Get ready for ETIAS, the European Travel Information System

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ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorization System. It is a completely electronic system which allows and keeps track of visitors from countries who do not need a visa to enter the Schengen Zone. In a way, it resembles the U.S Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which serves a similar purpose. The legal procedures to pass the ETIAS have started in 2016, and the system is expected to be in place by 2021.

The strategy for a safer and more secure Europe? Simply put, going digital. In July of 2018, the European Union (EU) lawmakers gave the go-ahead for ETIAS, a totally digitized European Travel Information System. ETIAS is just one initiative the European Parliament has adopted to help make Schengen Area travel safer for all and a lot easier for legitimate, short-term travelers coming from the United States.

ETIAS, the European Travel Information System, provides qualifying visitors a visa waiver when traveling to the Schengen Area, a group of European countries that have agreed upon who can visit and how long they can stay. The Schengen Area was created by the European Union, or EU, in the spirit of harmonious and free travel between borders and has grown to 26 countries – most are in the EU but some are not. Given the influx of international travelers to the Schengen Area, more comprehensive security checks have had to be put in place. ETIAS, much like ESTA in the United States, will create centralized data on who is visiting and why, providing enhanced security for all.

Approved ETIAS applicants can travel in and between countries in the Schengen Area, for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. Qualifying travel purposes include tourism, short-term business reasons such as a conference or client meeting, short-term education such as an internship, and medical procedures. ETIAS approval is valid for 3 years with no travel limit, as long as the traveler has a passport not expiring for 90 days from the day of arrival abroad. However, your ETIAS expires when your passport does.

Europe is a fabulous travel destination, here are a few attractions you can visit. Surrounded by snowcapped mountains, Innsbruck makes you feel quite insignificant in the midst of nature’s striking Alpine mountain range. Said to have a duel personality, the area offers both pristine landscapes and a sophisticated urban center. Altstadt, the medieval town of Innsbruck, draws you in with its unique architecture and many shops. While you are strolling the streets of the Altstadt you can visit one of its famous landmark, the Golden Roof. This house was constructed for the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I, and it was decorated with thousands of gilded copper tiles that create the appearance of pure gold.

As stated, the ETIAS application is expected to only take about 10 minutes to fill. After 10 minutes, you will receive a notification that your session has timed out and you might be asked to start from the beginning. To avoid this, try to go through the application carefully and save your information. See extra info on Official Etias.

Top 5 luxury hotels and luxury travel discounts with membership

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Searching for a travel club to get some exclusive offers for your luxury hotel bookings? The Boulders in Arizona: The Boulders found in Arizona is one of the majestic hotels found in America. The scenic view of boulders of the mountain and the awesome Sonoran Desert is the premiere of the hotel. It is considered as first-class spa resort as well. This hotel best suits you if you would like to have a world-class treatment. The rooms have the fantastic view of the desert and designed with luxury. Two high-class golf courses can also be found on the establishment.

Gritti Palace, Venice: A 15th-century palazzo turned decadent luxury hotel, design supremo Chuck Chewning was behind the palace’s elaborate renovation, adding to the already elaborate high Venetian Baroque design with layers of silk, marble and Murano glass. Today more living art museum than luxury hotel, a stay here requires time dedicated to admiring the acres of marble from floor to ceiling, the priceless chandeliers, and oak parquet, and custom Rubelli silks. Beyond all the interior splendor, Gritti Palace’s most magnificent jewel lies beyond its windows – direct views of the Grand Canal. Ogle it from canal-facing rooms or classically Venetian Club del Doge restaurant or seasonal terrace, one of the most coveted tables in Venice. A cocktail in the elaborate Bar Longhi is essential (named for the Italian master whose paintings hang in the bar), as is a treatment in the Acqua di Parma spa or a cooking class at the hotel’s famed culinary school.

Montage Palmetto Bluff : This sprawling estate in Carolina Lowcountry provides an one-of-a-kind experience that uniquely blends southern history and almost otherworldly natural beauty: rivers, misty marshes, old oaks draped with wispy Spanish moss, and salty breezes. The main hotel building looks like a classic southern mansion, and the 50 Cottages and Cottage Suites are simultaneously homey and utterly luxurious, with working fireplaces, screen porches, and gorgeous bathrooms. The multi-bedroom Village Homes are also luxurious, but lack some of the nuances of the cottages. Guests can enjoy a range of recreational facilities, including golf, bicycling, tennis, croquet, kayaking, and swimming (in the two pools), and the luxury spa is highly acclaimed. It’s not an overstatement to say that the Montage Palmetto Bluff is one of the most special properties in the entire country.

Set on the banks of the perennial Klaserie River, Kapama Karula is the flagship five-star lodge of Kapama Game Reserve. Meaning ‘place of peace’, this ultra-luxurious and prestigious lodge exudes calmness and depicts the pinnacle of elegant safari accommodation, with wraparound views of the African bush enhancing the overall sense of tranquillity. Modern whitewashed wood and vast sections of glass, complemented by a neutral colour palette, give Kapama Karula a contemporary African feel. The open-plan lounge and bar are spacious yet cosy, with skylights drawing in natural daylight and moonshine. Kapama Karula has twelve suites, each exquisitely decorated and with generous private space. Each suite has its own outside deck area, full-sized heated swimming pool and sun loungers for relaxation.

Privateupgrades is a members-only travel club, with more than 20 years of experience, which provides you with a luxury accommodation for both your leisure and business trips and gives members an added value on hotel bookings. With your Membership, you will become a VIP and have access to numerous exclusive Upgrades, Amenities, Discounts and Promotions for Luxury Hotels worldwide. Benefit from our Preferred Partner Status and our relationships with hotel owners and managers at the most renowned hotels and receive a personalized service that will not only transform your entire stay but will also take your hotel stay to a new level. Our Travel Designers have connections throughout the world and therefore have an unique network to not only “open doors” but also to extend unique benefits just for you. See extra info on Exclusive VIP Hotel Member Club.

Is Travala the best online travel booking website to book hotels?

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Is Travala the best website to book hotels ? In my opinion yes, and here is why. First is their very large offer of hotel rooms, with access to suppliers such as HotelsPro, HotelDO, Restel, HotelBeds and many more on board, there’s no wonder Travala can offer access to 567,928 Properties in 82,311 Destinations across 210 Countries. So practically there is a hotel room waiting for you anywhere you may want to go.

But there are many travel booking websites with a big offer so what makes Travala stand up ? Well, you can use crypto currency to book hotel rooms! Many people think crypto is something that stays in computers with no value in the real world. A big surprise! You can use your crypto currency to book vacations, flights and hotels.

And the final strong point is their interface and affiliate model. What i love about Travala is its ease of use and the user experience it provides to customers that might not know a thing about cryptocurrencies. With a familiar interface akin to the likes of big centralized players such as Expedia, Priceline, etc, it’s more of the same on the design front (which is a good thing).

Did you believe that your Bitcoins are useless ? Wrong! Here are some awesome hotels where you can book with Travala! Nestled in the foothills of the Cederberg Mountains north of Cape Town, South Africa, lies Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retrea, an ideal refuge to feel the pulse of an extraordinary and ancient landscape. The lodge offers a distinctive wilderness experience among open plains, ancient sandstone formations, and over 130 sites of bush art paintings, some dating back as far as 10,000 years. The breathtaking beauty and timeless tranquility of the wide open plains, majestic rock formations and crystal clear waterfalls, reconnects you with with life’s true essence. As a Relais & Châteaux property, the lodge offers splendid luxury, generous hospitality and all modern amenities. Bushmans Kloof consists of 16 luxurious guest rooms and suites, as well as Koro Lodge, a private, fully-catered villa close to the main lodge.

And some more luxury hotels where you can book rooms with Travala using your crypto currency! The Palms in Las Vegas: Let’s admit, Las Vegas doesn’t come right away into your mind when thinking about a luxury hotel. Nevertheless, your opinion might change once you check-in at the hotel named “The Palms”. It is well known in America for luxurious and classy guests. The hotel has large rooms with an impressive interior design. The material and infrastructure used inside the room are tremendous and make it superb when you stay in. The suites on the rooftop are the best rooms for you if you would love to have a movie star life. The rooms have Jacuzzis that view down the Strip and sophisticated touches like a media room, personal gyms, and pools. If you would like to experience Las Vegas (City of Sin) differently, then The Palms best suits you. Book your hotel now on Travala and get 20 USD sign up bonus!

With successful systematic growth since its launch in 2017, Travala is changing the future of the travel industry as a Next-Gen Online Travel Agency (NOTA), providing a revolutionary, easy to use booking platform combining decentralised technologies and tokenized incentive structures. With more than 500,000 properties in over 200 countries, Travala has some of the cheapest prices you will find. When you register, you will get $20 reward back for a booking of $50 or more. This promotion will expire 90 days from when you register.

Holidays abroad and top destinations with members-only travel club

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A sumptuous palace that was once the home of France’s Kings, the Louvre is the most important of Paris’ top museums. Visitors enter the museum in the courtyard of the palace at the glass pyramid (designed by Ieoh Ming Pei in 1917). The Louvre Museum possesses more than 30,000 artworks (many considered masterpieces)-from antiquities to European paintings of the 15th to 19th centuries. It is impossible to see it all in one visit, but tourists can focus on a particular gallery, such as classical sculpture, Italian Renaissance art, or 17th-century French paintings, or take a self-guided tour to see the Louvre Museum’s highlights. The most famous piece is the Mona Lisa or La Gioconda (or La Joconde in French) painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1503-1505. Other exceptional works are the ancient Venus de Milo sculpture, the monumental Victory of Samothrace of the Hellenistic period, the immense Wedding Feast at Cana painting by Veronese (1563), and Botticelli’s frescoes. Also a must-see is Liberty Leading the People (1831) by Eugene Delacroix, depicting the Parisian uprising of July 27th to 29th, 1830 known as “Trois Glorieuses” (“Three Glorious Days”).

Do you want to enjoy the blue sky and the warm sun ? Miami is a fabulous destination to relax. What can you do in Miami? Little Havana, the Cuban district of Miami, isn’t known for its wealth of tourist attractions but more for its distinctive cultural scene. Restaurants and specialty food shops line the streets, and Latin music drifts through the air. Locals socialize in the open spaces. Murals grace the walls of buildings, showing important Cuban figures and scenes of daily life. Calle Ocho is the main thoroughfare running through the district and home to much of the activity, but Little Havana spreads well beyond, into the surrounding streets and avenues. For people-watching, the area offers a great deal of entertainment. And of course, this is the place to come for Cuban cuisine. The Calle Ocho Festival, held in March, is a celebration of Cuban culture and the largest of its kind in the world. Over the years this street festival has expanded to include more Latin American cultures and is now a great way to experience Latin American music and Caribbean cuisine.

Get Upgraded in the best hotels around the globe. Have you ever wanted to spend a day and a night on your own beautiful island? An island paradise smack-bang in the middle of gorgeous clear blue seas where there’s no one else around?A place where all you have to do is jump in the water when it gets too hot? Well, the island you see in the image above is one of those. We stayed there on our second night. Well that’s San Blas. It gets even better. We had a Kuna Native visit us. An hour after he left he dropped off some ice cold beers we could enjoy around the fire on our own island. I guess Robinson Crusoe wouldn’t have minded that service! The people in your group will make it what it is. That’s a fact that you can’t change.But the chances are that most of the people you will meet on these types of trips are open minded, interesting and willing to get to know you. So don’t worry about that too much and just look forward to meeting them. Below you can see the image of our group – representing 7 nationalities: English, German, Chilean, Dutch, Canadian, French and the US.

Thailand and Phuket are a fascinating location if you are looking for adventure and ancient history feeling. This is a favorite stop for history buffs and photography enthusiasts, as there are many lovely photo ops in this ancient capital of Thailand. Ruins of this old city still stand proud despite enduring centuries of battle and exposure to the elements. Sukhothai’s Old City is an UNESCO World Heritage site, and much has been invested to restore and preserve one of Thailand’s most significant historical sites. Attractions here include many wats, which speak to the country’s long history of Buddhist devotion. Each structure tells its own story of the old society, with relics and influences from other ancient civilizations appearing in the design of each.

Indonesia is an incredible destination, so much colour, a must see. Few places suggest wild, untamed adventure like Borneo. One of the most ecologically diverse places on earth, Borneo is home to orangutans, exotic birds, Sumatran rhinos, pygmy elephants, and an array of other creatures. In Kalimantan, in Indonesian Borneo, you can travel down the Kapuas River, the longest in Indonesia; visit villages of the indigenous Dayak people; and observe foreign influences from China, Malaysia, and even Europe in the ports and cities along the way. You can also go trekking in the rainforest for a chance to see some of Borneo’s famed wildlife in person. Bukit Baka-Bukit Raya National Park is a conservation area in West Kalimantan that includes two of the highest mountains in Borneo and supports wildlife such as orangutans, clouded leopards, slow lorises, sun bears, and many other species.

Privateupgrades is a memberclub for people which love luxury hotels. Privateupgrades offer 2000 luxury hotels which the members can book online for the same price as on the hotel website – the difference is that members will get additional benefits like free breakfast, free upgrades, mainly 100 USD Hotelcredit, free nights, free airport transfers, free massages,.etc. Privateupgrades is perfect for people which stays in a 5 star hotel and loves to get VIP attention and estimate that the hotel will go the extra mile to serve them in VIP-style. Read more info on https://www.privateupgrades.com/.