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holiday tips

Before You Go On Holiday

Don’t book a holiday without researching the destination and the accommodation first on websites like Expedia - there are many other websites now that have real peoples opinions on them, and they are worth checking out, as if a lot of people all agree the hotel was rubbish, then it probably is!

Make sure your passport is valid and in date, most countries require that you have at least 6 months left on your passport.

Always check with the Embassy of the country you are traveling to, to see if you require a visa.

Do not travel without adequate holiday insurance from such companies as Travel Insurance Online or Post Office Travel Insurance, you must also notify the insurance company if you have any pre-existing medical conditions. Also do not book a holiday if you are under investigation for a medical problem or if you are waiting to go into hospital, as if you have to cancel your holiday the insurance company will not pay out.

If you are traveling to an EU country or a country which has a reciprocal health care agreement, you should really apply for a European Health Insurance Card, application forms can be gained from the Post Office. The card is like a credit card and has now replaced the old E111 forms which are no longer valid.

Make sure you nook your holiday through an ABTA travel agent and that you pay for your holiday by credit card, as this provides you with more protection, there may be an extra fee involved but you do get extra protection under the Consumer Credit Act.

This means that the card provider is jointly liable if the airline, hotel provider or package holiday company goes bust, provided your purchased item costs between £100 and £30,000.

On The Day of Depature

Make sure you leave yourself enough time traveling to the airport, as there may be road works, or accidents etc.

Take the brochure with you, or just rip out the page that includes your hotel and take all your relevant paperwork including invoices, correspondence, travel insurance details, passports and tickets.

If have booked last minute you may need to pickup your tickets from the airport, so make sure you have your information about how to pick up your tickets and your booking numbers etc.

On Holiday

If upon arrival you have any complaints such as your hotel being a building site, unclean, cockroach infested or anything else complain immediately to the travel firm rep. If your rep is not on site then use the emergency telephone you have been given or the reps contact number and demand to be moved.

If by the following day nothing has changed, tell the rep you have given them time to find you something else, and then if they cannot sort something out for you, check out of your hotel and find your own accommodation, but fill out a customer complaint form before you leave.

If your rep refuses to give you a form, fill in a blank piece of paper, take a copy of it and give it to your rep.

Also remember to talk to other unhappy holidaymakers about the hotel and take their names and addresses; also take video and photographs for evidence.

If you arrive at your destination to find the hotel is overbooked, you do not have to accept the alternative. You can demand to be accommodated in a hotel of your choice or flown home on the next available plane at the tour operator’s expense.

If you have been involved in an accident or taken ill, contact your insurer first to get any treatment authorized.

On Your Return

After you return home and you have had a bad holiday and you wish to make matters further you must write to the tour operator within 28 days. IF you have lost any baggage or damage to baggage you must report this to the airline immediately and within 7 days of any other problems.

Put all your complaints in writing and send your letter recorded delivery and keep all copies of the letters and details of who you spoke to on the telephone, when the conversation took place and what was said.

In your letter of complaint set out clearly what went wrong, how you want it resolved and a time frame for its resolution.

ABTA runs an arbitration scheme if the problems include one of its members. If the problem affected a group of people and you all exchanged details, you can launch a legal class action against the holiday provider.

Related Sites of Interest

Virgin Holidays
Airtours
Direct Holidays
My Travel
Haven Holidays
lastminute.com