Planning your trip
- Ask your doctor or a pharmacist if you need any vaccinations for the country or countries you will be visiting.
- Check the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website for information about where you will be travelling to, including safety and visa requirements.
- Check the expiry date on your passport. Some countries require your passport to remain valid for a minimum period, usually at least six months.
- If you are travelling to Europe, obtain an EHIC form from the post office.
- Find out whether or not you need to reconfirm your flights and/or hotel bookings.
- Plan your route to the airport, train station or ferry terminal. Make sure you find out about any scheduled roadworks or engineering works.
- Try and find out about the place you are travelling to, such as popular visitor attractions and recommended restaurants.
Before you go
- Leave details of your holiday, including photocopies of your passports and flight tickets, contact numbers and travel insurance details with a friend or family member.
- Leave a set of spare keys with someone you trust and ask them to keep an eye on your house, pick up your post from the doormat, water the plants and look after your pets.
- Use a timer so that lights come on at night.
- Conceal any valuable jewellery.
- Cancel your newspaper and milk deliveries.
- Throw away any food that might go off while you are away and put out the rubbish for collection.
- Ensure all doors and windows in your house, garage and garden shed are closed and locked.
- Unplug electrical appliances (except fridges and freezers) and unplug the TV aerial from the wall.
- Leave the hot water and heating on a low setting during the winter months. During the summer, switch off the hot water altogether.
Packing
To make sure you don't forget anything important when you are doing your packing, here are a few things to remember:
- your passports, visas, travel insurance documents (in your hand luggage)
- details of your flights and hotel bookings (in your hand luggage)
- travel adapter plug
- padlock and keys for your suitcases
- camera, film and spare batteries
- mobile phone and charger
- sunglasses and a sun hat
- suntan lotion
- first aid kit.
While you are travelling
- Never leave your belongings unattended or in a car.
- Place your valuables and cash in a safety deposit box at your hotel, and while you are out and about, keep your money in a money belt under your clothes.
- Don't take large amounts of cash with you. Instead, take travellers cheques or credit cards, but make sure you have the emergency numbers with you to cancel the cards if you lose them or they are stolen.
- Drink bottled water and avoid ice in your drinks. Even if the tap water abroad is safe to drink, it can often still give you a bit of an upset tummy because it is not the same as the water your body is used to at home.
- Remember to inform the local police if you lose anything or have something stolen.
