Vacation Blog

Many families are in a tight financial situation these days. You probably know how costly a vacation can become, but you should not let your budget control your life too much. There are perfectly fine choices for travel resorts, even if you are on a budget.

The key to traveling on a budget is information. By comparing different travel resorts and destinations you are able to pick those that have the best quality for your budget. Without being knowledgeable of your options, you can easily find yourself paying double or triple what you should be.

One source to gain that information from are travel agencies. However, as their income is generally based on how much you pay, they might not give you all the information you need. You need to find more reliable and more thorough sources. Thankfully, the information era is here and you can tap to millions of pages worth information with just a few clicks.

The world wide web is your friend. There are countless pages offering objective reviews of different travel resorts. By looking through the reviews of those resorts that are within your price range, you can quickly weed out those that are of poor quality.

There are also web sites that offer discounts for certain vacation packages. They are often more competitively priced than those offered by offline travel agencies, as online companies can cut costs where traditional ones cannot. This edge directly cuts the costs of your vacation.

Perhaps the most important information you can get from this kind of web sites is the information of what you need to have with you. Some travel resorts, for example those in the Pacific or Indian areas, are not equipped with everything you might be used to. Especially so, if you need to pick a budget resort.

Unless you have all the required items with you, you may need to buy something you have no need for afterward. This adds to the cost of the vacation and is an unnecessary burden to your travel budget. By thinking ahead and making sure you take with you everything you may need, you can avoid costs and use the money for what it should be: entertainment and leisure.

The best way to travel on budget is definitely to look for information on travel resorts online. By comparing different options you will find the one that best suits your budget and your wants. That will result in a much more enjoyable and interesting vacation than one sold by travel agencies.

The Maldives is a popular travel resort in the Indian Ocean. Maldives Resort Review reviews popular Maldives resorts and lets you find the one best suited for your budget and interests.

There are a lot of misconceptions related to travel insurance, and understandably most people aren't as well versed in the fine details of this type of cover as I am - I can't say that I blame them! However, many misconceptions put people at risk of spending unnecessary amounts of money on areas that could and should be covered by their policy.

So, I've compiled this mini travel insurance FAQ to assist those who have doubts, worries or questions about what they should look for.

Q: What should I do before going abroad?

A: Make sure you have checked the FCO Travel Advice for the countries you are visiting. Check you have sufficient money and that your passport is up-to-date. Take a photocopy of your passport details and keep in a safe place. Check what inoculations and visas are required. Note down the numbers and addresses of the UK embassy and consulate in the country you're travelling to.

Q: Should I take out travel insurance before my holiday?

A: I may be a little biased on this one, but yes! It is extremely important that you take out adequate travel insurance even for short trips or visits to Europe, and absolutely imperative in countries outside the EU where different conditions make illness more likely and affordable medical cover that bit more difficult to get hold of. It also covers for cancellation as soon as you book your trip.

If you travel to a country, or part of a country, against FCO advice, it is unlikely that your insurer would meet any claim, however. Should the FCO advice change after you have booked a holiday, check the position with your tour operator and travel insurance company.

Q: Should I be looking at single trip or annual multi trip travel insurance?

A: Only you can answer that really - although single trip is (generally) cheaper, it does exactly what it says and covers you for just the one trip. By contrast, annual multi trip travel insurance will cover you for the whole year on various breaks, making it the choice if you think you're likely to travel that much. You may find that just taking two trips a year would make annual multi trip travel insurance cheaper than the single trip variety!

Q: What sort of reason for cancellation is valid to ensure cover?

A: As long as your reason is within the scope of cover provided by your policy, then you should be entitled to claim in most cases. Legitimate reasons for cancelling your trip could include an illness or death in the family (as defined by your policy), freak weather conditions suspending travel for 24 hours, burglary or damage to your home, being a victim of criminal assault resulting in you being medically unable to travel, being called up for emergency military service or jury duty (subject to the specific terms and conditions of the policy). Likewise, if the hotel or resort (for independant travellers) you're due to visit suffers from a terrorist attack in the days leading up to your travel, you will generally be able to claim.

Q: Who pays if I need to be hospitalised overseas or flown back to the UK?

A: If you have proper cover, the travel insurance company should pay such fees. If not, the cost will fall to you or your relatives and friends.

Q: Is a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) the same as health insurance?

A: No. The free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) shows that the holder is entitled to reduced or free emergency care only within the EU. You will still need travel insurance to ensure you will be covered fully in the event of illness or injury. The EHIC card will help though, by reducing your initial outlay before you can be reimbursed by your insurance company.

Q: Is my pre existing medical condition a big issue?

A: Generally, yes. Check the wording of your policy to ensure it covers pre-existing medical conditions. Often they're not covered unless you pay an extra premium, and if you fail to declare your condition when you buy your cover, you'll be unable to claim on it. As always the key advice here is to check the policy wording with a fine tooth comb.

Q: How can I find out whether it is safe to travel to a particular country?

A: It is strongly advised that you check the FCO Travel Advice section of their website (fto.gov.uk). This information is regularly updated and should give you solid advice on where is and is not safe to travel (remember, areas officially outlined as 'unsafe' will seldom be covered by travel insurance policies).

Q: Is it safe to travel after a terrorist attack overseas?

A: Unfortunately, there is no such thing as risk-free travel, and the absence of advice against travel to a particular country or area does not imply that the FCO guarantees safety in that country or area.

I hope this travel insurance FAQ has proved useful - it's only really scratching the service and each policy is different, but with this advice you should be in a better position to shop around, next time you need to purchase travel insurance.

Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Journey's Travel. Their commercial travel insurance website, Insuremore, offers cheap annual multi trip travel insurance packages for families, singles, children and skiers with free cover against acts of terrorism and a quick and easy online claims feature.