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Post by Lynn on Apr 11, 2004 8:33:58 GMT -5
Please explain "open ended" airline ticket. I'm planning on traveling throughout Europe for 3 mos. without a set agenda and am not sure what my "ending" country will be. Is there a way to purchase a round-trip airline ticket, without a confirmed location on the other end? Hope you know what I mean.
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Post by LHR02 on Apr 11, 2004 8:39:58 GMT -5
Yes I do know what you mean....and Kim had something called 'back to Amsterdam' in her travel plans which allowed for them travel back to Amsterdam which was their departure point from wherever they ended up. Her's is the only such time I have heard of such a thing though. One can get 'open return' tickets which allow you to later decide what day you want to take that flight...or open jaw which has a specific return date from a different city than you arrived at.
Kim? What was the specifics of your plans and where did you get that?
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Post by Kim on Apr 11, 2004 10:17:19 GMT -5
OK, what we had was called a Back to Amsterdam ticket through KLM airline.
As we flew in and out of Amsterdam through KLM, they offered a ticket that allowed you to fly from anywhere in Europe back to Amsterdam to fly out. It was about $150 CND if I remember correctly.
We also had an open ended ticket which meant we could fly home from Amsterdam any time within a year.
With the open ended ticket, it's almost always in and out of the same place, that's why we liked the Back to Amsterdam thing. It's only through KLM though as far as I know.
You know what I would do? Get your 3 month open ticket in and out of somewhere - make sure it's a major center like Amsterdam or London. Then put $200 aside and don't touch that money and when the time comes use that to get a ticket on one of the budget airlines to fly back. You will need to book your open ended ticket at least a week in advance when you want to come home so you can book a cheap flight at the same time.
We actually had to stay a couple days longer when we were ready to come home as all the flights were booked up, we left it too long. Also had about a 7 hour layover in Minneapolis cause we had to take a weird route. (Went to the Mall of America during that time but that's another story.. ;D)
Kim
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Post by Lynn on Apr 11, 2004 12:18:32 GMT -5
ok, let's see if I understand this! I can book a round trip "open ended" ticket, flying into Amsterdam, then about 1 wk. prior to coming home I call and tell the airlines what airport (country) I'm flying back home from? Is that correct? Or.....would it be easier and cheaper if I just purchased a one-way ticket to get back to Amsterdam (from wherever I am, for example Greece) to fly home?
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Post by Lynn on Apr 11, 2004 12:19:49 GMT -5
dumb question  how do I go back into a reply to make corrections/changes? thanks |
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Post by LHR02 on Apr 11, 2004 12:57:05 GMT -5
hit 'modify' above your message to go back into it and make changes. ;D And no, that is not correct.  Open ended means you do not have a set return date, but your departure city is the one you arrived in. You would need to call the airlines to get a seat on a return flight for the date you want to return, but it would be up to you to arrange transportation to get to the city you need to fly out of. |
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Post by Kim on Apr 11, 2004 13:19:26 GMT -5
You can only modify your messages if you a registered user.
Kim
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Post by Lynn on Apr 11, 2004 13:26:33 GMT -5
You can only modify your messages if you a registered user. Kim sorry, I am registered...just don't have the hang of this yet. I logged in, but I don't know why it says guest. Let me try again...thanks! |
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Post by Lynn on Apr 11, 2004 13:29:01 GMT -5
Kim, You mentioned that you could fly home from Amsterdam anytime within a year. I understood that one could only stay a total of 90 days in the Shengen areas. Is that correct? From what I was told, the only way I could stay more than 3 mos. was on a one yr. work visa or a student visa...how were you able to stay? Just curious...thanks for your help!  |
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Post by LHR02 on Apr 11, 2004 14:07:44 GMT -5
I'll answer for her They did not stay all that time in Amsterdam...she and her 'man' did 17 countries during that time and were on the go most of the time. They just began and ended in Amsterdam. Most EU countries will allow you 90 days without any sort of visa required...if one is traveling about, 90 days is usually way more than you need in country. |
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Post by Kim on Apr 11, 2004 22:18:53 GMT -5
Ging is absolutely right, that's exactly what we did. Chances are you won't stay in one country for that length of time - the minute you enter into another country your 90 days starts again.
We didn't have a visa for any country (although were we to go now, we would need one for the Czech Republic) and no one ever asked for one.
Kim
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Post by Lynn on Apr 12, 2004 6:41:04 GMT -5
Ging is absolutely right, that's exactly what we did. Chances are you won't stay in one country for that length of time - the minute you enter into another country your 90 days starts again. We didn't have a visa for any country (although were we to go now, we would need one for the Czech Republic) and no one ever asked for one. Kim Are you sure about the 90 day thing starting all over once you leave a country? I was told that it's a TOTAL of 90 days combined. In other words, if I went to Amsterdam then Germany, Italy, Greece...I could not say longer than 90 days total for all countries combined. I've been doing a lot of research regarding the Shengen rule and everything I read says the same thing. Am I wrong?? If that's the case, I would love to stay more than 90 days! |
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Post by Kim on Apr 12, 2004 11:18:10 GMT -5
Just let me make sure first, you are American if I remember correctly right? I just don't want to say this for any other nationality as it may not apply.
No, it's not 90 days total or no one would ever be able to go for longer than 3 months.
For example, this is from the France embassy website:
Short-stay visas
Short-stay visas (visas de court séjour) are issued for stays up to 3 months and entitle the bearer to enter and stay in France. They thus perform the function of authorizing residence in the country for the visa validity period.
Citizens of the following countries do not require a visa for stays up to three months in France:
the fifteen countries in the European Union; other countries in the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway); Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brasil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland, United States, Uruguay, Vatican and Venezuela.
But they will need a visa if they wish to stay in France for more than three months.
It will be the same on every countries embassy website - as in you can stay in their country up to 3 months.
The whole key here is that you are from a country where, if you stay for less than 90 days in a country, you don't need a visa if you are only going to visit.
If you still feel uncertain, your best bet is to call your local consulates and double check.
Kim
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lynn
Senior Travel Member
Posts: 59
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Post by lynn on Apr 15, 2004 14:38:43 GMT -5
OK, what we had was called a Back to Amsterdam ticket through KLM airline. As we flew in and out of Amsterdam through KLM, they offered a ticket that allowed you to fly from anywhere in Europe back to Amsterdam to fly out. It was about $150 CND if I remember correctly. We also had an open ended ticket which meant we could fly home from Amsterdam any time within a year. With the open ended ticket, it's almost always in and out of the same place, that's why we liked the Back to Amsterdam thing. It's only through KLM though as far as I know. You know what I would do? Get your 3 month open ticket in and out of somewhere - make sure it's a major center like Amsterdam or London. Then put $200 aside and don't touch that money and when the time comes use that to get a ticket on one of the budget airlines to fly back. You will need to book your open ended ticket at least a week in advance when you want to come home so you can book a cheap flight at the same time. We actually had to stay a couple days longer when we were ready to come home as all the flights were booked up, we left it too long. Also had about a 7 hour layover in Minneapolis cause we had to take a weird route. (Went to the Mall of America during that time but that's another story.. ;D) Kim Kim, How do I get an open ticket for 3 mos. don't I have to give a return date when I book the ticket? If so, how would this be an “open” ticket, when I have a return date? Sorry, but I don’t understand…hoping you can clarify. Also, I heard it is much more expensive for open-ended tickets, is that true? Aalso, do you know of any agencies that do open ended tickets. I tried STA and Student Universe but neither offer them. thanks again! Thanks for your help! |
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Post by Kim on Apr 15, 2004 16:01:52 GMT -5
You can get a 3 month open ticket, which means you can come back anytime in 3 months. There is also what we got, a year open ticket, which means you can come back anytime within a year.
With an open ticket, you don't give a return date - that is how they are "open tickets" as opposed to regular - does that make sense?
We got ours through some travel agency in a mall - you should be able to get them through most agencies - I would just phone around.
Kim
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how do I go back into a reply to make corrections/changes? thanks
Open ended means you do not have a set return date, but your departure city is the one you arrived in. You would need to call the airlines to get a seat on a return flight for the date you want to return, but it would be up to you to arrange transportation to get to the city you need to fly out of. 