Most people have a tale of a holiday nightmare, when something went badly wrong. Often these disasters can’t be avoided, but a bit of pre-planning before you leave can be the difference between a crisis and a mild inconvenience that turns into an amusing anecdote when you return. Here are some tips on how to avoid the worst holiday pitfalls, and not let one problem wreck a whole trip.
Holiday disaster: After delays, and despite begging the check-in staff, you miss the flight.
Pitfall prevention: As a general rule, you need to be at the airport about an hour before the plane leaves. However, trains get delayed and cars get stuck in traffic, so it’s wise to leave at least an hour and a half more than you think the journey will take.
Further tactics: When buying the plane tickets, double and triple check that the dates and times are right before confirming– especially if booking on the internet. It’s very easy to put the 18th of the current month rather than the 18th of the month you plan to travel in… And that’s a costly error.
Holiday disaster: You arrive safely… but your luggage doesn’t.
Pitfall prevention: When or if you get it back is dependent on the airline, but if all the essentials and valuables (passport, tickets, hotel details, cash, phone, MP3 player etc) are in your hand-luggage, it’s merely an inconvenience if your bags arrive the next day.
Further tactics: Take a spare set of clothing in the hand luggage – at least you’ll be able to change the next day while waiting for the rest to arrive.
Holiday disaster: Your sense of direction goes nastily wrong, and you end up lost in the middle of nowhere, not speaking a word of the language.
Pitfall prevention: Carry a good guidebook whenever possible. It not only has a map, but in the back there is a list of phrases that can be pointed at when trying to explain to locals what you’re looking for.
Further tactics: Even the tiniest fragment of linguistic ability goes a long way. If you can say ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry, do you speak English?’, you’ll usually find locals far more friendly and helpful in giving assistance.
Holiday disaster: Some devious thief makes off with your bag, and it contains your wallet, cards, passport, tickets… the works.
Pitfall prevention: You can’t do much to stop the theft, but you can reduce the damage. Make a photocopy of everything important, and keep it in a different bag from the original – or even better, scan it in an e-mail it to yourself.
Further tactics: Take two bank cards, and keep them in different places – that way you’ll still have access to money once you’ve phoned the bank and cancelled the stolen one.
Holiday disaster: You have a nasty accident or fall ill.
Preventative measures: The best way of avoiding illness is following the guidelines – they’re not just a sneaky way for pharmacists to make extra cash – get inoculated and take tablets as recommended for the country you’re visiting. Also make sure you have enough of any regular prescription medicine for the full trip.
Further tactics: The saving you make by not getting travel insurance won’t seem all that great if you have to fork out for hospital bills or repatriation – get covered before leaving.
The basics
Make sure your passport is in date, and valid beyond the date of return. Most countries expect it to be valid for at least six months afterwards.
If you need a visa to enter the country, either get it suitably in advance or ascertain that it is OK to get one on arrival.
Get any inoculations/ tablets needed for travel in the destination country well before setting off.
Domestic affairs
If leaving the pets/ kids behind, make sure caretaker duties are arranged with the relevant kennels/ grandparents.
Unplug all appliances before setting off – it’s greener, cuts the electricity bill and reduces the risk of fire in your absence.
Leave one prominent light on. OK, it’s not particularly green to do so, but it indicates to any passing burglar that someone may be at home.
Protection
Get travel insurance – the money saved forgoing it doesn’t bear the slightest comparison to how much it’ll cost if disaster strikes.
Scan all your important documents (ie. Passport, insurance, tickets), then e-mail the files to yourself on an account that can be accessed from the internet anywhere. This means you’ll be able to get at them even if everything is stolen. Take a print-out of them too.
If you use any particular medication, make sure you pack enough to cover the whole trip – getting the right thing abroad can be very tough.
Money matters
Take two bank cards that can be used abroad – exchange rates are almost always better withdrawing straight from a cash machine rather than using travellers cheques or a bureau de change. Keep one on your person, and pack the other safely so that you have a back up if robbed/ pickpocketed.
Take a small amount of cash that can be changed at the airport if necessary – many airports don’t have cash machines as part of what is a thinly-concealed deal with the money changers. As long as you have enough to get into town, you’re OK.
Packing
Make a comprehensive list of all you need to take (including often forgotten things such as towels and phone chargers). Only tick them off after they’ve been put in the bag, rather than put in a pile beside it…
If taking electrical equipment, buy and pack an appropriate adaptor.
If not planning to spend valuable holiday time doing the laundry, bring more than one set of clothing per day – it’s no fun wearing sweaty clothes in the evening just because you’re rationing the underwear.
Pay attention to security rules – no sharp stuff or bottles of liquid bigger than 100ml in the hand luggage.
Copyright David Whitley
