Tips for the Busy Traveler
Travel tips, good books, and resources for planning a visit.
Getting there
Travelers en route to Dili can arrive from three cities, Singapore, Darwin, Australia and Bali, Indonesia. From Singapore, Singapore Airways offers several flights a week. Through Darwin, Air North through Darwin also flies several times a week to Dili. More flights are expected to be added. Daily flights are offered through Merpati Nusantara Airlines in Bali.
Visas
Americans traveling to Timor-Leste may apply for a visa at the Dili International Airport or Dili Sea Port. A fee of $30 to $40 USD applies. If you arrive by land, remember to apply for a visa in advance. Travelers must also hold a passport with an expiration date not less than 6 months from the date of entry. Visas for tourism, family visits and business visits expire after 90 days, but extensions are available for an added fee.
Good Books
Geoffrey Robinson’s If you leave us here, we will die is a harrowing de- scription of the genocide and the role of the international community in stabilizing Timor-Leste. Noted author Luis Cardosa’s The Crossing: A Story of East Timor is a memoir of the author’s coming of age in Timor- Leste. Sara Niner’s biography, Xanana, provides a detailed account of Prime Minister Xanana Gusm‹o life. Timothy Mo’s The Redundancy of Courage, which was short-listed for the 1991 Booker Prize, is a novel based on the conflict in Timor-Leste. Andrea Katalin Molnar’s ebook, Timor-Leste: Politics, History, and Culture published last year and is a comprehensive book on Timor-Leste with a particular emphasis on the historical roots of the country’s challenges.
Helpful websites on Timor-Leste for planning a stay
- Discover Dili, provides some information on Timor-Leste’s largest city.
- Lonely Planet, offers information on Timor-Leste. Key in Timor Leste for travel tips You have to special order the book, however.
- The Government of Timor-Leste provides a short history, de- scription of the political system and information on the country.
- Friends of Timor is run by non-Timorese and includes information on things to do.
- World Bank Country Report on Timor-Leste, has strong data concerning youth, civil society and development. Go to http://web.worldbank.org and key in Timor-Leste in the search box.
- East Timor Law & Justice Bulletin, provides up-to-date information regarding legal and governmental actions.
