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Need
some help to plan a holiday, or some pre-travel advice?
Then the resource section below is for you. Where to find
the information and products you need? It's all covered.
We
have grouped the resources into two sections:
- A 'planning resources' section to help you plan your holiday;
and
- A 'things to do before you go' section for after you've
booked your trip
We also recommend a great advice and information website
where you can find the cheapest flights, hotels, car hire
and all things holiday called 1stHolidayStore.co.uk.
| Planning
a trip? Our planning resources section |
How
about some recommended resources?
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Organise
your search with our Free 'TravellersSOS
Pocket Planner'. No more scribbling on the back
of an envelope, this Adobe (pdf.) file will help you
organise your search like a professional. To download
it quickly right click on this Planner link and pick
'save as'. Then save it to your hard drive to open and
print later.
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The
64 thousand dollar question, where to go to find those
elusive holiday bargains? www.lastminute.com,
www.ebookers.com,
www.expedia.co.uk
(owned by Microsoft) and www.teletextholidays.co.uk
always rank amongst the top online companies. We also
like www.a2btravel.com
(a UK site set up by the magazine publisher EMAP) and
www.holidaydiscounts.com
(owned by Lincoln Travel). To be honest though, you're
often better to sit in front of Teletex on your TV! |
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Planning a driving holiday to Europe using your own car?
The Drive-Alive website (www.drive-alive.co.uk)
features everything you need to choose your channel crossings,
hotels or self-catering property, including a route planner
and tips on driving abroad. |
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Find
out more about the accommodation you've been offered?
We love this site. Go to www.virgin.net/travel
and click on the 'Resort Finder' section (in the index
in the left hand margin). Here you'll find the honest
and unbiased information on resorts and specific hotels,
previously only available to travel agents! |
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Need
a book or travel guide? We like www.easyvalue.com.
It uses 'bot' technology (automated 'spiders' that rapidly
query multiple merchants and build a table of prices and
delivery times), which means that it takes a bit longer
to search than traditional book sites like Amazon. But
it's search results give you a price and delivery comparison
for up to 15 online book sites, including all of the usual
suspects (Amazon, BOL and WH Smith). And the prices it
displays include delivery charges, often used to mask
a true comparison. easyvalue also has an electrical section
for cameras and camcorders, but the choice is a bit limited.
And it's about to launch a flight search section too.
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easyvalue.com
also has an electrical section for cameras and camcorders,
but the choice is a bit limited. And it's about to launch
a flight search section too. |
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If
you're buying an expensive book that originates from America,
and you are able to wait 11 - 18 days to get it, it is
often cheaper on Amazon.com (as opposed to Amazon.co.uk),
even with the increased delivery charges. |
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Want
to some free local information? Check out the local tourist
office via the 'tourist offices worldwide directory' (www.towd.com).
A much underused resource. |
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Need
a map? We like www.multimap.com.
Not only does it provide good worldwide coverage, it's
easy to navigate and has the option to view (and print)
printer friendly pages. |
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Want
to save up to 75% on your travel Insurance?
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Don't buy it from your travel agent or your bank -
they're usually the most expensive places to buy.
- Do
get an annual multi-trip policy if you go abroad more
than once a year.
- A
recent Which? survey rated the following low cost
providers in its top 8 www.direct-travel.co.uk,
www.journeywise.co.uk
and www.travelplan-direct.co.uk.
An annual policy for a single person covering Europe
costs just £29.50, £31.45 and £34.00
(respectively), and an annual worldwide family policy
costs £65.00, £67.20 and £93.00.
Compare that to a single policy at £119 or a
family policy at £236 from Thomas Cook. I know
where I'm buying!
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Questions
about renewing your passport or visa requirements? Avoid
the all-day queue at the passport office by going to www.ukpa.gov.uk/.
You'll find travel advice and an easy to navigate applications,
renewals and urgent applications sections. |
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Need
some currency? We do a couple of searches each month to
check who's giving the best rates. www.thomascook.co.uk,
www.onlinefx.co.uk
and www.travelex.co.uk
consistently came out on top. |
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Information
on travelling to a specific country? The Foreign &
Commonwealth Office site (www.fco.gov.uk)
has some good information. |
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Travel
Health? Best of breed are www.travelhealth.com
and www.tripprep.com.
If you want something a bit less US-centric try the travel
section of www.netdoctor.co.uk. |
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Worried
about sun protection? Visit www.sunprotection.org.
It's a L'Oreal site, and looks like it was written for
a 7 year old doing a science project, but it has some
good advice and is well worth a visit. |
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Need
a holiday car? We like www.holidayautos.com,
who offer a £5 discount for booking online (already
built into the price they quote, which never fails to
disappoint me).
However,
do your homework first. Check around with the likes
of www.autosabroad.co.uk
(check the prices online but you have to phone to book),
www.carhire4less.co.uk
(part of the '4less' group), www.carjet.com,
and call Direct Car Hire (08704 44 66 77 - their website
is just a page with their number on at the moment!).
It's often cheaper to phone Holiday Autos with a lower
quote from a competitor and take advantage of their
price match, rather than accepting their online price.
Even though you lose the £5 online booking 'discount'.
One
final word of advice on car hire - check the hire documents
carefully when they arrive. It's not unknown for a car
hire firm to give you a cheaper price by downgrading
you to a 3-door car or one with no air conditioning
(if it doesn't say 5 door or air conditioning, it doesn't
have 5 doors or air conditioning). Make sure you got
what you agreed to on the phone, and paid for, before
you get to Orlando airport at 2 a.m.!
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How
about some accommodation? For villas we like www.villadeals.com
(part of Thompson Travel Group), www.holidaybank.co.uk
(pulls together information from a range of specialist
villa companies) and www.jamesvillas.com
(a UK based online directory).For hotels try www.hotelselect.co.uk,
www.hotelconnect.co.uk
and www.hotelnet.co.uk
(part of Holiday Break plc). |
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Flights?
In addition to the no-frills companies (www.ryanair.ie,
www.easyjet.com,
www.go-fly.com
and www.buzzaway.com)
for their chosen routes, we like www.britishairways.com
(particularly their world savers) and the brokers www.ebookers.com,
www.TravelSelect.com
and www.lastminute.com.
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Airport
parking? Have you noticed how airport parking companies
have started to charge for an extra day? Until recently
you used to pay 7 days for 7 days. Now if your flight
leaves at 7 am and you return at 10 pm 7 days later?
Sorry, that's 8 days parking fees!
Other than this gripe, and they are all doing it, for
Gatwick we like www.aphoffers.co.uk
- reliable, cheap and very close to the airport. For
Heathrow we like Pink Elephant (020 8564 9050). And
at other airports we usually use the airports long stay
car park (it's usually cheaper to pre-book, try www.bcponline.co.uk
or www.ncp.co.uk).
And we've heard good things about www.abcholidayextras.co.uk's
choice and prices.
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Help!
Need details on a travel subject but a website's not listed
here? We have a huge database full of them. E-mail your
request to information@TravellersSOS.co.uk.
And if you'd like to recommend a website (as long as you
don't own or work for it……!) you can e-mail
us at information@TravellersSOS.co.uk
too. |
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www.travellingwithchildren.co.uk
provides strategies, solutions and secure online shopping
for sucessful family travel and holidays. A great site
if you're travelling with children! |
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And
www.seniority.co.uk
is another great site, packed with advice and information
for over 50's. |
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| Booked
your Trip? Things to do before you go |
So
you're off then! A few of things before you go:
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Information?
If you want some information on the resort or the area,
a guide book, insurance, car hire, currency or just about
anything else for your holiday have a look at the recommended
links in the 'before you go' section just above. |
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Want
to know if your flight is delayed? Check on www.baa.co.uk
to find out. |
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No
more fumbling for those important details! To keep all
of your important information in one place, download and
complete our really useful and Fre 'TravellersSOS
Pocket Companion'. It's an Adobe (pdf.) file - to
download it quickly right click on this Companion link
and pick 'save as'. Then save it to your hard 'TravellersSOS
Pocket Packing List' and tick off the items as you
put them into your suitcase. Again, it's an Adobe (pdf.)
file - to download it quickly right click on this Packing
link and pick 'save as'. Then save it to your hard drive
to open and print later.
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Want
some advice on how to take that perfect photo? Try http://www.kodak.com/US/en/nav/takingPics.shtml.
A bit of a mouthful, and far too many 'Kodak's in the
text and on the pages, but some useful advice and well
worth a visit. It covers conventional (35mm) and digital
photography. Also worth a look is the travel section on
the www.nyip.com
(the New York Institute of Photography website). Now there's
a site to drop at the next dinner party….! A more specialist
for digital cameras is www.saycheese.com |
And some useful advice:
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Remember
that, although the form E111 offers some medical cover
in certain European countries, it is not a substitute
for good quality travel insurance. And you can get good
quality travel insurance at very reasonable prices - from
£25 for a family holidaying in Europe (see the links
in 'planning a trip' above). |
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Take
a copy of your travel insurance details with you (and
leave a copy at home). It will have some important instructions
for you to follow in the case of an emergency. If you
don't follow them (for example, you don't phone them if
you are incurring medical costs) you may find that you
are not covered. Honestly, this does happen. |
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Remember
to take 'reasonable precautions' to protect your property.
All insurance policies contain this clause. It means that
your travel insurer usually will not pay out if, for example,
your bag was stolen from the back seat of a car. Even
if the car was locked. |
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Credit
and debit cards:
- If
you haven't already, buy a TravellersSOS policy! Click
on the 'buy a policy' link at the top of the page.
- Don't
let them out of your sight when you pay for something.
Your details can be copied in 2 seconds with one swipe.
And this kind of crime is becoming more and more popular,
especially overseas.
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Watch out for the number of zeros - it's easy to make
a mistake in places like Turkey or Italy.
- Keep
your receipts - it's not unknown for a zero to be
added later on written slips.
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Never write down your pin or disclose it to anyone,
and beware of people watching you or standing too
close to you at cash points.
-
Don't believe that rug salesman who tells you that
it takes 3 months for the charge to hit your credit
card. It will be on your next statement.
- And
report lost or stolen cards immediately. Don't assume
you must have left them at home. And even if you did,
the new ones will often be on the mat when you get
back. Don't take the risk. Remember we can help
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If
you think you need to make a claim, notify your insurer
promptly, in accordance with the terms of the policy.
Often (including for TravellersSOS) this means
within 24 hours of the incident, so that they can help
you minimise your loss (and therefore their costs). |
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If
you lose personal possessions most insurers require you
to report the loss to the Police and to get a Police report.
This can be a time consuming process. But if you want
to make a claim, it is necessary. |
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Keep
receipts for any costs you incur whilst away that you
think you will need to claim for. For TravellersSOS
this includes, for example, receipts for the cost of obtaining
an emergency passport and the cost of calls to cancel
lost and stolen credit or debit cards. |
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Don't
forget that you have this policy (people do!). We're here
to help. |
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