This was published 6 years ago
Readers' travel tips: Don't miss this detail on your ESTA when travelling to the US
Entry denied: If your ESTA is not attached to your current passport, you won't be allowed to travel to the US.Credit: iStock
CLOSE CALL
On checking in at Sydney airport for a flight bound for Honolulu, I was astounded to be told I had no approved ESTA (Electronic System Travel Authorisation) when I had in my hand a document showing my ESTA expires on a date that is still two months away. On further investigation, it was established that my ESTA was no longer attached to my passport which I had renewed a few months before. The airline could not check me in and I had visions of my husband boarding and me waving him goodbye at the gate.
The tale ends happily, however, as I managed to apply for an ESTA on my mobile phone (my fingers crossing over each other in my nervous haste), get an immediate approval and check-in in time for the flight. My lessons: your ESTA should be attached to your current passport, and check in early to manage unexpected situations like this.
Trekking in Sapa is a highlight of travelling in Vietnam. Credit: Jeremy Woodhouse
Minerva Santos, Baulkham Hills, NSW
See also: The best airlines and routes for flying from Australia to the US
SISTERS ACT
We recommend taking a sleeper train for the eight-hour train journey from Hanoi to Lao Cai and arriving in hills of Sapa to begin a trek before midday.
My travelling companion and I also highly recommend Sapa Sisters Trekking (sapasisters.com) as they proved to be considerate, excellent communicators and were completely trustworthy. They also organised our home-stay in Ta Van. Book a return train ticket from Lao Cai to Hanoi for an later departure. There is no guarantee of arriving back at Lao Cai train station from Sapa by any particular time.
Trekking in Sapa was the highlight of Vietnam.
Melissa Macdonald, Sunbury, VIC
SIN OF OMISSION
How could you leave out the magnificent Butchart Gardens not far from Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. It is a National Historic Site of Canada – 22 hectares of glorious gardens, with teams of gardeners keeping it beautiful.
Rub the nose of Tacca the bronze Florentine boar for good luck, wander around this amazing place, a botanical wonderland. See the blue poppies that were imported from China 100 years ago. This is a must for anyone interested in gardens (and those who just admire beauty).
Eve Park, Warrawee, NSW
WAITING GAME
Anyone visiting Paris and planning to see Notre Dame, be warned that extra security checks can cause very long snaking queues. On our recent visit we arrived at 10am and there was already a two hour wait to get in.
As we had seen inside the cathedral on a previous trip, we decided to do an external lap of the structure before heading off to the nearby Pantheon where there was no queue.
Peter Miniutti, Ashbury, NSW
FILL 'ER UP
I travel overseas on multi-country trips twice a year. I bring an empty plastic water bottle with me to the airport, place it in the screening tray alongside my plastic bag containing gels and liquids, and then fill it from a water fountain once through (Changi in Singapore has water fountains inside each gate).
In the many security screenings I've been through in the last 15 years, I could count on one hand the number of times security have not allowed me to take through an empty bottle.
And on the subject of water, I must commend Qantas for the way they provide water on long-haul flights – there's a bottle on your seat pocket on embarkation, it comes with meals, and they regularly walk through the cabin with trays of glasses.
Justine Sloane-Lees, Melbourne, VIC
THE ITALIAN JOB
My wife and I stayed for a few days at The Hilton Milan early in the month. On check-in I provided a credit card that promptly had the amount of our full stay "protected" – this is normal practice I am led to believe. The next day, I decided to pay €200 as a part payment using my Qantas Cash card.
Unbeknown to me, the hotel decided to "protect" the full amount of our stay on this card also, even though they had done so already on my normal credit card. Why they would do this is anyone's guess.
I checked out using my credit card but when checking my cash card balance later, noticed that the full amount had been debited and this card was out of euro.
I am still waiting for this to be rectified some three weeks later and have now concluded our trip. I know that one shouldn't use a pre-paid Qantas Cash card for hotels; however I thought, mistakenly, that the hotel having had a normal credit card on file wouldn't touch this card.
It's worth reminding travellers who use pre-paid cards not to use them at hotels, car rental or for cruise lines. Qantas Cash also told me this.
I still believe that we were badly treated in this instance by Hilton Milan.
Robert Doyle, Wollongong, NSW
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