Travellers' Checklists
To make sure you are well prepared and have a safe holiday, the Top 10 Summary of things to do before you go are...
- Check the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Travel Advice
- Get long adventure travel insurance and
check that the cover is appropriate.
- Get a good guidebook and get to know your destination. Find out about local laws and customs.
- Ensure you have a valid passport and necessary visas.
- Check what vaccinations you need at least 6 weeks before you go.
- Check to see if you need to take extra health precautions
- Make sure your travel agent is an ABTA member and, if flying, make sure your holiday package is ATOL protected. If your travel involves passage on airlines with which you are unfamiliar, you may wish to check their safety and reliability with a reputable travel agent.
- Make copies of your passport, insurance policy plus 24-hour emergency number, and ticket details – leave copies with family and friends.
- Take enough money for your trip and some back-up funds eg travellers cheques, sterling or US dollars.
- Leave a copy of your itinerary and a way of contacting you such as e-mail, with family and friends.
Checklist
Travel Advice
Get adequate long stay travel insurance .
-
Make sure it includes comprehensive medical and repatriation cover.
-
Make sure it provides cover for your whole trip (whether one day or over a year).
-
Make sure it covers you for all activities, including hazardous sports.
-
Disclose pre-existing medical conditions.
-
Take your policy number and the 24-hour emergency number with you.
-
If you have any doubts about your cover, check with your insurer.
Ensure you have a valid passport and the necessary visas.
-
Make sure your passport is valid for a minimum of six months at return date.
-
Take a photocopy with you and leave a copy at home.
-
Write the full details of your next of kin in your passport.
-
Make sure you have valid visas.
-
Take another form of ID with you (preferably with a photograph).
Plan to stay healthy.
-
Check what vaccinations you need with your GP at least six weeks before you travel.
-
Check the advice at http://www.doh.gov.uk/traveladvice or http://www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk/ .
-
Check if your medication is legal in the country you are visiting.
-
Pack your medication in your hand luggage.
-
If taking medication with you, also take the prescription and a GP's letter.
-
If travelling within the EEA (European Economic Area) get an E111 from the Post Office. (Countries in the EEA (European Economic Area) are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.)
-
Check to see if extra health precautions are needed for the country you are visiting (e.g. malaria zones).
Know about where you are going.
-
Get a good guide book and look at the FCO country fact sheets.
-
Make sure you know about local laws especially relating to alcohol and drugs.
-
Make sure you know about local culture especially relating to dress codes.
-
Take a phrase book that you can use in emergencies.
Make sure your travel agent is an
ABTA member and, if flying, make sure your holiday package is
ATOL protected.
Plan ahead to avoid trouble. If your travel involves passage on airlines with which you are unfamiliar, you may wish to check their safety and reliability with a reputable travel agent.
-
Check the FCO up-to-date travel advice and travellers' tips.
-
Tell friends and family where you are going.
-
Contact family and friends if trouble flares up.
Take enough money for your trip.
-
Check the validity, expiry dates and cash available on your credit or debit card(s).
-
Make sure you have back-up funds such as travellers cheques, sterling or US dollars.
-
Have a return ticket, or enough money to buy one.
Leave copies of important information with family and friends.
-
A copy of your passport and details of your next of kin.
-
A copy of your insurance document plus the 24-hour emergency number.
-
A copy of your ticket details.
-
A copy of your itinerary and a way of contacting you such as e-mail.
If you are just after the cheap
Bicycling travel insurance on
the internet, the cheapest hitchhiker travel insurance can
be had if you visit
LongStay INS .
UK Travel & Holiday Insurance
Advice For Travellers - Travel and Holiday Insurance
Before You Travel
- Make sure all passports, visas, vaccinations and health requirements are up to date. Take all documents with you including long stay travel insurance certificate.
- At home lock all doors and windows and cancel milk and newspapers. Don't take large quantities of cash. Take travellers cheques and/or credit cards.
- Leave your valuable jewellery at home: do not be a target for thieves and muggers, and don't forget most long stay travel insurance policies have single article limits . Make sure you have with you the emergency numbers to cancel your credit cards.
When you are travelling or on holiday
- Don't leave your home address visible on your baggage.
- Keep all valuables, passports and money on you. Never pack these items in checked in baggage.
When you get to your destination
- Check that the tap water is safe to drink. To be sure,
drink bottled water and avoid ice drinks. Check that the electrical fittings
and heaters etc. in your hotel room are safe, health and safety standards
are not always to the same standard we have in the UK.
- Never leave belongings unattended or with strangers,
especially at airports, stations, on the beach or places of entertainment,
or unattended in a vehicle.
- At your hotel, keep valuables and cash in a safe
deposit box or in the hotel safe. Please remember that you must obtain a police
report in the event of any loss or theft. Original documents are required
in order to settle your claim. Please make sure you photocopy them before
you send them to the claim adjustors.
If you are travelling anywhere in the UK or abroad, and you fall ill, get involved
in an accident and have any need for hospital or doctor treatment, then you
should protect yourself against the costs that could be involved in that treatment.
But Backpacker travel insurance doesn't just cover you for health related problems. It
also covers you for any losses or thefts of possessions that you have taken
on your trip with you. Should your journey by delayed or cancelled unexpectedly
then you also have the additional reassurance of being able to claim on your
Backpacker travel insurance policy. Ultimately, Bicycling travel insurance as a product will bring
you peace of mind, so that should something happen to you on your travels, you
will be helped.
There are different types of Bicycling travel insurance ,
but you should look at the different variations and think about what suits you
most. Your first choice is between single trip travel insurance, annual (multi-trip)
travel insurance, group long stay travel insurance ,
family long stay travel insurance ,
ski or extreme sports cover, and student backpacker cover. You should take your
time to review these different options as taking some will mean you are over-covered
and others will mean you're under-covered.
You should also find a way to compare rates for Backpacker travel insurance , because there
can be big difference. This is particularly apparent if you buy Backpacker travel insurance
direct from travel agents. Travel agents may recommend this to you for its convenience,
and some tie deals that they offer you to you taking their Bicycling travel insurance .
Be very careful, because the cost of this can outweigh the savings on the travel
deal. No travel agent is actually allowed to make Bicycling travel insurance compulsory,
but believe me when I say that they'll try. There is no point in just taking
this, when there are so many different places to get cheap long stay travel insurance
from.
Some long stay travel insurance providers don't just offer you straight cover though.
They may also offer peripheral services such as travel advice lines, on how
to make the best of your holiday. If they do, put a value on it for yourself
and check that the extra money they may charge for this service is worth it
to you.
You should check that your travel insurance covers you for 24 hour emergency
health and medical assistance. Some companies will cover very young children
for free, and some will offer fairer rates for OAPs, who normally have to pay
a lot. Some travel insurance companies may have a deal with RAC or AA assistance
should your car break down on the way to or from the place of your departure.
To get the cheap backpacker holiday insurance ,
shop around the different sites, and compare, as the cheapest hitchhiker travel insurance can
be had if you look around. For the best backpacker holiday insurance in
the UK visit
LongStay INS .
Where can I buy the best long stay travel insurance ?
LongStay INS
gives you most of the sites you would probably want to visit for the cheap long stay travel insurance .
UK residents make over 58 million overseas trips each year. But as many as 1
in 7 of them fail to take out adequate long stay travel insurance .
It is a situation that spoils thousands of holidays each year. As all travellers
face some level of risk a bit of pre-planning will prove invaluable once you are
on your way. Here are some long adventure travel insurance
companies for the UK ...