Fifth of parents aged 50+ have visited children living or holidaying abroad Parents aged over-65 most likely to ‘gatecrash’ their child’s gap year or holiday Post Office Travel Insurance extends its annual multi-trip insurance policy to the over-65s.

With many young adults expected to take a gap year to avoid the credit crunch, research from Post Office Travel Insurance reveals they could be receiving some unexpected guests. A fifth of parents (21 per cent) aged50+ with children that have lived or holidayed abroad, said they had visited their child to broaden their own horizons.
Most intrepid are those parents aged over-65 with almost half (48 per cent) admitting to ‘gate crashing’ their child’s gap year or holiday.

With economising at the heart of many travellers’ plans at present, one in five (19 per cent) of people from all age groups said they plan to holiday with friends and family abroad this year. Once again it is the over-65’s who form one of the biggest groups – 32 per cent said they have already taken advantage of a family member living abroad or in the UK, or plan to so later this year.

Despite their willingness to travel, it’s not always easy for over-65s to get travel insurance, with many providers simply not offering policies to this age group. The Post Office’s research reveals that 14 per cent of those aged 65+ have struggled to get insurance in the past. To make life easier, the Post Office has recently extended its annual, multi-trip insurance policy to cater for over-65s.

Rachel Croft, Post Office head of travel insurance, said: “Many children may use their gap year as a chance to get away from their parents, only to find mum and dad have plans of their own to tag along! For parents, being able to stay with their child whilst they are living abroad means they can holiday for less, but often leads to them travelling to new places and holidaying for longer, making it even more important to have adequate travel insurance in place.

“We understand that finding affordable travel insurance can prove difficult for older travellers and can lead to people having to take out policies that impose high costs or heavy stipulations, which is why we are extending our multi-annual travel insurance policy to the over- 65s.“We hope this move will signal the end for seniors to have to buy expensive single trip policies every time they go on holiday. Instead they can now buy one simple policy to cover all their trips for the year, including trips to stay with children living abroad on gap years.”

Issued by Post Office Ltd:0207 250 2468100 Victoria EmbankmentLondonEC4Y 0HQ www.postoffice.co.uk

Notes to Editors
All figures are from Yogi Plc. Total sample size was 2024 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 3rd – 6th July 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

About Post Office Travel Services: The Post Office offers single trip policies (no upper age limit and cover available for a maximum of 90 days) and annual multi-trip policies (age limit 74 years). A range of great value extras is also available, including extended baggage, excess waiver and golf cover. The annual multi-trip policy provides cover for any number of trips in a 12-monthperiod, up to a maximum of 31 days’ per trip. The Post Office was voted Best Travel Insurance Company for the third year in a row at the 2008British Travel Awards.
The Post Office is also the UK’s largest bureau de change provider offering over 70 different currencies with 0 per cent commission on all foreign currency and travellers’ cheques. The Post Office pre-paid Travel Money Card offers customers a secure and convenient way to carry their holiday money and the Post Office Credit Card is one of the few to offer 0 per cent commission on overseas purchases,
The Post Office also provides a range of other great value travel services including EHIC forms, passport check and send service and photos and international money transfers.
About Fortis: Fortis Insurance Limited is a leading provider of award-winning personal and commercial lines insurance solutions in the UK. As the fourth largest travel insurer in the UK, insuring in the region of 3 million travellers, Fortis boasts a highly skilled team who on hand 24/7/365 days a year, to provide the very best service to their travel insurance policyholders. Over nearly 30 years Forties’ Assistance International and its team of multi-lingual staff have built an enviable and solid base of experience in managing a network of agents worldwide. Forties is consistently recognised for delivering high-quality customer experiences and links quality of service to speed of settlement. Fortis Insurance Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Tags: British Gas, Gap year, Holiday, Holiday Activities, The Post Office, Travel, Travel Insurance

You drive off the ferry, full of love for your European cousins, desperate to enjoy that once a year driving in France experience, only to be cut up by your first Clio, and you’ll soon be swearing like a trooper and gesturing in such a fashion that Entente Cordiale had drained right out of your car.

Okay, lets get one thing straight right away. If you’re heading off across the Channel, then get car breakdown cover in France. Don’t risk it. The cost of taking out good cover will not only give you peace of mind, but it could also save you a fortune.

But back to the French roads. The French do generally give a wider berth to cars with foreign number plates. It’s almost as if they know the average foreign driver does not have a steel stomach and a brain which seems to weigh up dangers with a different mathematical formula than most.

Take the average French driver along one of their ‘A’ roads. Not a motorway, or a dual-carriageway, but a straightforward road that links say two towns, with a couple of sleepy villages in between.

Firstly, the speed limit of 90 kilometres per hour (kph) – that’s 56 mph in old money, note some 4 mph slower than the national British speed limit) is only there so that some French people are employed making, erecting and maintaining speed signs. After that, it has no purpose.

Secondly, a long line of cars, with the odd lorry thrown in, all behind a lost Dutchman pulling his 75 metre caravan in first gear, is seen as a challenge by the average French driver. It is something to be overcome. This is best done by revving the old Peugeot up to 100 kph, pulling out once there’s nothing coming for at least 20 metres, then hurtling down the long line of traffic on the wrong side of the road, whilst lighting up the fifth Gauloise in four minutes, chatting animatedly to the passenger about the meaning of life and trying to stop the dog in the back licking the baguette.

It’s also best to ignore flashing lights, blaring horns and gestures, and once pass the caravan, swerve majestically across to the right side of the road and gun the Peugeot a bit more, because if you take the village at warp factor six, you’re going to get through quicker.

As for foreigners, don’t ignore the speed limits (or take a suitcase of bank notes instead), enjoy the motorway speed limit of 130 kph (81 mph), unless its raining, when it is 110 kph, and remember to take the warning triangle with you, just in case you do break down. And nowadays, you need a fluorescent jacket as well. It’s so that bloke doing warp factor six can see you and hopefully miss you.

All very French and oddly, quite charming. And the reason why you need good car breakdown cover in France.

Tags: Car Breakdown, Car Insurance, Cars, France, Holiday Activities, Holiday Transportation, Holidays, Overseas Driving, Travel, Travel Insurance

Travel jabs; who needs them? Well, we all do actually, especially if you don’t want to end up with something nasty that is.

Firstly, a true story. This writer once went on a business trip with a number of well-heeled commercial guys to Bangkok. Everyone thought they had got fully immunised and after the trip was over, one of the party fell ill. Not just ill mind you, but very ill. In fact, he was incarcerated in a hospital isolation ward for over four months. After weeks of testing they discovered he had a particularly nasty bug which is not uncommon in Asia, but very uncommon in this country. And although not life-threatening, if not spotted quickly enough, it can certainly ruin your social life for a while.

But the point is, that an innocent trip to the commercial centre of Thailand which, afterall, is not the Third World, turned into a nightmare for a guy who, said the hospital, if he hadn’t had some form of protection with his jabs, might have suffered even more. 

So, don’t take risks, but also appreciate that getting fully tanked up with the recommended vaccinations can be a very expensive business. Most crucially, it could invalidate your travel insurance and leave you with a big bill for getting treatment and then getting back home.

And you have a choice between private clinics, which can do things in a rush if need be, but are generally more expensive, and your local GP, which are cheaper, but do need some warning.

A quote for getting say rabies, yellow fever, hepatitis A and typhoid jabs at a private clinic could cost you well over £200, whereas a GP might be able to shave over a £100 off that bill.

Bear in mind that anti-malaria tablets alone can cost, for a box of 50 tablets, around £25.

GP’s will usually provide free jabs for hepatitis and typhoid, and are more competitive with shots for yellow fever and rabies. And the NHS will also offer you, sometimes at least, free meningitis and polio jabs. 

Of course, you might think it wiser to use a private clinic, especially one which specialises in travel vaccinations, as they hold bigger stocks, tend to have rarer vaccinations and have a greater knowledge, and one which is updated regularly, on the changes and developments.

So, when you are planning your exotic holiday, remember a key things regarding your travel vaccinations.

Firstly, get plenty of advice from the NHS, The Department of Health, The Foreign Office and the National Travel Health Network and Centre. Do a bit of research and find out what you need for the countries you intend to visit.

Secondly, plan way ahead. Some jabs might need to be taken three months before you intend to travel.

Thirdly, even if you intend to use a private clinic, or vaccination centre, have a word with your GP. He can chat you through a few things you need to know and if you have an issue in your health history, might advise a course of action relevant to you. He will also give you an idea as to what they would charge for the jabs.

But finally back to the Thai example at the start of this article. To give you an example, if you wish to travel to this country it is recommended (some more strongly than others, depending on the current opinion of the day) that you have jabs for the following, a certain number of days before you leave:

• Diphtheria (three months before travel);
• Hepatitis A (two weeks);
• Hepatitis B (two months);
• Rabies (one month);
• Tuberculosis (three months);
• Typhoid (ten days).

Mind you, nothing for Dengue fever, which might suggest there’s not a lot you can do about catching that, apart from avoiding those pesky mosquitoes.

Tags: Holiday, Holiday Activities, Holiday Transportation, Holidays, Package Holidays, Thomas Cook, Travel, Travel Insurance

In the good old days, when the words credit crunch had yet to be invented, it was the done thing to aspire to the best method of travel possible and the best holidays.

It was de rigeur to be seen flaunting your wealth and this was especially evident when flying. Airlines made it very clear that for those enduring the ‘walk of shame’ through the sumptuous luxury of the business cabin into the cramped cattle pen conditions of economy, flying was about spending your hard earnt money on the best seats. Okay, all those on the bucket airlines didn’t really care where they sat, even on the wing, as long as they did so at the least cost, but at least there are no other classes to show you up.

Also, travel destinations were all about being pampered; going to exotic locations, preferably as near to the sea as possible and having to hand international 18-hole golf courses for the men and with beauty salons for the women.

It was the time of the travel ego, when money was spent on giving yourself a treat and letting everyone else know that you were doing just that. It was the personification of hedonism and summed up the start of the 21st century.

Now, with world economies crashing with greater frequency than Eddie the Eagle, a new phrase has been coined by the travel industry: recession chic.

In the true sense of the ingenuity of the human race, people are trying to make the best from having to make their money go further.

Leading the way are the Americans and the trend for getting a better deal for holidays has been spotted at a New York travel show, where people are said to be on the hunt not only for bargains, but for a chance to show an heightened awareness of the new world order.

Those in the industry attending the travel show say their customers are not only considering how much their dwindling savings will buy them, but also how they can show that the important things in their lives, such as family, their health, or the environment, can in someway be accommodated when booking their holidays.

And for those holiday destinations that offer guilt-free pampering to those wiling to pay for it, they are worried that people will spurn their enticements and go for something more akin to the recession chic experience.

And to try and cope with this development, many of the more luxurious resorts are trying tone down their top end holidays with chances of doing good. Therefore, in certain destinations, such as Central America, Asia and the Far East, travellers are encouraged to participate in conservation and social projects.

In one such project holiday-makers are given the chance to purchase a book for a village that has no library. And not only purchase the book, but also deliver it in person and talk to the villagers themselves.

It’s almost a case of social guilt offsetting. So you can not only now offset your carbon footprint, you can also now offset your conscience.

Another company has hit upon a novel idea of ‘Laid Off, Take Off’, possibly a pretty sad reflection of the hard times people face. Simply, when you get made redundant, take some time off. Whether that’s a good use of their money remains to be seen, but, maybe it’s a good an idea as any.

So, when booking your holiday, remember now that its cool to be cost conscious and maybe, as you walk down the plane to cattle class, you can hold your head up high with a new sense of superiority.

Tags: Holiday, Holiday Activities, Holiday Transportation, Hotel, Package Holidays, Thomas Cook, Travel, Travel Insurance

The Jumbo has reached middle-age; its 40 years old this year.

But far from showing it’s age; there’s still life in the old dog yet, with the next version, the 747-800, about to be launched in 2010. And to think that it has taken forty years for a true competitor to try and fill the Jumbo’s shoes, in the shape of the Superjumbo, the Airbus A380, is testament to Boeing’s engineering skills.

And when you talk about the Jumbo, you have to use superlatives. The main one being that the 1,525 Jumbos ordered have collectively clocked up around 42 billion nautical miles. That’s the equivalent of having flown to the moon and back 100,000 times, having made approximately 17 million flights.

The first Boeing 747 flexed its wings over Washington State in 1969 and enjoyed around 75 minutes in the air. It was called City of Everett, the place where it was built, and it carried the hopes of the Boeing company. Repeated funding exercises have been needed to get the cash needed to build the Jumbo and observers at the time had said that had it proved a white elephant (an appropriate simile), it would have been the end of the Boeing Company. The Jumbo proved anything but a white elephant, and it has been one of the world’s greatest products.

In 1970 the first commercially equipped 747, decked out in the colours of the now defunct airline Pan-Am, was christened by the then First Lady of the U.S. Pat Nixon and made its first commercial flight on 22 January, 1970.

The Jumbo had a number of aviation firsts. It was the first commercial airliner to have twin aisles and provide the passenger with a sense of roominess. It was also the first to have an upper deck and gave the marketing men a chance to show first class passengers leaning against a top deck bar enjoying a mid-flight drink.

That novel idea was eventually dropped when the airlines realised that a 37,000 feet high bar was not a good use of space. Nowadays most Jumbo’s use the three-class system (between 350 to 400 seats) and put their pampered first-class passengers in the nose of the Jumbo, with the upper deck for business class (or sometimes economy, in those Jumbos exploited for maximum seating capacity) and the economy passengers in the main cabin.

The pilots also have their cockpit at the upper end of the upper deck, meaning that they had to be re-trained to not only fly such a larger aircraft, but one where they are positioned so far off the ground. And it was not only the pilots that had to change. Airport runways had to be widened and lengthened; taxi-ways had to be strengthened, and, terminal buildings made larger to accommodate the bigger aircraft and their larger loads of passengers.

The 747 also introduced the concept of ‘big fan’ engines. Such was the power needed to get the Jumbo in the air, that it was only possible after a leap-forward in jet-engine technology. Not only did they become more efficient, they became huge, having to collect as much air as possible to force along the engine, which was then mixed with aviation spirit, before being ignited and creating the thrust necessary to lift tonnes of metal into the air. And such is the size of a modern turbo fan jet engine, that you could fit a fuselage of a 737 into the front of it.

But, for the airlines, the Jumbo was not about remarkable engineering, or the beauty of the aircraft’s design; for them, it all comes down to economics. The Jumbo offered lots of seats and that meant lots more passengers on each flight. Of course, the downside is that the more seats you have and the more you can’t possibly fill it, then the more money you will lose.

So whilst the airlines were salivating at the thought of getting more passengers on board, they were also worried if the travel industry could stand that increase in numbers of people wishing to fly. They needn’t have worried, because apart from the times when recession has blighted the world economy (such as the various oil crises), the Jumbo has done much to stimulate air travel, opening up the market by allowing airlines to lower fares.

In the broadest terms, a commercial airliner with 400 seats does not cost twice as much to run as one with half the number of seats. The effect is that the cost per seat on a large aircraft is reduced over its smaller counterparts, so once airlines realised there were major economies of scale to be achieved, then fares came down (not only because they could, but they had to to increase the market size) and modern aviation as we know it now, was away.

And few aircraft have played such a part in modern culture. The Jumbo has played a starring role in many movies, novels and songs.

Whether the pretender, the A380 Superjumbo will prove such a hit with people’s imagination, remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, the good old Jumbo is set to be around for many decades to come.

Tags: Holiday, Holiday Activities, Holiday Transportation, Hotel, Jumbo, Jumbo Jet, Package Holidays, Thomas Cook, Travel, Travel Insurance

The Department of Health is urging U.K. holiday makers to check that their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) are up to date before they travel.

If they don’t, warns The Department of Health, they could face unnecessary medical costs if they are treated in mainland Europe.

The EHIC replaced the old E111 form and has an expiry date printed on the credit card type piece of plastic. Should the card have lapsed before the date of travel, then travellers will be charged full medical costs if they become ill.

The Department of Health estimates that over half of U.K. travellers do not realise that their EHIC has an expiry date. So the message is check before you travel, as it would be too late when abroad.

Renewal is straightforward, either online, or by phone, and can be renewed up to six months before the due date. Be warned that it can take up to ten days to deliver the renewed card, so people are warned not to leave it too late before they leave.

Log onto the NHS website to get renewal details.

Consumer groups and The Department of Health point out that the EHIC is a superb system, allowing the holder to get the same treatment in any EU, or Swiss hospital, that the locals can obtain. It is free to get the card and once acquired, is easily updated. For everyone travelling in Europe, it is seen as a must-have credential.

It is reckoned that over 28 million U.K. residents hold an EHIC, which replaced the E111 form in 2005, but that over three million are due to expire in March 2009. The EHIC officially entitles the holder to free state provided healthcare, should they fall ill, or have an accident.

But although a superb system, both The Department of Health and consumer groups warn that the EHIC should not be seen as a replacement for travel insurance. It is there to signify that the holder is entitled to a base level of medical cover within Europe. Most importantly, it does not cover transportation costs home in the event of a serious, or debilitating accident, and that can cost a fortune.

Nor does it give cancellation cover should your plane/train/ferry be delayed, provide compensation for lost luggage, or offer personal insurance cover. It also does not cover accidents when ski-ing.

So, be warned, if you haven’t got an EHIC in your wallet, get one. And if you have, check the expiry date, otherwise it could cost you a lot of money in the long run.

Do Just Book It Thomas Cook It!!!

Tags: Holiday, Holiday Activities, Holiday Transportation, Holidays, Insurance, Travel, Travel Insurance

Rarely is anyone too broke for a break these days.

The travel industry is so competitive that as long as you are a bit canny and are prepared to be patient, and spend a bit of time on the internet, then whatever your budget, you can get some time away from it all.

Firstly, and this is most important, do your research online and once you’ve find the ideal package, remember to book online as well.

Most top travel companies run very good web-sites and encourage the users to make use of their automated systems. This is why online prices can be so low, because a computer takes over most of the booking process.

And another tip, if you’re looking for a really cheap break, then get a package that includes says flights, hotel and if you can’t get a good deal on the food thrown in (full board), then go for the self-catering option. That takes many of the variables away and allows you to budget properly. You have one set price (including your self-catering cost element) and that can be saved up and then used to buy your holiday.

Take a case in point. The cheap, no-frills airlines make a big fuss of their seat sales. One such airline offered hundreds of seats at only a token 1p. Superb you might think, free flying, and even when offered with no taxes, there are a number of hidden extras, such as an online booking fee and a check-in luggage charge, which means that your 1p ticket can quickly be £10.

Okay, £10 is still not had, but lets say you pop off to some European location for £10. You tend to land in some remote airport which then requires transport (often expensive) to get you to a decent sized town, or City, to stay at a hotel. But bear in mind that hotels are expensive if booked by an individual traveller. And eating in such hotels can be very expensive if not booked through a travel company, who get the best rates because they book in bulk. So, by the time you’ve enjoyed your 1p, suddenly £10 flight, you might end up paying hundreds of ponds for a very mediocre break.

Just as an aside, someone worked out that with a 1p flight, if you booked using a VISA Electron card (which often does not incur an online charge) and didn’t take any luggage for the hold, and minimal hand-luggage, then your 1p could actually only cost you 1p. Mind you, that’s quite a lot of sacrifice for a holiday flight!

So, unless you are confident in matching your very cheap flight with a very cheap resort/hotel package, and it can be done with a little effort, then go for the whole package which includes flights and resort.

Take one example which is a seven night self-catering package to Tenerife, which includes flights from a U.K. regional airport with studio bedroom accommodation in some Spanish style villas close to the seafront, restaurants and bars. In May, this would cost only around £250 per person.

Also consider a City break, which can offer an intensive get-away-from-it-all travel experience for little money.

Two nights in Prague for example, staying in a City-centre two-star hotel in a guestroom sleeping up to five people in a family room, can be had for just over £200, including flights from a regional U.K. airport. Great value for all concerned.

So, if you think about it, you’re never really too broke for a break.

Tags: Holiday, Holiday Activities, Holiday Transportation, Holidays, Hotel, Thomas Cook

Learn the language is good advice when travelling. The benefits of learning some basic phrases will help you no end when trying some international diplomacy.

So, lets say, when you ask someone in a French bank if they “… parlez-vous anglais…”, you will be able to understand when they reply “…un peu…”. That beats staring at the person with a blank, bemused expression, or replying loudly in English that you don’t understand a word of what they’ve just said.

Now, okay, a lot of people in strange, far-off lands do speak English. We’re fortunate, thank goodness, that English is nowadays an international language, especially in business.

Speak English in many of the well-trodden parts of France, Spain and Italy, and there’s a good chance they’ll understand you. But what they really appreciate is you making the effort to learn some basic phrases. It’s not that they expect you to discuss the meaning of life in their language, but it shows that you are not an ignorant foreigner with a disdain for their country and culture.

Think about it seriously for a minute. If you can speak some basic phrases, it could prove very useful, if not vital. Lets say your car breaks down, but not in a capital City, in some rustic hamlet, far away from smart garages and multi-lingual reception staff. It’s dark, it’s raining, the kids are shouting for their tea and you’re faced with a mechanic, about to knock off for the day, and not in the best of moods. Now, you can bet your bottom dollar, if you try the Brit trick of waving your arms around and shouting incoherent English phrases, your mechanic will be off with no more than a shrug. But, try some basic phrases and that mechanic might just delay his supper and might just be able to help.

And let’s just imagine it’s not the car that’s taken poorly; how about one of the family? Delays in explaining a particular concern, a symptom, or a need for a medicine, might prove to be decisive in getting the help you need.

But lets put those sort of difficulties to one side; lets say you’re at the ticket window at the local train station trying to ask for a family day rover to a town two stops down the line. Ticket staff, anywhere in the world, are not known for their patience. Gesturing with raised eyebrows, tapping the window with your timetable and reminding them, in public schoolboy vowels, that you didn’t vote for the European Community anyway, is not going to get you, or your party, to your destination with ease.

So give yourself a break; learn the language is good advice when travelling. Learning some basic phrases is not that difficult. Start by having a look at what you’ll be doing on your hols. On a driving holiday, then learn how to say my tyre has just shredded; want to walk through the hills, then remember how to ask for mountain rescue; or someone in your party with a recurring medical problem, then learn how to ask for the appropriate cream.

Learn the language and you’ll see a different world.

Source from http://www.thomascook-direct.co.uk/

Tags: Holiday, Holiday Activities, Holiday Transportation, Package Holidays, Travel

Africa on a budget is now achievable. No longer do you need a country estate, a speech impediment and a trust fund to visit one of the greatest continents on earth and shoot large endangered animals.

Of course, it’s not as simple as saying I wish to go to Africa, here’s my well-earned dosh, book me a holiday. First, bear in mind that Africa covers a whopping 11.7 square million miles (about three times as big as Europe) with some 53 separate countries. And quite a few people live there, just under one billion is a recent estimate.

Africa ranges from Morocco in the north, which is a short strip of water away from Spain, to South African down at the bottom, which is rather more than a strip of water from the Antarctica. To travel from top to tail is around 5,000 miles.

Senegal lies at its Western most tip (next stop the Caribbean) and the east, Somalia (next stop India). It includes countries which are already well serviced with tourism, like Egypt and its mummies, to ones which appear almost nightly on the news bulletins, like Zimbabwe, with more noughts on its bank notes than the England XI score sheet.

A bonus for when traveling there is less jet lag. Although you might fly some 6,000 miles from London to Johannesburg, you’ll only have to put your watch forward two hours. Travel 6,000 miles west from London to the U.S., and you’ll be back some six hours.

The great thing about Africa, is that whatever you want from a holiday, it can provide, and nowadays on budget.

Egypt offers the Pyramids, a chance to float down the Nile in comparative splendor, or some sun-lounging time at their superb coastal resorts. South Africa is not short on culture and tip-top holiday resorts, whereas you might fancy a wild safari break in Kenya.

Flights from London to Joburg can be snaffled for just £158 return (excluding taxes) and Cape Town £210 (flying quite soon). Cheap tickets are plentiful on the South African routes, but to get to Cairo, the magical capital of Egypt, requires a bit of forward planning to get the best prices, say around five to six months, but still respectable at around £350. It’s a little more expensive for Nairobi, Kenya, at just under £400.

As to what you do when you’re there, some 12 days at the famous Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh, when your days are spent soaking up the sun, seeing the Nile and visiting some of the country’s plentiful historical monuments, can be got for less than £500 per person. And a Kenyan safari and beach holiday can be also acquired for around £500 per person. Move on down to South African and your £500 will buy you around four nights in a lodge on a game reserve.

Africa on a budget is perfectly feasible and the great thing is, you don’t have to feel like a student on a gap year. Enjoy.

Source from http://www.thomascook-direct.co.uk/

Tags: Africa, Holiday, Holiday Activities, Package Holidays, Travel, Unusual Holidays

Child Safety in another country is vitally important. And just because you are in another country, it does not mean that you should let your guard down.

The trouble with many resorts and holiday destinations is that they are so relaxing, so seemingly away from the chores and worries of being back home, that you forget that bad things can happen while on holiday.

Some simple steps should be taken.

Firstly, if your child is old enough, make sure they know some basic information. This works for home, as well as on holiday. Get them to recite your home and mobile numbers, or a number, should they get into difficulty, of where you are staying. Okay, kids don’t like learning, but if you make it a game, in the car, or in the departure lounge, then you might be surprised what they can pick up. At least have your child recite the name of the place where you are staying.

Next, get your child a bracelet that contains key contact information. Such bracelets can be bought from leading retailers and they allow people who might find them, a chance to get them back to you as quickly as possible.

Another tip on the clothing front is to dress your child in brightly coloured clothes. And clothes that you can spot at a distance. In those vital seconds when your child might be lost, or taken, a colour that attracts your attention, might make all the difference.

Establish some ground rules with your child. They should understand that they should not leave your side for any reason Of course, this is a two way thing, and you must ensure you don’t lose sight of them either. If you have other children, being close to them is the next thing to being close to you.

Another rule: no talking to strangers, no matter how friendly they are. It’s a shame of course and does not reflect well on the world in which we live, but here the old adage really works: its better to be safe than sorry.

Establish a simple rule as to what your child should do, if they discover themselves lost. Don’t panic, find another adult with a child, and go and ask them for help. Alternatively, find someone who looks in charge, or someone working in a shop. Give them an idea of who to turn to.

That’s the ground rules for your child, but also discipline yourself to take some basic precautions. Check your hotel room, villa, or apartment as soon as you arrive for basic safety. Report and get fixed any broken windows, catches, or locks. And keep you eyes peeled: keep a look out for anyone belaving suspiciously, or who looks out of place, or lurking around for no reason.

Child safety in another country is a serious matter. Remember that and you won’t have to share some of the horrors experienced by other parents having lost their child in another country.

Source from http://package-holidays-direct.co.uk/

Tags: Child Safety, Holiday, Holiday Activities, Package Holidays, Travel