Helpful Hints - useful information to help your holiday run smoothly

To make your travel and holiday run as safely and as smoothly as possible we are happy to provide you with a number of helpful tips and links which may be of assistance to help you plan for your trip abroad.

Please see the following information:

Make sure you have a valid Passport

For detailed information, visit:

www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Passports/index.htm

Which vaccinations do I need before I travel?

The NHS (National Health Service) is in England and they provide information regarding health conditions, treatments, local services and healthy day to day living.

The NHS also provides information regarding travel and vaccinations at the following location:

www.nhs.uk/conditions/Travel-immunisation/Pages/Introduction.aspx

It is important if you are travelling abroad from the UK that you check to see if you require any vaccinations prior to your travel.
A simple vaccination can protect you against becoming infected with a variety of serious diseases which you could be at risk of contracting on your holiday; so stay safe and check well in advance if you need to be protected.

Different vaccinations are required depending upon which country or area you are travelling to, so you can use the above link to access a checklist. The link also provides you with information about each of the vaccinations, diseases and information about how you can get vaccinated.

EHIC - European Health Insurance Card (replaces the E111)

People who are permanent residents in the UK are entitled to apply for an EHIC card.
The EHIC card is not a replacement for private travel insurance but it can give you access to state provided healthcare in all EEA (European Economic Area) countries either for free or at a reduced price.

You can apply for this card directly from the NHS who provides it for free, so as a UK traveller it is best to carry your card with you whenever you travel abroad. The card is valid for 5 years, so make sure yours is valid before you travel.

Check the following website for further information regarding the EHIC card and what it covers:

www.euhealthcard.org/?gclid=CPfS_eSCsKoCFcFP4Qod8Vzi8g

You can apply for the EHIC card online, at the Post Office or by telephone.

Holiday Insurance

Do not travel without holiday travel insurance.
Make sure your holiday insurance is adequate for everything you need. This includes some items such as medical cover, cancellation cover, lost / stolen possessions and any cover required for additional activities you may be undertaking on your travels.

An emergency abroad can be very costly, so do not assume that any insurance to cover your home or healthcare in the UK is sufficient.

Your holiday travel insurance needs to cover you for the whole duration of your trip.
Try to book your travel insurance using a travel company that holds an ATOL (Air Travel Organiser’s Licence); or a member of an association that offers financial protection for your travel arrangements such as ABTA

Some tips we can offer you to buying holiday travel insurance are:

• Shop around to find a good price. This can be done easily using the internet or telephone
• Cheaper prices usually mean cheaper policies, so make sure any savings you are making are worth it without sacrificing any cover you may require
• If you are planning to go on more than one holiday this year then consider ‘annual multi-trip insurance’ as it will save time and money

Always pre-book your airport car parking

Rather than leaving your booking until the last minute www.goparknfly recommends that you pre-book your airport car parking as far in advance as possible as this will usually enable you to save money and get the best deals on your chosen car park.

An early booking should give you a greater choice of car parks, access to greater discounts, access to better rates and more options for holiday extra’s rather than leaving things until the last minute.
We appreciate it is not always possible to book your airport car park in advance due to last minute holiday deals but in short, the more time between now and your flight, the better rate you should receive for airport car parking.

Making a pre-booking gives you the peace of mind of a guaranteed car parking space. Usually a pre-booking discount will be applied to the price which saves you money on the overall holiday costs.

Travel to the U.S: ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation)

International travellers who wish to visit or even pass through the United States of America using a Visa are now required to apply on-line for authorisation from the US Department of Homeland Security and Immigration using the following link:

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

ESTA is a web based system which was introduced by the US Government in 2009 with the aim of strengthening their security measures.
ESTA enables travellers to know in advance if they qualify for travel to the US. However, ESTA doesn't mean you're automatically allowed to enter the USA as this will be at the discretion of a US Customs and Border Protection officer at the point of entry.

ESTA applications do have a fee attached to them. Part of this cost covers the ESTA administration and the remainder goes towards a fund to promote US tourism.

*Be aware* there are some fake ESTA sites on the internet who are money making schemes pretending to be official.

Planning your journey

There is nothing worse than being stuck to a deadline to arrive at your airport car parking destination, or the airport itself and not knowing the route to get there, so we are happy to provide you with a list of websites to alleviate these issues.
Simply plan your route using the following and print off a copy of the map / directions to take with you:

www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp

www.rac.co.uk/route-planner/

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

www.transportdirect.info/Web2/Home.aspx?&repeatingloop=Y

www.viamichelin.co.uk/

www.bing.com/maps/

Highways Agency

The Highways Agency in the UK is responsible for keeping the traffic running on motorways and trunk roads, so they are able to provide you with accurate and reliable information with live traffic information via many different feeds.
The Highways Agency provides a fully comprehensive list of all possibilities which may delay you on your journey to the airport or airport car parking facilities. They can help you to plan your journey, give you visibility of planned roadwork’s which could cause you possible delays, provide you with things you need to know about traffic camera’s and can even forecast traffic conditions for you on your specific route.

If you have access to the internet via a portable device such as a laptop or a mobile phone you could click on the following link:

www.highways.gov.uk/traffic/traffic.aspx

This information is available to you 24/ 7 every day of the year.

However, if you are a frequent traveller who wants this information to be fed directly to their computer whilst connected to the internet then it is possible for you to download a ‘Traffic Headlines’ application from the above website. This enables live traffic information to be fed directly to you.

Traffic Radio

If you are in the UK and preparing to head off on your holiday journey either to the airport car park or the airport then it could be a good idea for you to tune in to Traffic Radio.

www.trafficradio.org.uk/

Traffic Radio is available 24 hours a day, every day and are available for you to tune in prior to or during your journey. Traffic Radio are there to provide you with information regarding the flow of traffic on the motorways, any accidents that may have occurred and details of any roadwork’s that may hold you up on your travels.

Use the following link to check whether you are able to receive Traffic Radio on your DAB device in your area

www.getdigitalradio.com

If you are in possession of an iPhone / iPod Touch it is possible for you to go to the Traffic Radio website and download an application to your device which provides you with up to date traffic information.