Have you ever dreamt of traveling the world, moving country to country at your on discretion?
I know I have!
You spend months planning your dream get away, ticket is purchased, bags are packed.
Just when you get to the check in desk ready to take off to a far away land, the desk attendant asks you, “do you have proof of onward travel?”
and you freeze…
After your months of preparation, it’s one thing you didn’t come across.
What is proof of onward travel?
Onward travel can be a bus, train or plane ticket.
Proof of onward travel is something that shows the country you are visiting that you have an exit plan. They want to know you aren’t going to enter and never leave haha.
Most people don’t run into this issue because a round trip ticket includes proof of onward travel. You have a date you will enter the country and a date you will leave (within the travel visa limits).
The question is, “what about those of us who want to buy a one way ticket?”
We run into an issue as most countries don’t want you to visit if they don’t have a definitive departure date.
How to provide proof of onward travel?
Unfortunately for nomadic travelers we don’t always have our travel dates worked out at the start of our trips.
You could purchase a plane ticket and pay the fees to have your date moved back but who wants to throw away money like that… I know I don’t!
Luckily there is a website to help us out, they are called Best Onward Ticket.
They allow you to rent a ticket for 48 hours for $12.
You give them your name, email, departure airport and date of travel in exchange for a validated ticket!
Compare that to the airline ticket change fees of around $100 plus a the difference in the ticket and it’s a no brainer!
***Always allow 1 hour for the ticket to reach your email***
Now you can travel freely to your next location, whenever that should be 🙂
Quit throwing away your money. This is how I earn cash back on all of my travel purchases & online shopping… No BS. It’s easy and FREE to sign up.
Appreciate the recommendation. Let me try it out.
Airport immigration officials have never asked me for proof of onward travel in either Ecuador or Colombia, but some airlines do and some don’t ask when you’re checking in for a flight. It’s always good to be prepared though, especially if you have accommodations booked in advance and you’ll be charged if you miss your flight.
I completely agree with you James. I think it varies based on where you are going, but it never hurts to be prepared. I wasn’t aware of it until I ran in to the issue. Just wanted to share my experience with others so they can have an easier time traveling.