Travel Aware: Advice for British travellers
As more and more people travel overseas and access to information via Wi-Fi and data roaming has increased, travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has evolved.
There is now a need for a greater variety of good quality travel information, which reaches out to British nationals of all ages and demographics. Travel advice is now also relevant during your time abroad, as well as pre-departure, to help ensure you have a safe holiday.
To address this, the FCO has evolved their Know Before You Go pre-departure advisory campaign into Travel Aware, which offers travel tips and information to cover both of these stages.
Travel Aware offers the following advice for people going on holiday to help make sure you have a trouble-free, enjoyable trip:
- Check you are insured – Take out appropriate travel insurance before travelling and make sure it covers you for all the activities you want to do. If you are travelling within Europe, ensure you have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) that hasn’t expired and understand what it covers – you will still need travel insurance! For your free EHIC card visit nhs.uk/ehic
- Do your research – Learn about the laws, customs and entry requirements of the country you’re visiting and understand how they differ from home, check gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. Penalties if you get it wrong can be severe so think twice and know the risks. Check if vaccinations are required for your destination. For medical advice, visit travelhealthpro.org.uk. Understand what consular staff can and can’t do to help British nationals travelling overseas. Familiarise yourself with the number of the local British Consulate in case of an emergency
- Make sure your travel documents are up to date – Check your passport is valid and you have all necessary visas. Look after them while travelling. Once in resort, keep them in a safe place at all times. To make copies of important travel documents, take a picture of them and/or store them online using a secure data storage site
- Keep an eye out while you are away – Act responsibly and be responsible for yourself when abroad. Tell someone where you’re going and provide them with emergency contact details. Take enough money with you and make sure you have access to emergency funds. Keep an eye on your drink and stick with your friends and/or family
Travel Aware aims to better prepare British travellers before you travel and while you are abroad with a view to reducing the number of problems you could face when overseas and ultimately the number of consular cases.
For the latest travel updates follow @FCOtravel on Twitter and Facebook.com/FCOtravel
