Built by a Traveler, for Travelers
Free visa tools from someone who's been on the other side of the border
The Short Version
I'm Elmar, a designer and developer from the Netherlands. I spent a year backpacking through Asia and the Middle East in my mid-twenties. During that trip, the websites that saved me the most time were the ones with clear, honest information — train routes, hostel tips, visa requirements — no fluff, no paywalls. Those sites were often built by one person who just cared enough to put the info out there.
Now I'm doing the same thing, but for people traveling to my continent. Europe's visa landscape is confusing — Schengen rules, ETIAS launching soon, the 90/180-day rule — and most of the sites out there are either scams charging €80 for a €20 application, or SEO farms that bury the answer under 2,000 words of filler. I wanted to build something better.
Why This Site Is Free
I have a background in design and I'm a developer — I self-host my own infrastructure and build sites from scratch. That means I don't need a team of 20 people or a VC budget to run this. The tools are free because the cost of running them is low, and because I remember what it felt like to be a backpacker on a budget, squinting at a bad website at 2 AM in a hostel trying to figure out if I needed a visa.
If I eventually add affiliate links (travel insurance, eSIMs, that sort of thing), I'll be upfront about it. No sneaky stuff.
What I Care About
- Speed — Pages load fast because I built every layer myself. No WordPress themes, no page builders, no bloat.
- Straight answers — You came here for a yes or no. I won't make you scroll past 10 paragraphs to find it.
- Honesty — I link to official EU sources. I tell you when something is uncertain. I don't pretend to be an official government site.
- No dark patterns — No fake urgency, no data harvesting, no pop-up bombardment.
- Free forever — The core tools and information will always be free. That's a promise.
A Bit About Me
I run Friendly Faces, a small creative studio in the Netherlands. By day I design and build things for clients. This project is a labor of love — it combines my travel experience, my obsession with fast websites, and my frustration with the current state of travel information online.
I'm European, so I know these countries firsthand. I've crossed most of these borders myself (though admittedly with an EU passport, which makes things easier). That perspective helps me understand what travelers actually need to know versus what most sites waste your time with.
Get in Touch
Found an error? Have a suggestion? Just want to say hi? I read every email: info@friendlyfaces.nl.
If you found this site useful, the best thing you can do is share it with someone who's planning a trip to Europe.
Disclaimer
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