I think people are making a mistake in conflating actual legal requirements to hold a return or onward ticket, such as the US Visa Waiver Program, with the fact that most border officials feel a lot more comfortable if you have a return or onward ticket, which is why the OP was not able to find answers on the www.cic.gc.ca or www.cbsa.gc.ca websites because while it is not something that governments want to encourage, it is no something they disallow either as long as you can show you have the funds to purchase your return or onward ticket.

1) Just buy them anywhere you can. They're pretty cheap anyway. You don't need anywhere specific to get them.

2) Apparently so, but you're better off doing at the start of your trip - fly from Tashkent to Nukus then go by land south from there onwards. Depends how much time you have and how into art you are. Plus, by being in Nukus, you can visit the Aral Sea.

3) There is not THAT much difference in price between any of the trains between Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent. April/May won't be ridiculously hot either. I used a normal train from Tashkent to Urgench and a slightly faster one (not Afrosiyob) between Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent. All was fine. Just bear in mind platzkart means open plan carriages, kupe, SV and lyuks means compartments shared with no more than 3 other people. I booked my tickets on rzd.ru (I live in Russia so I was able to use this option, consider this also if you are in Russia beforehand)

4) Use ТАШКЕНТ ПАСС ЦЕНТР - this means Tashkent Central basically.

5) According to locals, photography has been allowed on the Tashkent metro since June 2018.

6) I did this route from Khiva to Bukhara, but I had the advantage of having an Uzbek with me to arrange it. However, you're more likely to find a taxi from Bukhara to Urgench, which is a 1-hour trolleybus ride away (or 30-minute taxi ride) from Khiva. There are also direct trains between Urgench and Bukhara (Khiva has no train station, thus you need to go to Urgench to get there). It's advisable to book around this one train as they're less frequent than those between Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent.

@tezzy @Yrkh

Thanks to both of you for the detailed info, things look easy again on that issue !

I actually double-checked the statement on the embassy's website about delivering only diplomatic visas. Translating the Amharic version makes it clearer. It was only during a week over Christmas...

Concerning the crossing into Djibouti at Loyada, the National Tourist Office in Djibouti sent me a copy (in French) of an official letter from the Ministry of Interior to all air and maritime companies stating that, as of the 4th of December 2017:
"Any person holding a passport with more than 6 month validity will be granted an entry visa at all border posts of the Republic of Djibouti, without obtaining a visa beforehand.
However, this person will have to provide a return or onward flight ticket."

So it seems like the fake flight reservation is still on the table...

I'll update here and/or on another thread if more accurate.

Happy roads !

The proof of onward travel thing??
My scenario:-
Travel on a NZ Pasport.
Planning to fly Marrakech - Bangkok. 30 days on arrival. Will be traveling in northern Thailand by Bicycle and will land border cross Thailand to Laos within my 30 days. Cycle around northern Laos then land border cross back in to Thailand.....another 30 days and then plan to fly out of BKK and head home to NZ.

Question.
I'm looking at tickets today for Marrakech to BKK (Qatar looks the best bet) but will not have a ticket out of BKK as I'll probably do that in country when I have a better idea of exact dates etc.
Am I looking at potential headaches without any proof of onward travel when I board in Morocco with Qatar?? I know, difficult to give and accurate / definite response, but happy with any input or comments.

Thanks if you can help me out.

Cheers.

I understand it's rainy season- but is it true that most places only rain in the afternoon for short hours?

That's the normal weather pattern. But there are places in the mountains that get a lot more rain (it's why they're called cloud forest).

will these rain lead to blocked roads that will prevent us from visiting national parks?

It's possible, but that would be pretty unusual.

In addition I read its hurricane season, but does it also affect CA? or mainly the carribeans?

Hurricanes rarely affect Central America, but there are exceptions. Hurricane Mitch was 20 years ago in October 1998, and caused more than 10,000 people to lose their lives.

What do you think? is it too much conutries for 2 months ?

No. 3 countries in 2 months is a good plan. But when you arrive in Panama, you will have a major problem with immigration authorities, who require proof of onward travel, that has to be a plane ticket out of Panama. They won't accept a bus ticket. You could encounter the same problem entering Costa Rica. The authorities in Nicaragua never ask for that.

It's possible to buy a refundable flight, and contact the airline for a refund after you deal w/ immigration authorities. Or buy a flight that's cancellable within 24 hours the night before you fly to Panama. But maybe you should consider going north to south and start in Nicaragua, so you'd have less need for that.

Even if you get your visa the airline may not take you. I've known people rejected by the airline because they haven't got onward travel. Buy a return ticket that allows you to change the return date. It will cost you more but allow you to be flexible. You can't stay 'for and indefinite amount of time', which is why you are supposed to have onward travel.

Good advice from #2. I checked in on Emirates several weeks ago in UK with 6 weeks between my Arrival and Departure dates in Thailand. I was asked to produce my proof of onward travel (eticket receipt) which fortunately I was able to provide. Sometimes they'll ask, other times not. It's not just a long haul thing - if I'm flying to Thailand on a 1-way ticket on a regional flight they often ask to see proof of onward travel before they check you in.

You only have time for 1 country, 2 places.

What time of year are you going, the weather varies greatly by coast and month.

You can't fly into CR and Out of Panama from USA due to "Onward Travel" requirements, you can't enter CR or Panama and not exit from same country on flight ticket, as the airline enforces this, you need proof of leaving the country you are about to fly into, the country next door does not count.

Manual Antinio is for honeymooners, families and package tourist.

The fun beach scenes are for your age, would be Pt Viejo on carib side, or, Tamarindo , Mal Pais or Dominical on pacific side. All 6 hours from SJ.

For nature hit Tortuguero on caribe side, then head to Cahuita, the to Pt Viejo, then raft the Rio Pacuare back to SJ as a day trip...

Otherwise fly into Liberia (LIR) and not SJ (SJO), and shuttle to Arenal, or bus to Tenerio/Rio Celeste, then shuttle to Tamarindo...