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Travel Checklist - How to Prepare for Holidays Abroad

If you are a well travelled individual, and your holidays abroad normally run smoothly, you might think you know exactly what to expect of your next trip. But it's useful to take a quick refresher. Every country is different, so there may even be a few things you haven't thought of.

Our travel checklist will help to prepare you for any type of holiday, and will protect you while you are away.

So what do you need to do before you set off?

• Visit the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website for accurate, country by country travel advice
• Sign up to the FCO's LOCATE service in the event of a major disaster while you are abroad
• Locate the nearest embassy in case you need to contact them in an emergency
• Get travel insurance that provides appropriate cover to meet your needs - goodtogoinsurance.com can cover travellers of any age, even those with pre existing medical conditions
• Get a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to accompany your travel insurance
• Find out if you need vaccinations from your doctor or travel clinic well in advance
• Allow plenty of time to arrange visas and check that your passport is still valid
• Take photocopies of your passport and travel documents with you and stash them separately to the originals
• Leave details of your holiday destination with a friend or relative so that they can contact you in an emergency
• Take plenty of local currency with you and shop around for the best exchange rate
• If you intend to hire a car, make yourself aware of the rules of the road before you get behind the wheel

If you follow this checklist carefully every time you travel, then your holidays abroad should run smoothly.

But once you've set foot on foreign soil there's still a bit of work to do. Here are a few things you'll need to bear in mind:

• Don't take unnecessary risks - if you wouldn't do it at home, why do it while you're away?
• Keep valuables hidden and only carry small amounts of cash
• Adhere to local laws and customs to avoid offence or penalties
• Keep cameras and binoculars out of sight at borders or military posts
• Find out if the local drinking water is potable and stick to bottled water if it isn't
• Don't buy wildlife souvenirs - they could be made from an endangered species
• Familiarise yourself with your surroundings before you venture further afield so that you know how to return to your accommodation

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