Gap Year Travel – be Safe
Gap Year Travel – be Safe
That is no reason not to take a gap year because similar accidents can and do happen closer to home but gap years do generally involve extended travel to remoter parts of the globe and thereby lies the problem. According to the FCO, over 200,000 people in the UK, of all ages, are now taking gap years or sabbaticals abroad with India, Peru and Tanzania currently the most popular places for gap year placement.
The UK Government has also recently announced a £10 million scheme to offer 18 to 25 year old from less advantaged backgrounds the opportunity to undertake placements living and working in developing countries. This means that the trend to take a gap year is set to grow even more and one estimate puts the global market to be worth a staggering £11 billion pounds by 2011. So how do you reduce the potential risks involved? The FCO offers very useful advice on their website at www.fco.gov.uk/travel and they do keep up to date travel advice information on most, if not all countries. What is still surprising though is that 25% of all travellers go abroad without adequate travel insurance but why take this unnecessary risk? Although travel insurance will not prevent something happening to you, it can certainly help to reduce some of the stresses in the aftermath. Medical expenses including repatriation, loss of baggage, legal assistance, and curtailment are just some of the essential benefits that come with most policies and it is now possible to buy tailored policies from specialist providers to cover almost every combination of gap year.
South African born Keith has lived in the south of England for most of his life. After graduating from University with a degree in Business Information Systems Management he decided to start Strawberrysoup; a website design company based in West Sussex and Dorset.
Keith successfully gained entry into the Southampton University Air Squadron and spent over 12 months training to fly. Since then he has continued to follow his interest in flying and has now began his own training in the form of a Private Pilot’s Licence.
Keith also spent 13 months working within the Image and Printing Group at Hewlett Packard in Bracknell. Throughout his time there, he was responsible for many activities including events organisation and website design and maintenance.
Check travel advice before you leave
Check travel advice before you leave
Not many people will have been aware that, up until the end of February, Madagascar was the only country in the world, apart from Somalia, that the Foreign Office were advising Britions not to travel to, giving it a higher risk factor than Afghanistan, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although Madagascar is not on most tourist routes, the recent political turmoil on the Island does show that, whilst most holiday destinations are generally strife free, it still pays to check out where you are going before you travel. The best place to do this is by checking with the Foreign Office which has up to date advice on all countries and to log on to www.fco.gov.uk/travel is a wise precaution, particularly if you plan to travel to parts of the world off the beaten track. Should you become caught up in what is neatly termed, civil commotion or civil unrest, you need to be aware that most <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://www.travelandinsure.com/”>travel insurance</a> providers include this as a general exclusion in their policies. The impact of this is that you may not be as well insured as you think you are. If in doubt, do check with your <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://www.travelandinsure.com/”>travel insurance</a> company before you travel and look at your policy wording. Generally, medical expenses and medical repatriation will be included but if you want to be covered for all eventualities then you will have to pay an increased premium on your <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://www.travelandinsure.com/”>travel insurance</a> policy. Thankfully the chances of being caught up in these types of incidents are still very slight, and even when they do strike, they tend to be away from the main tourist destinations. So if you do plan to travel abroad, do look at your itinerary and check with your tour operator beforehand who may be able to offer alternative destinations away from the troubled areas. For the independent traveller, be wise and avoid those areas where a heightened tension exists.
South African born Keith has lived in the south of England for most of his life. After graduating from University with a degree in Business Information Systems Management he decided to start Strawberrysoup; a website design company based in West Sussex and Dorset.
Keith successfully gained entry into the Southampton University Air Squadron and spent over 12 months training to fly. Since then he has continued to follow his interest in flying and has now began his own training in the form of a Private Pilot’s Licence.
Keith also spent 13 months working within the Image and Printing Group at Hewlett Packard in Bracknell. Throughout his time there, he was responsible for many activities including events organisation and website design and maintenance.
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Travel Insurance – Looking After yourself
Travel Insurance – Looking After yourself
Travelling the world and visiting unfamiliar countries for the first time can be a wonderfully exciting experience. On the other hand though, if something goes wrong while away, chances are you will wish you never left home.
Although you won’t have ultimate control over how safe your journey abroad is, there are a great deal of measures you can take to prevent any problems arising or minimising their effects.
First and foremost – educate yourself on your chosen destination(s). This is best achieved by seeking advice from the FCO (the Foreign and Commonwealth Office), who have up-to-date travel information on over 200 countries.
Common things to look out for include any notices on political unrest, war, kidnaps etc. Also, familiarising oneself with local etiquette and customs is vital, as failure to follow certain rituals can cause considerable offence in some regions.
While researching you should find out if you will require any vaccinations before travelling, these should be sought at least 6 weeks before setting off.
Secondly, once you know exactly where you will be travelling and what kind of things you will doing, any extreme sports for instance, you should obtain adequate travel insurance.
Many travellers see such insurance as an unnecessary expense and thus travel unprotected which, considering the often costly foreign medical expenses, is highly advised against. The costs of covering any accidents abroad can easily run into the hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions; all of which will be expected to be repaid once home. Travel insurance to cover such situations is therefore an invaluable tool.
The level of cover you require will vary considerably, depending, amongst other things, on your medical condition, what you intend to do, where you will be travelling and for how long.
It’s important to note that insurance claims may not be processed if you are harmed because of an already known cause. For instance, if you omit details of an asthma condition on your insurance application and then suffer an asthma attack you will not be covered for any damages incurred.
Also, if you are visiting a country that the FCO warns against for whatever reasons, this could invalidate your travel insurance. The cost of your holiday insurance will depend on your level of cover; the internet is however, an excellent source for cheap travel insurance quotes.
Liam is a UK based writer.