Most people focus on flights, hotels, and sightseeing destinations when travel planning. But before any of that, it’s imperative to check visa requirements for the country or countries you’ll be visiting. While important, it’s not a fun step in the planning process and can often be a headache to track down all of the relevant data.
That’s why whenever I plan a trip overseas nowadays, I use Travelnow.info to help. It’s a free website that lets you explore visa requirements for almost every country in the world based on the passport you hold. Just select what passport you have on the toolbar and the interactive globe lights up with color-coded entry rules. At a glance, you can see which countries are visa-free, which offer visas on arrival or eVisas, and which require you to apply before you leave.
It’s also a breeze to navigate. Instead of digging through government websites or searching country by country on Google, you can pan around the map and get an instant overview of your travel options. If you’re curious where your passport gives you the most freedom, it’s a fun way to spend a few minutes dreaming up future trips.
The site also includes a few handy extras. There’s a Schengen calculator to help track the 90-days-in-180 rule, an itinerary planner that shows visa requirements for multi-country trips, and optional alerts when entry rules change.
Of course, this is just an independent tool and you should always double-check the rules with the destination country’s embassy before booking your flight—Travelnow.info even reminds you to do exactly that. But as a quick starting point for planning your next adventure, it’s one of the best travel tools I’ve come across.
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