Travel Plans
Passports
In order to enter all countries, you must have 6 months or more left on your passport before it expires, from the date when you plan to return home. (If the last day of your trip is November 1st, your passport must expire no later than May 1st.) If your passport is due to expire in less than 6 months from your planned return date, it is vital that you have it renewed before travelling.
​
Visas
It is the responsibility of each individual to check on the visa requirements in regards to their nationality and ultimate destination.
A tourist visa of up to 30 days will be issued upon entry into Indonesia for US, Australian, EU and UK citizens.
For all other nationalities and destinations please check the immigration laws pertaining to the passport you hold. Please check with your closest Indonesian, British or Mexican Embassy as the laws change frequently. This site is an excellent source for finding the locations of embassies and visa requirements, for Indonesia and all other destinations: World-Wide Visa Information.
For all Heaven and Earth workshops you only need a tourist visa.
​
Travel Insurance
We require that all attendees get travel insurance in case, for any unforeseen reason, they are unable to attend. Our cancellation policy is below and will be adhered to. The company we prefer is World Nomads, and for those over the age of 70: Allianz. There are of course many other reputable companies to be found.
Travel insurance will assure you that your airfare will be reimbursed, in case for any reason you need to cancel, and there may well be policies that cover additional expenses. In the event of the organisers themselves cancelling, they will not be held responsible for reimbursing any expenses aside from the workshop costs (you would be reimbursed the full amount you paid for your Heaven and Earth Workshops deposit or reservation).
Many credit card companies have built-in travel insurance for any purchases made through them. It is advisable to check on this before purchasing another policy.
​
Cancellation Policies
Cancellation Policies apply to everyone out of fairness to all participants. Please purchase travel insurance to ensure you against any unforeseen illness, injury, inclement weather, natural disasters and such.
For ALL cancellations more than 75 days before a workshop there is a $500 cancellation fee.
For some workshops, the non-refundable deposit may be more than this. Please double check.
For ALL cancellations 31 - 75 days before a workshop, the fee is 50% of the workshop package price.
For ALL cancellations 0 - 30 days before a workshop, the fee is 100% of the workshop package price.
If a situation arises where a workshop has to be cancelled, 100% of monies received will be refunded.
​
ENGLAND
​
For those travelling Internationally, the closest airport to Shrewsbury is Birmingham (BHX) followed by Manchester (MAN), but it is also relatively easy to get there from both Gatwick and Heathrow.
​
Birmingham International Airport (BHX) is on the train-line that goes directly to Shrewsbury, it conveniently runs through the airport. It takes about an hour and 15 minutes and a one way fare costs around $25 USD. Pre-paid tickets are often cheaper and can be purchased through Trainline but it can be problematic if there are flight delays, unless you choose a flexible fare.
​
Manchester International (MAN) is about a 10 minute walk to the train station and still only about an hour and 45 minutes from Shrewsbury, but there is one train change at Crewe. The one way fare is about $35 USD.
​
Uber or local black taxis are readily available for getting from Shrewsbury to the Abbots Mead and only costs about £6. It is about an 11 minute walk but there is a steep hill and most people will have luggage so walking is only recommended for the luggage-free or more adventurous.
​
From Gatwick - By train the shortest travel time is just over 3 hours. The cost is between $110 - $140 USD.
From Heathrow - By train the shortest travel time is just over 4 hours. The cost is between $130 - $180 USD.
​
For all British train travel this is a handy phone App.
​
If you choose to rent a car, from Heathrow it is approximately 2 hour and 30 minutes, or from Gatwick 3 hours.
​
There is free parking at the Abbotts Mead but it is not necessary to have your own car.
Visa information for the UK can be found here.
​
INDIA
For 1st time travellers to India, we realise how daunting it can be to arrive in such a completely different culture. We are committed to making the travel experience as comfortable and nonthreatening as we possibly can.
Indian events will be held in Goa, a small state on the west coast of Southern India. Goa is relatively small and narrow, with an Arabian Sea coastline of about 100 km. The location we have chosen is Palolem Beach, to the far south. It takes some time to get there, but the journey itself is a fascinating one, and well worth the effort.
The closest international airports to Palolem are Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai (BOM), and Dabolim Airport (GOI). Although Dabolim is an International airport, only certain budget European airlines, Qatar, and a limited number of other airlines fly there.
Dabolim airport is about 65 km from Palolem, which is a drive of around an hour and a half away by road from the workshop location.
Travel from Australia and Europe to India is not so complex and we are very happy to assist with these arrangements, please contact us directly.
Those who decide to spend time in Mumbai and then take the train to Goa are advised to book their tickets well in advance, an extremely reliable and simple way to book train tickets is through Clear Trips. Those arriving by train will disembark at Margao station, and we will arrange car pick-up if you would like us to. It is about an 8-hour train journey from Mumbai to Margao, and very comfortable in either a 1st or 2nd AC class compartment. If you are lucky enough to be in one with clean windows you will have a splendid view of the countryside, and since many trains leave Mumbai in the morning, you will travel primarily in daylight hours.
From Margao train station to Palolem takes about an hour and 10 minutes by taxi.
There have been some positive changes in acquiring Indian visas lately, for most countries they can now get them online.
​
​
PORTUGAL
Flights to Portugal arrive in Lisbon (LIS). There are some direct flights to Lisbon from the USA, and it is an easy and inexpensive destination from the UK and EU. Trains are also a wonderful choice from the rest of Europe.
There don't appear to be direct flights from Australia to Portugal, and routing will depend on the airline used.
Special prices can be found on-line or through promotional offers from the individual airlines. If we become aware of any we will post them immediately.
​
SILK ROAD: KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, UZBEKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, TAJIKISTAN
​
Please note that this tour begins in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and ends in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, therefore a multi-city ticket will be required. Most flights currently go through Istanbul, Turkey.
​
The only visa that is at all complicated is for Turkmenistan, but our tour company will take care of the application process and all paperwork for each person. Only the visa fee ($100 cash; notes in good clean condition!) will be due at the border crossing.
​
US passport holders need a visa for Uzbekistan. E-visa is available, and easy to get it. People above 65 generally travel visa-free and there is no need to anyone to physically go to embassies for their visas.
​
Heaven and Earth Workshops and our travel company will be fully available to assist with all travel plans and visa requirements for this trip.
​
Miscellaneous Travel Information
It helps immensely if you have some flexibility on dates, and can play around with them somewhat, plus travel mid-week can be more reasonable.
We recommend that you check the frequent flyer program for the airline you choose. For example, China Air is affiliated with Delta, so through their SkyMiles programme, you can accumulate almost 18,000 miles on a roundtrip ticket to Bali from Los Angeles. Cathay Pacific is affiliated with American Airlines and is quite generous in their mileage requirements to Asia.
Affiliate frequent flyer programs can be found on the respective airline's website. Joining these programmes is free.
We are happy to assist, in whatever ways we can.