Zanzibar is one of those countries that has introduced a mandatory travel insurance. This means to backpack it, you MUST have their travel insurance, not yours, not Jimmy’s and not Sally’s! As a backpacker who hates travel insurance and refuses to pay it, after companies stiched me up so many times two decades ago, it…
Read More
I finally arrived in Comoros in July 2025! It was the third country of my Rainy Summertime tour and my 235th recognised country on this whackpacking odyssey on a ball. What Is Comoros? What are Comoro Islands? It’s actually a bit similar to the whole British Isles, Britain, Great Britain, United Kingdom argument and there…
Read More
As part of my Rainy Summertime tour in 2025, I made The Maldives my first proper port of call. In advance of your visit to The Maldives, you need to get a The Maldives Traveller Declaration form, on that link I have already explained how to get that. This means that tourists visiting The Maldives…
Read More
“Need permission to land” – Robbie Williams. Tourists visiting The Maldives DO NEED a visa, however the process does not involve countless embassy visits, stress, nor even excruciatingly annoying online form filling. All nationalities, yes ALL (with a recent exception denying Israel), are allowed a visa on arrival as long as you satisfy the requirements…
Read More
“Johnny ‘crackers’ Knoxville” – Chris Bilsland. The Time I Was In A Country For 3 Days But Had A Passport Stamp In And Out On The Same Day! This has to be a nuts one. Doesn’t it? I arrived back in Tunis, Tunisia in December 2024 in what was an absolutely sentimental return…you see I…
Read More
“We are not born for departure, but we do learn to take it” – R.E.M. In the last 20 years of backpacking the world, only TWO countries charged me for departure tax to be paid in cash at the airport when leaving…and the shitlist reads… 1.New Zealand🇳🇿. 2.Sierra Leone🇸🇱. Of course they are not my…
Read More
“Last Minute.com” – Martha Lane Fox. First up, quell the fake news from fake tourists, extremists, unbackpacked governments and social media keyboard wizards. Burkina Faso is open, it’s friendly and it’s welcoming. Although, I almost called this post “How To Get A Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 Visa Online (Just About!)” “I shot myself hoarse for your…
Read More
“Another night, another dream, but always you” – The Real McCoy. How To Get A Tourist Visa For Niger At The Embassy In Berlin, Germany When you’re suddenly on a lifelong quest to whackpack / backpack (in the old format) to every country you recognise, it just doesn’t get any easier. Visa blocks, visa failures,…
Read More
As a fellow traveler who understands the freedom an Irish passport provides, I’ve mastered the art of spontaneous international travel. Here’s my comprehensive guide to maximizing visa-on-arrival privileges across the globe. The Power of an Irish Passport Irish passport holders enjoy remarkable travel privileges, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to over 180 countries. This makes…
Read More
“Round this town, you’ve ceased to be. That’s what you get for sleeping with the enemy” – Noel Gallagher. It was a childhood dream of mine to visit Cameroon. It was a long hard road since Benjamin Massing’s red card of 1990. It was easy for the Indomitable Lions to beat Diego Maradona’s mighty World…
Read More