Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
year-round, though hours vary from month to month. The summer hours are slightly
longer and winter times shorter, but typically you'll find the office open Monday
through Saturday from 9am to 7pm and Sunday from 10am to 7pm. There is an
information desk at Edinburgh International Airport, open typically Monday through
Sunday 7am to 6:30pm.
In Glasgow, the
Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board,
11
George Sq. (
&
0141/204-4480;
www.seeglasgow.com), is in the heart of the city.
In addition to piles of brochures, there is a small bookstore,
bureau de change,
and
hotel reservation service. During peak season, it's open Monday to Saturday from
9am to 7pm and Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Hours are more limited during winter
months.
WHAT'S ON THE WEB?
There is naturally a host of websites that vary in
usefulness. The British tourist board's
www.visitbritain.org
has the overall U.K.
picture. But for information on Scotland, it's probably better to go directly to
www.
visitscotland.com
or
www.toscotland.com,
both of which have detailed informa-
tion, offer brochures online, provide trip-planning hints, and answer e-mail queries.
A slightly more corporate view is at
www.scotexchange.net.
The other useful and
official tourism websites for Edinburgh and Glasgow are
www.edinburgh.org
and
www.seeglasgow.com.
For the most up-to-date events listings, go to
www.list.co.uk,
which also pub-
lishes a fortnightly cultural magazine. The two organizations that operate most of
Scotland's historical sites have websites as well:
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk
for
Historic Scotland and
www.nts.org.uk
for the National Trust for Scotland.
For an independent and eccentric view, search blogs in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Finally, though it is not clear how often they are updated, you might also have a look
at
www.scotland-info.co.uk,
www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk,
or
www.ram
pantscotland.com.
Entry Requirements
PASSPORTS
All visitors entering from abroad must have a valid passport with at least 2 months'
validity remaining. No visa is required. An immigration officer may also want proof
of your intention to return to your point of origin (usually a round-trip ticket). If
you're planning to fly from the United States or Canada to the United Kingdom and
then on to a country that requires a visa (India, for example), you should secure that
visa before you arrive in Britain.
OBTAINING A PASSPORT
For Residents of the United States:
Whether you're applying in person or by
mail, you can download passport applications from the U.S. State Department web-
site at
http://travel.state.gov.
For general information, call the
National Passport
Agency
(
&
202/647-0518
). To find your regional passport office, either check the
U.S. State Department website or call the
National Passport Information Cen-
ter
(
&
900/225-5674
); the fee is 55¢ per minute for automated information and
$1.50 per minute for operator-assisted calls.
For Residents of Canada:
Passport applications are available at travel agencies
throughout Canada or from the central
Passport Office,
Department of Foreign
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