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SAFETY FOR UK TRAVELLERS & TOURISTS
TRAVEL PLANNING
a GREEN DOOR TRAVEL page
For UK citizens the best place to go for up to date travel and
holidays safety information is the Foreign & Commonwealth Office http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel/ phones
0207 0080232
or 0207 0080233.
It also lists the phone numbers and addresses of UK Embassies and Consulates. You can obtain information about
terrorist threats, security, road safety, local laws, customs, entry requirements, health and natural disasters.
DESTINATIONS
To find out which airlines fly to your chosen destination go to Airline destinations. For individual aircraft seating arrangements seatguru
PASSPORTS
The UK Passport Office has an excellent user-friendly web site telling you all you want to know http://www.ukpa.gov.uk or phone O870 5210410. You can complete
a passport application form on-line; it is then printed out by them and returned to you for the necessary signatures
to be applied. Another useful facility is that you can type in you post code and the site will tell you your nearest
Post Office authorised to process passport paperwork and fees. NOTE Because photographs are now scanned to capture biometric data they now demand much higher quality photos. Woolworth's type photo booths are no longer good enough. You will now need to use a specialist. For more details about the specifications photos go to www.ips.gov.uk.
ENTRY TO THE USA. ESTA VISA WAIVER PROGRAMME
Contrary to the vast majority of their compatriots US Customs
officials can often be inhospitable, po-faced bureaucrats so better make sure your Passport documents are in order
- if in doubt check with their London US Embassy http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/mrp_bio.html. IMPORTANT - Now British visitors are required to register their trip with the American authorities 72 hours before traveling. There is only one official site to do this esta.cbp.dhs.gov Note - at the time of updating this item the ESTA website would not open with Google browser but it did work with Internet Explorer. Do not fall for any spam sites you may browse that offer to do it for you for a fee as it is quite easy to complete the official form online. Be wise and buy the special suit case locks that have been approved by US Customs, otherwise they might just bludgeon your case open. Most luggage shops sell them or go to Travel with Care.
PAYING FOR TRAVEL & HOLIDAYS
With more and more airlines and travel companies running into trouble it pays to select your supplier carefully, safeguard the hard earned cash you are paying out up front and if your travel operator goes bust while you are abroad you need to know that someone will fly you home without breaking the bank!
1/ PACKAGES If you are buying a package make sure that you book through a fully ABTA or AITO registered tour operator. Double check that you travel arrangements are covered by ATOL
and make sure that the suppliers ATOL licence number is clearly stated on your invoice.Thee number have sometimes been forged so double check officially registered ATOL licence holders at ATOL or phone them on 0207 536430.
ATOL provides you with a wide range of excellent protection.
Tour operators also insist that you take out insurance to cover enforced cancellations, stolen or lost items and health including repatriation.
2/ DIRECT BOOKING With direct booking you can easily personalise travel to suit your special circumstances and it is often also cheaper. However be aware that it does not come without additional risks. For instance you will also need to make your own travel insurance arrangements and anyone who takes foreign trips without it must be mad! (scroll down for more about insurance). However if your airline goes bust or your hotel is a rip off you are on your own, most travel insurance only covers cancellations, health and personal item loss. If a supplier goes bust you will eventually get your money back if you pay by credit card or visa debit card. However paying by other debit cards, cheque or cash means that you will just be added to the creditor list and probably receive nothing. The only trouble is that travel operators charge an extra commission (up to 5%) for the privilege of using a credit card. So you pays your money and takes your choice!!. There is also a new insurance you can take out to protect against an airline going bankrupt costing around £5 per head per trip - International Passenger Protection.
CURRENCY Don't leave it until you reach the airport or ferry terminal before you change money - it could cost you up to 11% more than other places. Using credit or debit cards abroad to draw cash - hidden charges include usage fees of around 3%. Credit cards also charge a cash advance fee and interest on cash withdrawals, sometimes from the day of the withdrawal. Better value is the Nationwide debit card that imposes no usage fees and no extras for cash withdrawal. The Abbey Zero card is similar. Another tip is do not take an option to pay a credit card bill in sterling - you will end up paying a hefty conversion fee and get a lousy exchange rate. It also pays to shop around for places to change your money before you go. Marks & Spencers and The post Office seem to offer consistently good rates.
To obtain ideas of the value of any world currency against your
own go to http://www.oanda.com They use the inter bank rate in their calculations but never the less this
is a fantastic interactive site.
In the UK the currency conversion rates fluctuate widely from one supplier to another so shop around (see last para) to save money and beware of the various
free offers - the actual bottom line price may not be such a bargain. Since the credit crunch the pound has changed value widely (usually for the worse) against various countries, so a place that was good value last year may not be such good value this year, so check out exchange rate trends and buy currency when the rates are favourable or change your destination plans.
TRAVEL HEALTH & IMMUNISATION
A good source of information for the injections you may require for far flung places is Masta - Medical Advisory
Services a service from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine http://www.masta.org or a travelers
help line on 0906 8224100 but calls cost 60p per minute. They also supply information about infectious disease symptoms and methods of avoiding
illnesses. Other items include details of the various types of anti-malarial drugs available and information about
DVT - deep veined thrombosis. A comprehensive range of travel products is offered for sale such as deet based mosi
sprays.
To find out about the reciprocal health care agreements offered by EU countries and some outside go the Department
of Health http://www.gov.uk Information is also included on the E111 form (available from most Post Offices) which
is needed to make claims for treatment within the EU.
General advice is also available covering such diverse subjects as rules of the road, sunburn, animal and insect
bites. You can also apply for a leaflet "Health advice for travelers" free from the DOH on 0800 555777.
DVT - Deep vein thrombosis
Although airlines are still insisting that there is no proven
link between flying and DVT it is as well to know about the possible problems, especially if you are in a higher
risk category. You can find an excellent guide which draws on the latest Department of Health guidelines on http://www.travel-medicine.info
JETLAG
A few lucky people do not suffer from jet lag but for the majority of us it can ruin
the first couple of days of a long haul holiday and feel a wreck on our return. According to the UK's leading sleep
expert Dr Chris Idzikowski it is largely caused by us receiving light at the wrong time and that affects our inbuilt
body clock. Adjusting the time that we receive light during and after a long flight can therefore help to combat
the feelings of lethargy. On their web site British Airways offer a jet lag advisor that can be tailored to the
time zone changes and length of flight. Go to www.ba.com and search on jet lag.
TIPPING
The etiquette of tipping can vary by country enormously from being illegal to a 15% norm. To save embarrassment
when you arrive check on http://www.ehow.com/how_112003_tip-foreign-country.html
CAR RENTAL INFORMATION
See our Car
hire tips page for advice on saving money.
DRIVING
See our Driving
Abroad page for comprehensive safety advice and general motoring
information.
AIRPORT PARKING
Book in advance to save money by obtaining a discount. See also a whole page of tips and advice - Airport Parking.
CREDIT CARDS
Take the precaution of telling your credit card provider before you go that you are traveling far afield. This
is now becoming necessary because some providers use software that works by spotting unusual transactions and then,
assuming that the card has been lost or stolen, refuses transactions. Credit card fraud in endemic in the Far East
so you can hardly blame them. Our advice, from bitter experience, is to never let your cards out of your sight
in these countries.
Always take the contact telephone numbers of your card providers with you and keep them safe along with a record
of your actual card numbers and expiry dates. For more information see our Credit Card Scams page.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
An amazing amount of travelers do not bother - they must be crazy! A broken leg in the USA could set you back
more than £10,000! It is always worth while shopping around for travel insurance because high street travel
agents and tour operators will often rip you off. You could pay over the odds by about three times. If you venture
abroad more than once a year it is usually cheaper to buy an annual policy.
Always volunteer all the information, as the most common reason for insurance claim rejection is when customers
fail to declare an existing condition or illness.
Common injuries suffered abroad are car and bike crashes, beach incidents including drowning and heavy surf injuries,
jet-skiing and paragliding. Plus of course falls of all description with alcohol often being a contributory factor.
Don't forget your European Health Insurance Card (obtainable from most Post Offices) and you will need a new one
if your circumstances change - such as moving house. Also remember that many insurance policies require you to
make the first claim for emergency treatment using it. They then pick up anything not covered by the EC reciprocal
agreement.
RETURNING FROM THE EEC
In theory you can bring as much alcohol and cigarettes as you like as long as it is for your own personal consumption.
But to avoid Customs thinking you are a smuggler it is best to stick to no more than the guidelines. The alcohol
and cigarettes guideline maximum per person is -
55 litres of beer
45 litres of wine
5 litres of spirits
5 litres of fortified wine
3,200 cigarettes
Best to double-check these guidelines on your way out.
Useful cross-channel shopping information from 1/www.pas-de-calais.com 2/www.cite-europe.com 3/ www.day-tripper.net probably the best site for shopping
info. 4/www.eurotunnel.com
UK AIRPORT DEPARTURE TAXES The government are now seem to be using this as a cash cow, so it is worth checking it out when planning. Depending on the distance to destination, split into four bands that they seem to increase the tax on every November you could shortly be paying up to an extra £170 per ticket per person. What a rip off! On long haul it may be worthwhile taking a short hop to the Continent and then buying an onward ticket from there.
USING TRAVEL BLOGG FOR RESEARCH They can be a good source of information but some should carry a health warning. Employ a healthy degree of skepticism when reading them because they are usually run by individuals and they may be biased for one reason or another. However here are some of the best ones -
Practical Advice 1/ perrinpost.com 2/ escapeblog.com 3/ travel-rants.com 4/ crankyflier.com
Family Travel 1/ familytravellogue.com
Research & Information 1/ tripadvisor.com 2/ gadling.com
Business Travel 1/ roadgladiator.com 2/ inflightHQ.com
City Breaks 1/ gridskipper.com
WEATHER Two
good sites for finding about world-wide weather, temperatures and rainfall are www.bbc.co.uk/weather and www.cnn.com/WEATHER
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