Advice needed: Planning a LONG stopover in Dubai when going back to South Africa

[raka_dier]

I hope someone can help me with the following:

I'm heading back home to South Africa in August and want to schedule a stopover of 3-5 few days in Dubai to visit a friend who lives there.
I know this can be done, but how does one go about doing it?

Secondly, on such a stopover what happens to your luggage? Can I get it in Dubai or does it get transferred to SA automatically?

Has anyone done this or at least know how to do it?
It'll be much appreciated!

Thanks!

[ellaskorea]

Sorry to not be of any help, but I was wondering, do South Africans need visas to visit Korea for a short term (like under a month?)

[ame]

It's nothing special.  You have a flight in, and then a few days later you have a flight out.  You will collect your luggage on entry to Dubai then re-check it when you go to the airport to leave.  If you book through a travel agent they should be able to make sure everything is done properly.

Since you are actually entering the country I think you need to get a visa, so this might be the most tedious thing for you (South Africans seem to need a visa for *everything*).  It's not the same as a 2 hour layover when you never leave the airport, so you never "enter" the country.

[Jozigirl]

I'm assuming you're flying Emirates if you're going via Dubai.  If you book online, it might give you an option of a longer stopover; if you're booking through a travel agent, ask them to book the stopover.  Essentially, you'll be on two different tickets (it's basically a multi-destination ticket) since the stopover is longer than a day. 

When I flew from NY back to Jhb via London, I did a 7 day stopover so I had to collect my luggage when I arrived in London.  However, when I flew from Canada to Jhb via London, my stopover was only 13 hours so my luggage was automatically transferred to the next flight even though I spent the day in London City with a friend.  My flights were on Virgin Atlantic and I could specify my stopover online.  I'm not sure if Emirates offers the same thing though.

 If your stopover is less than a day, you can ask for your luggage to be tagged to the final destination when you initially check in.  It's a good idea to check that it is done even if they don't ask because you don't want to get home and discover your luggage is still sitting in the airport of your transfer country  ;)

[teacherM]

Yes, you need a visa.. AND it is a lot of trouble if you don't have someone in Dubai to sponsor you...

In Cape Town there is a company called MDS Visapak..

Good luck
Dubai is nice for a week or so! Shopping is great, Atlantis Water-park is also awesome.

[Jozigirl]

Sorry to not be of any help, but I was wondering, do South Africans need visas to visit Korea for a short term (like under a month?)

If the visit is less than 30 days then South Africans don't need a visit if they're coming here on holiday.  However, it would be a good idea to confirm this with the Korean Consulate in Pretoria just in case it has changed in the time I've been here. 

[ame]

Sorry to not be of any help, but I was wondering, do South Africans need visas to visit Korea for a short term (like under a month?)

Amazingly, it looks like South Africans can come to Korea for up to 30 days without a visa!

http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/InfoDetailR_en.pt?categoryId=2&parentId=385&catSeq=401&showMenuId=375

[raka_dier]

Thanks for all the replies.

I checked on Emirate's website and they do have an option for extended stopovers of up to 14 days.
I just need to check about my luggage then.

Here's to travelling!

Baie dankie!

[DMZ]

You need a visa for Dubai. Emirates can actually help you get one, just have a look at their website. It's always better to book through the actual airline anyway.

You do not need a tourist's visa for Korea provided your stay is less than 3 months.

[Natalie89]

Thanks for asking this question its my plan as well. Goodluck, I hope you let us know how the stayover goes

[ame]

You do not need a tourist's visa for Korea provided your stay is less than 3 months.

For South Africans it's 30 days.

[ihmls]

Hi

Is your school paying for your flight?