking out for all sorts of new leads, travel tips and generally interesting stuff.

New visa waiver online system for travel to US

Anyone planning to travel to the US should be aware that, as from 12 January 2008 the old Visa Waiver forms that you used to fill in on the flight have gone and been replaced by the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA). Essentially its an e-version of the old paper form but it now has to be completed online at least 3 days before you intend to travel.

Once approved, you get an authorisation number which is valid for 2 years. Travellers without an approved ESTA are advised that they may be denied boarding, experience delayed processing, or be denied admission at a U.S. port of entry.

You can only apply for travel authorization via the ESTA Web site at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

P&O Cruises Ventura

I bet the news desks could barely conceal their delight when they began receiving stories from disgruntled passengers on board P&O Cruises Ventura Christmas cruise. The headline in the Sunday Times was 'Ocean cruise ends in almighty brawl'. Reading between the lines though it sounds more like there were a few rowdy passengers (mainly kids) with no notion of how to behave whether on dry land or at sea. No doubt at the time they caused unpleasant scenes but I bet that the P&O staff have seen it all before and were more than capable of dealing with it - the ultimate sanction being simply to put disruptive passengers ashore which is exactly what happened here.

It seems a bit of a non story to me. The gist of it was that this particular cruise had been heavily discounted and therefore attracted what the Sunday Times describe as 'chavs'. This is quite a big assumption which I am sure must have caused considerable offence to those passengers who are perfectly well behaved but simply know a bargain when they see one!

Irrespective of price, cruising has always been considered an aspirational holiday that appeals to all sectors of the market - just as you can get 'undesirable' types in 5 star luxury resorts, so you can on a cruise ship too. The notion that cruising is only for the upper classes died out long ago.

We recently filmed on P&O Cruises Arcadia - this is a child free ship, so rowdy youths are never going to be an issue. That said, on board there was certainly a complete mix of age groups and social backgrounds. The type of people on any given holiday will of course have a big impact on your enjoyment. For that reason we try and include feedback and comments from people we meet on location so you can judge for yourself.

Of course there are never any guarantees - obnoxious people travel just like anyone else! The point though is that on a large cruise ship, just as in a large resort, it is pretty easy to avoid people. From my experience, what tends to happen is that different 'types' and age groups tend to gravitate towards different activities and styles of venue on board and for the most part, everyone is happy.

What do you think? Have you been on a P&O cruise? Does cheap holiday = 'chavs holiday'?

Jade Mountain, St Lucia

During our latest shoot in St Lucia we stayed in several different resorts but for me, Jade Mountain, near Soufriere in the south of the island really stood out.

Opened just last year, this is an extraordinary hotel in all senses of the word. Set above the long established and popular Anse Chastenet Resort, Jade Mountain rises up from the very top of the hill like some sort of Thunderbirds docking station. The main part of the building connects to the slope by mean of concrete bridges which are actually all individual pathways leading to your suite. The hill side face of the building is a mass of dark wood louvres with almost hidden doors but, beyond those doors are the most breathtaking suites I have ever seen.

For a start, each of the 24 suites is huge (the largest is over 2000 sq ft). They are all of course achingly stylish, they each have a large, totally private infinity edge pool but the most stunning feature is that the 4th wall is completely open and offers uninterrupted views out to sea and across to St Lucia's iconic twin Piton mountains. There are no phones, no TV and internet access only in reception - this is about pure escapism and tuning in to nature in the most luxurious and decadent fashion. The open wall means that you fall asleep to the nightime orchestra of the forest below, you wake to the sound of birdsong and you lie in your wonderfully comfortable four poster bed watching dawn break over the Pitons.

On hand to cater to your every whim is your 'major domo' - a personal butler who will unpack for you, iron your clothes, book any trips you might want, organise room service if you can't make it up to the Terrace Restaurant, in fact they will do anything you ask. Its the ultimate in understated decadence and, due to the high level of privacy provided by the location and the nature of the suites, its fast becoming a favourite with celebrities. Discretion is the watchword of Jade Mountain's amazing staff although one did let slip to me that Johnny Wilkinson has been recent guest.

Of course, it doesn't come cheap - expect to pay around £3-4000 for 7 nights. But, for a spectacular Caribbean wedding location, romantic honyemoon or indulgent hideaway - look no further! Watch the video at travelguru.tv

Using hynotherapy to cure flight sickness

Taking advantage of the August 'lull' and spurred on by the generally gloomy news and weather, we've just grabbed a quick week away in sunny Sardinia - and very lovely it was too. The highlight of my week though was undoubtedly the flights - no, not because I'm completely barmy and love the sheer lack of comfort and service provided by what we have come to know as 'low cost' airlines but - because this was quite literally the first flight in 7 years I have taken with my middle son where he has NOT been sick.

Hard to say what started it, but basically from the age of 9, Sam has not been able to go near a plane without puking. And for the son of a travel writing parent, that's quite unfortunate. I don't just mean feeling rough - we are talking gut wrenching, consistent vomiting - terrible for him and everyone around him. The problem has got worse as he's got older - for a strapping 6'3" teenager its bad enough being shoehorned into a cramped seat but when you know you are going to be ill as well its bordering on the unbearable.

We knew it wasn't motion sickness - over the years we've tried everything on the market from wristbands to standard travel sickness pills through to prescribed heavy anti nausea drugs. We also knew it wasn't a fear of flying as such but the issue was certainly more psychogical than physical. I guess because of the escalating severity of the problem, it has become more of a fear by association i.e. flying equals nausea

But...a breakthough, we finally decided to try hypnotherapy. Researching the possibilities on the internet I came across http://www.hypnotherapy-online.co.uk/ Run by professional hypnotherapist Paul Hughes, the site offers an opportunity to create a personalised CD to target specific problems. You complete an online form which gives some basic information about the problem, its negative impact as well as positive influences in your life and Paul records a 35 minute CD using the information.

In our case the results were immediate - we received the CD a week before our scheduled holiday and Sam listened to it 3 or 4 times, reporting a positive effect and increased confidence that he could 'crack it'. And crack it he did!! On the outbound flight we were not 100% convinced - he wasn't sick but certainly felt rough. But on the return flight, he was his normal self and able to sit up, look out the window and, if not actually enjoy the flight, at least tolerate it.

I can't tell you what a relief it is for him and us - we need to get a few more flying miles under our belts to be certain he is 'cured' but there is no doubt at all that the hypnotherapy gave him the confidence to face the problem and deal with it. Its certainly the best £30 I've ever spent!
If you suffer from a similar problem I strongly recommend giving it a try.

Make the going easy ex Stansted...

I recently had an dawn flight out of Stansted and the thought of driving there for check in at 4am was just too much. So I scouted round for nearby accommodation and was pleased to find Harwood Guest House, a cosy B+B just 10 minutes down the road. Run by a lovely young couple, Helen and Ian, there are 6 en suite rooms available - carpet choices are bit dodgy in places but it has a very homely feel and I can vouch for an extremely comfortable bed, good in-room facilities and it is spotlessly clean. I'm told the cooked breakfast is great but, if you have an early morning start and can't face eating, they'll send you off with a packed alternative. Better still, they do a great deal combining accommodation with airport parking - poor old Ian has a tough life but is there with a smile no matter what time needed to run you to and from the airport and take care of your car in their large car park while you are away. Great value with rooms from £60 per night plus only £25 for the airport transfer/parking service. Highly recommended to de-stress early morning Stansted departures.

An invitation to...local gurus

By nature, a travel writer is constantly in search of new destinations, new angles, emerging trends so its rare indeed for our regular travelgurus to revisit the same place. The breadth of their combined knowledge is unrivalled but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, its hard to beat up to date, first hand recommendations.

Being resident in a tourist area would certainly qualify you as a local guru. Equally those who own second homes or simply have fallen in love with a location and make it their annual holiday base have a font of 'guru' knowledge that deserves to be shared...

What we are after is the kind of information everyone strives to find in the course of a holiday - the best places to stay, eat and visit, hidden gems, avoiding the crowds and top tips on where the locals go. The sort of advice that can save time, effort and costly mistakes.

To start us off we have an insider guide to Soller, Majorca penned by one the travelguru team, Sally Dowling. Having visited many times, Sally and husband Clive are big fans of this once little known village on Majorca. To view Sally's notes on Soller just click on the Local Guru label.

To join in and become a 'Local Guru' simply send your details to cathy.bartrop@travelguru.tv
And, if you are reading Local Guru notes and want to add some of your own advice, feel free to add your comments.