money later. Tim and his family were not allowed to board the plane to Canada: ‘We thought we’d arrange it. But it’s not like that’ | My guide: money

When did you play this?
“Last August. At the beginning of this year we thought it would be fun to go to Canada. Our daughter was born there and we lived there for several years. We planned our trip in great detail for four weeks in August, with friends who also had two children and wanted to join us. They were traveling from Holland to Toronto, we’re from Barcelona. From Toronto we were traveling together to Halifax, where we rented motorhomes. ”

And then?
“We arrived at the airport in good spirits on a long flight with young children. There we were rejected.”

why?
“We arranged a Canadian visa online a week ago. We received the children, but we did not receive our children.”

But you already know that, right?
“The day before departure we called madly, but we couldn’t control anyone. It’s just an administrative formality, so we thought; arrange it at the airport. Not so. After a lot of calls and waiting, the check-in desk was closed and the conclusion was that they weren’t allowed Us to get on the plane.”

What did you do next?
“Surprised, we booked a hotel near the airport with a pool. The children, who waited for hours in the heat, were able to cool off for a while. Since it was now clear that the visa issue would not be resolved quickly, we made a radical decision: fly near the Canadian border As far as possible, rent a car and explain the situation at the border. So we bought four tickets to New York that evening for 5,000 euros.”

But that’s a lot of money, isn’t it?
“A godsend, but also the only chance to save our holiday. Each day we arrived later, the chance of being able to carry the carriage was less and our friends, who had arrived meanwhile, continued on the way.”

Did you come to America
“The night before we left, I had arranged US visas, on my mobile and with bad hotel wifi, but I couldn’t sleep anyway. Via Frankfurt we flew to New York with the most expensive tickets we’d ever bought. While boarding, My daughter said, “Now our ticket is going to work, Dad!” The kids were unaware of the whole crisis.”

“In New York they naturally wanted to know what we were doing. I made up a story that we wanted to see in upstate New York, see nature. That’s how we got to New York, where we secretly had a very nice day. Only there was no rental car available, so we took the train north The next day. It took us ten hours. We walked to the border with all our bags and two sleeping children. If they said there; it’s not possible. What next? It was exciting, frustrating and tiring, we’ve already traveled for more than 72 hours.”

And the?
“We went to the border guard room and they said, ‘Welcome to Canada.’ A friend of a friend who lives there picked us up by car because it was still a 2.5 hour drive from the airport. We slept in the hotel for a few hours and flew to Halifax early in the morning. We met at the airport with our friends and could To begin our vacation.”

What did you learn from that?
“From now on, I will arrange my visa well in time and print everything like an elderly person from ANWB, and stick to the rules. And: if things do not go as expected; make better than that. In the end, we lived an expensive but memorable adventure” .

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