A Distant Light™ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How would you compare yourselves to other companies who conduct Romance Tours?
What will I get with my minimum initial deposit?
How many pieces of luggage may I take and what size?
How much spending money will I need?
Are there other costs?
What paperwork will I need to travel?
Do I need additional health insurance?
How many guided tours are included?
Where and how are the socials conducted?
What is the dress code for the Socials?
Should I bring photos?
May I bring videotape?
What type of clothing will I need?
My schedule won't allow me to go for the full duration of the tour. Can I make special arrangements?
I do not live in the United States, however, I would still like to attend the tour, can I meet there?
What can I bring with me?
What small gifts should I bring for the ladies?
What can I leave with?
What about money?
What about credit cards?
How much are calls to the US from the hotel?
What about the electricity?
Do they use the metric system?

How would you compare yourselves to other companies who conduct Romance Tours?
One of the main differences between other tour companies and us is experience. We conduct more Romance Tours to more cities than anyone else in the industry. Each year we assist hundreds of both group and individual tour clients. We have over 70 employees world wide, and offices in every city in which we conduct tours. These facts have not been lost on the national and international media, where again you will find more stories about A Foreign Affair than any other company. Another important factor is the number of women available for you to meet. We offer approximately 20,000 profiles of beautiful women chosen from well over 250,000 applicants. We continue to place over 200 new profiles each week. There are also many women residing in the tour cities who are members of our service, but do not appear on the Internet. You will have an opportunity to meet these women as well, during your tour. All of the women attending the socials are invited by personal invitation only. We do not run large advertisements prior to the socials and literally invite anyone and everyone off the street to attend. We make a diligent effort to be certain that all of the women are there for the express purpose that the socials are held- to meet you! Our socials are fully catered with food, refreshments and champagne and we spare little time or expense to insure that EVERYONE, including the women, are treated in a comfortable and dignified manner. You will find the level of service you receive before, during, and after the tour is second to none. We are the only Tour Company to operate offices in every city in which we conduct tours. These offices are open year round, not just when we are conducting a tour. Our friendly staff is there to assist you during the tour, should you decide to extend your stay, or if you return individually. Our Tours are the longest and by far the best value in the industry. You receive $260.00 worth of services when you place your initial $325.00 deposit with us. We have the best refund policy in the industry should you be forced to cancel your tour. With us, you are only responsible for a nominal cancelation fee of $750.00 should you cancel with less than 30 days notice, with other companies you could lose over $4,000.00 depending on the tour and when you cancel. We also afford you many other opportunities to meet the women in addition to our Socials, including the Intimate Social, the New Applicant Interviews, and the One on One introductions.
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What will I get with my minimum initial deposit?
Your deposit guarantees your place on the tour of your choice. You will also receive a one month membership which will entitle you to as many addresses as you would like as well as a Fiancée Visa package, The Romance Tour Guide book, written by a former tour member who is now married to a Russian woman, and other pertinent information and brochures. You will never lose your initial tour deposit. Even if you cancel the tour you can transfer the deposit to another tour.
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How many pieces of luggage may I take and what size?
You may take 3 pieces of luggage. We recommend that your carry-on bag contain one full change of dress clothing, your necessary toiletries and your computer or valuable camera items.
. 62" total dimensions ( L + W + H ) with a total weight of 70 lbs.
. 55" total dimensions ( L + W + H ) with a total weight of 70 lbs.
. 45" total dimensions ( L + W + H ) with a total weight of 10 lbs.

Luggage Restriction for Dual Tour Clients:
If you are a Dual Tour Member your connecting air flights between Kiev and St. Petersburg will be via a regional carrier. These Regional carriers have different luggage restrictions than Finnair your primary carrier. If your baggage will exceed the following guidelines you will be subject to a cash penalty, generally not exceeding $50.00. Our advice, pack less clothing and have your laundry cleaned by hotel services. Number of bags = 2
Pounds per bag = 50lb.
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How much spending money will I need?
We have found that most of our clients are very comfortable with a budget of between $700 and $1,000. Some spend more than that and some will spend less, it really depends on your taste. Our host cities are all fairly large with attractions and outlets for a variety of tastes and income levels.
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Are there other costs?
Other than normal spending money there will be very little in the way of expenses you will need to worry about. Your package includes continued daily guidance and assistance from the AFA staff. You may have a very special request or need that could incur an additional cost. However, few of our clients encounter a need for this. Relatively minor additional expenses could include special transportation, interpreter, or gift services. Don't forget your tour package includes a very nice breakfast on a daily basis.
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What paperwork will I need to travel?
You will need a passport which you can obtain locally. If you already possess a passport please be sure there is at least 6 months remaining on it from when you plan to enter Russia. Our Russian and Kiev tours also require a visa. To obtain the Visa you will need an invitation to enter the country which AFA provides. AFA will assist you in the Visa process, the Visa fee is $231.00 which includes all of the Consulate fees and delivery expense. Your airline tickets and Visa are then delivered to you by FedEx. We have never had any problems with our clients obtaining a passport or Visa.
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Do I need additional health insurance?
You should check with you health care insurer and ask if your current policy will cover you outside the US. If not, you may want to purchase a rider policy to cover any emergency medical situations, which may occur.
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How many guided tours are included?
There is one three to four hour guided tour, and one city metro or orientation tour, included in your package. You will, no doubt, have ample opportunity to take as many additional FREE guided tours as you would like. The women are very proud of their beautiful city and are more than happy to show you the sights. You will have no problems enjoying any sights that you would like to see with a truly beautiful, gracious and personal hostess!
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Where and how are the socials conducted?
We conduct our Socials in very large hotel banquet rooms or private entertainment complexes. All of our Socials are by invitation only, and are fully catered, including champagne and light music. We strive to create an environment where both the men and women will feel as comfortable as possible, while at the same time optimizing your chances of finding that someone special. You will have the opportunity to meet between 500 and 2000 women, depending on which tour you choose. In addition to the hundreds of women you will be meeting at our Socials, we also conduct New Applicant Interviews, Intimate Socials, and numerous one on one introductions, in order to afford you every opportunity to meet as many women as possible. In order to expose you to as many different types of women as possible, each Social will be attended by a totally different group of beautiful women. Please remember, the women are attending for one reason and one reason only, to meet you! They are not at all shy about the fact that they have not yet found what they are looking for, and they are prepared to leave the only life they have ever known in order to build a new life with the right man. During the Social you will have the opportunity to interact with hundreds of women. We suggest you talk to as many women as possible. When you find a women you would like to see again simply ask her for her phone number so that you can make arrangements to meet with her later. Introductions are never a problem, simply let one of our staff members know who you would like to meet and you will be introduced. Even though most of the women understand some English, and some do speak it fluently, we will have plenty of interpreters on hand. When you do discover the women you would like to see again, we will assist you in the arrangements necessary in order to get to know them better, whether it's obtaining tickets for the theater or the opera, or maybe a tour of the city, or a trip to one of the museums. One of the best ways to get to know one of the women better is to allow her to give you a guided tour of her extraordinary city.
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What is the dress code for the Socials?
One tour member may wear a tux, another a suit, another blue jeans. However, we recommend dress pants and shirt as a minimum. We do however wish you to be comfortable and yourself, so we will leave the final decision to you. Just keep in mind that this will be your only opportunity to make a good first impression.
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Should I bring photos?
It may be a good idea to bring along personal and regional photographs. Photographs of yourself, friends, family, pets, home, cars and your recreational activities will certainly allow any viewer to have a much fuller understanding of who you are and what your particular geographic location affords for those residents living in the area.
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May I bring videotape?
United States and European videotape formats are not compatible.
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What type of clothing will I need?
Be yourself and dress comfortably during most of your trip. Summer attire may be jeans, shorts, and trousers. Of course in the winter months you will want to dress appropriately. An umbrella is always a good item to pack as well. If you attend the ballet or opera, you may want to wear something a little more formal.
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My schedule won't allow me to go for the full duration of the tour. Can I make special arrangements?
Yes! If you have decided that you would like to experience our tour we will work with you in any way that we can to make it happen for you. We believe that you will find the staff to be the most personable and hard working group available. We also act as the agent for many of our clients who wish to go to our host cities on their own making necessary arrangements, setting up meetings and often saving them money because of our travel agent status.
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I do not live in the United States, however, I would still like to attend the tour, can I meet there?
Yes! We work with men from all around the world, not just in the United States. If you would like to participate in everything other then the airfare we will deduct $700 to $900 from the price of the tour depending on the time of year. All you have to do is let us know when your flight will be arriving and our representative will greet you at the airport and take you to the hotel, where you will meet the rest of the group.
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What can I bring with me?
You are allowed to bring basically anything you like for personal use except illegal drugs and weapons. Video equipment, cameras, radios, even lap-top computers are OK. You can bring up to 250 cigarettes, although you will find them to be a great bargain in Russia and the Ukraine. If something of yours is confiscated for any reason, you can ask for a receipt and you may be able to claim it on the way out.
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What small gifts should I bring for the ladies?
Today you may purchase almost anything in our host cities that you could purchase in any other major city. Most of the women do not have the money to purchase the extras. Our advice might be to take advantage of any personal connections or good deals available to you. This keeps the cost down for you and makes a nice gift. For example: One client had a woman friend who was a model. This model gave him clothing outfits, which she received from modeling but never really wore herself. Another client had access to very nice costume jewelry, this was a big hit. I do not know a woman in the world who does not like good perfume. Most Russian and Ukrainian women seem to like European dark chocolate. We might also suggest you look for something produced or manufactured in your particular area of the United States, which you are proud of or think may make a nice gift.
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What can I leave with?
You can take anything bought from a Western-style shop or department store, but save your receipts. Since 1990 the removal from the country of certain quanities of consumer goods such as caviar, tea, fabrics, some clothing, carpets, leather, photo equipment, precious metals and stones has been restricted.
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What about money?
Your tour leader will go over the local currency and the exchange rates with you. There are legal exchange offices practically everywhere, including hotels, restaurants, boutiques, street front stores etc... You will be asked to fill out a currency statement when you enter the country. This statement is designed to prevent people from taking out more money then they brought in.
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What about credit cards?
Visa, MasterCard/Eurocard and American Express are all widely accepted. If you have your credit card and pin number you may obtain cash from the many ATM's now easily accessible in most cities. ATM's will allow withdrawal of anyplace from $100 to $300 per use depending on the machine.

Travelers' Cheques are only good for large Russian cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg but are not advised for the Ukraine as some banks take as long as one hour to cash. Once you get outside of the major cities Travelers' Cheques can be more difficult to cash. American Express is the most widely recognized brand. All in all it is a good idea to bring a combination of cash and credit cards.

Clients continually tell us that they have been warned to not use their credit cards in the Ukraine and Russia due to card theft. We feel this to be unfounded. We have been escorting hundreds of clients to these countries for 10 years and we have never been reported such a case of card theft.

If you want an additional safety barrier between you and your main account then do a little preplanning and open a special account specifically for your trip to Russia or the Ukraine. Deposit a set amount of money in the account and notify the card issuer that you will be using the card from a foreign destination. This safety measure will prevent someone from accessing all those millions you been saving for a rainy day.
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How much are calls to the US from the hotel?
The rate per minute from the hotel to the US is approximately $5.99 or higher. The rates from the hotel to outlying areas are $ 2.99 per minute or higher, local calls from the hotel are about .15 or so per minute.. These rates are subject to change, thus we recommend checking with the hotel prior to making any long distance calls. Some hotels may block the use of AT&T calling cards from the rooms. We are unsure about the LCI or other long distance calling cards. We are of the impression that your long distance calling cards will work from the pay phones in the lobby. There is Direct Dialing to the rooms and with a call back card you can avoid expensive hotel long distance charges.
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What about the electricity?
The electricity is 220 volts, 50 Hz AC. The sockets do require a Continental or European plug adapter with two round pins. American appliances need a 220V to 110V/100V converter.
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Do they use the metric system?
Yes. The metric system is in use.
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