INFO ABOUT TRIP TO AFGANISTAN

Everyone who wants to visit afghanistan must have a valid passport with visa and an international certificate of health.

REGISTRATION

TOURISTS SHOULD FILL IN THE REGISTRATION FORM IN THE HOTEL THEY ARE STAYING AT.

RECOMMENDED VACCINATIONS

Specialised travel-medicine clinics are your best source of information; they stock all available vaccines and will be able to give specific recommendations for you and your trip. Ask your doctor for an International Certificate of Vaccination (otherwise known as the yellow booklet), which will list all the vaccinations you’ve received.

Yellow fever vaccination is mandatory if arriving from a country where the disease is endemic. The World Health Organization also recommends the following vaccinations for travellers to Afghanistan:

Adult Diphtheria & Tetanus Single booster recommended if none in the previous 10 years. Side effects include sore arm and fever.

Hepatitis A Provides almost 100% protection for up to a year; a booster after 12 months provides at least another 20 years’ protection. Mild side effects such as headache and sore arm occur in 5% to 10% of people.

Hepatitis B Now considered routine for most travellers. Usually given as three shots over six months, a rapid schedule is also available, as is a combined vaccination with Hepatitis A. Side effects are mild and uncommon, usually headache and sore arm. In 95% of people lifetime protection results.

Measles, Mumps & Rubella Two doses required unless you have had the diseases. Occasionally a rash and flulike illness can develop a week after receiving the vaccine. Many young adults require a booster.

Polio Only one booster is required as an adult for lifetime protection.

Typhoid Recommended unless your trip is for less than a week. The vaccine offers around 70% protection, lasts for two to three years and comes as a single shot. Tablets are also available, but the injection is usually recommended as it has fewer side effects. Sore arm and fever may occur.

These immunisations are recommended for long-term visitors (more than one month) or those at special risk:

Japanese B Encephalitis Three injections, with a booster recommended after two years. Sore arm and headache are the most common side-effects.

Meningitis Single injection. There are two types: the quadrivalent vaccine gives two to three years’ protection; the meningitis group C vaccine gives around 10 years’ protection. Recommended for long-term visitors aged under 25.

Rabies Three injections in all. A booster after one year provides10 years’ protection Side effects are rare – occasionally headache and sore arm.

TRANSPORT

Ariana Afghan Airlines is the country’s national carrier and flies to many of the major cities in Asia and Europe. For information on domestic flights, check with Ariana overseas and local offices or see flyariana.com.

TAXI

Fares are reasonable and shall be negotiated with the driver; however, taxis are not recommended outside major cities or for travel off paved roads.

ACCOMODATION

In bigger cities of Afghanistan you can find a nice hotel easily, it is getting harder while travelling trough the villages. Mimo, że hotele znajdujące się poza Kabulem trudno można zakwalifikować do jakiejkolwiek kategorii, większe miasta oferują zadowalające zakwaterowanie. W Kabulu znajdują się różne hotele, od ekskluzywnych Inter-Continental po różne dobrej jakości hotele pierwszej i drugiej klasy, a także niedrogie kwatery o niskim standardzie, rozmieszczone na terenie całego miasta.

INTERNET

There should not be any problem with connection to the internet in big hotels like Inter-Continental and in internet cafe's in Kabul.

MOBILE TELEPHONE

In Kabul you may buy SIM cards, telephones and telephone cards as well. Afghan Wireless and Surava are the most common operators.

GETTING THERE & AWAY

There are few direct flights to Afghanistan from outside the immediate region. The most popular route from Europeor North America is to fly to Dubai, from where there are plenty of connections to Kabul. Coming from the east, the most convenient hubs to catch flights from are Delhi and Islamabad.

Entering by land, Afghanistan maintains open border crossings with all its neighbours except China .

Afghanistan’s traditional position as the crossroads of Asia can make entering the country by land an evocative trip. Sneaking over the high passes like so many Great Gamers or journalists with the mujaheddin (Islamic fighters) is, however, no longer necessary: border procedures are, for the most part, a formality these days.

AIRPORTS & AIRLINES

Currently only Kabul International Airport (KBL;  020 2300 016) receives commercial flights into Afghanistan. There is an ATM and currency exchange at the airport. At the time of research, Ariana had announced a directKandaharDubai service.

WHEN TO GO

Assuming that the political climate allows you to make a trip, the most pleasant time to explore Afghanistan is spring or autumn, in particular April to early June and September through October. In spring, north Afghanistan turns from dusty ochre to bright green, as the desert and hills spring into life and are studded with blooms of flowers. Autumn is harvest time and brings the best of the Afghan fruit – melons from the north, grapes from the Shomali Plain and fat pomegranates from Kandahar .

MONEY

Afghanistan’s currency is the afghani (Afg). Paper notes come in denominations of one, two, five, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000. One, two and five afghani coins are slowly replacing the grubbiest small notes. When the afghani was relaunched in 2002 to encourage economic stability, there were around 10, 000Afg to the US dollar; since then the currency has consistently floated at around 45Afg to 50Afg to the dollar.

Women travellers

Afghanistan has a conservative culture where attitudes to women are bound up with the protection of honour. Society generally seeks to minimise contact between unrelated men and women. As a result foreign women travelling or working on their own, away from male relatives, are often viewed with a mixture of curiosity and astonishment. Being disregarded is a common reaction, and if you’re with a male companion you shouldn’t be surprised if an Afghan directs his attention and conversation in that direction.

There is no legal obligation to wear a headscarf, but in practice all foreign women do.


Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/afghanistan/practical-information/health#ixzz2fnjBayC4