Helpful Hints to Avoid Holiday Hassles

Your holiday is a great time to get away from it all and relax but there is always a lot to do before departure day arrives and some careful forward planning can help to avoid last minute problems that can spoil your holiday. Work out everything you need before setting off. Here are some hints.

TAKE VITAL DOCUMENTS.

• Make sure everybody, including young children, have valid travel documents. You wont be able to fly with an expired passport. Some countries insist your passport is valid for another six to twelve months after departure.
• Also check if you need a visa for your destination and apply well in advance.
• Check what vaccinations you may need and get the correct medical documents.
• Check what flight documents you need especially if traveling by budget airlines, some charge you if you fail to print your boarding card.
• Make sure you know how much luggage you can check in as there may be penalties for exceeding the limit.
• Some airlines charge for food so save money by taking a packed lunch.

BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE

You will be taking a big risk if you travel without insurance. Claims over £10,000 are not unusual from popular destinations like Spain and Greece and £50,000 claims from the USA. Get your insurance as soon as you book your holiday, that will give you protection if you are taken ill or maybe lose your job or even strike actions and you have to cancel. You can shop around using a price comparison site and you can find some good deals from the Insurance section in the Travel Services section of Seasidevans.co.uk. Check the small print carefully. If, say, you injure yourself while drunk, any claim for hospital treatment may be rejected. You may also consider taking out the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). It's free, valid up to five years and gives access to state healthcare in Europe. Find out more at http://www.ehic.org.uk

ORDER FOREIGN CURRENCY

Buy your holiday spending money before you leave home as you may get a much better exchange rate, if you buy at the airport or an overseas ATM you will pay over the odds. Some of the best rates are available online through companies like ICE, Travelex, The Post Office, Thomas Cook and Tesco. You will also pay hefty foreign transaction fees if you use your credit and debit cards in Hotels, restaurants etc. It's a good idea also to take emergency contact details for every card in case of loss or theft.

WARN YOUR BANK

If you do plan to use your credit and debit cards abroad consider informing your bank. If it spots a number of overseas transactions it may suspect your card has been stolen or cloned.

CHECK YOUR TRAVEL PLANS

If you are on a package holiday don't forget to take all your booking confirmation slips, hotel details, airport transfer information, tour operator contact details etc. If you have arranged a DIY holiday you should print hotel booking slips, pre-booked transfers, train and coach tickets and any other tickets. Plan your routes and have a copy of all the details such as local bus and train times and have a good local map. If you are driving to an airport you can save money by booking parking in advance. See some parking offers at http://www.seasidevans.co.uk/journey-planners/45-airport-parking.html If you don't want to take the car check out the coach times to your departure airport.

Hope this information is of help to you.
Most of the details above have been taken from the Daily Express "Your Money" on 4th July 2012.