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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