Careers Gateway - Magazine

Get your bucket and spade!

Going on holiday can be great! You might be planning your first holiday without your parents, been invited away with your friend's family or be planning to go travelling in your gap year. Travelling abroad can be a great way to broaden your horizons, experience different cultures, and try new things. Whether you're 13 or 18, learning about travel planning and safety abroad will help you to enjoy yourself, whilst avoiding any holiday disasters.

Before you go

Booking your travel needs time and planning. You need to know what your budget is, where you want to go and how you're going to get there. Getting advice from a travel agent is a good idea because trying to work out costs from a brochure can get quite complicated. There is the :-

Holiday Price
Supplements for rooms and flights
In Flight Meals
Transfers from the airport (the coach trip)
Airport Tax

You will also need holiday insurance in case you get ill, have an accident, have items lost or stolen, miss flights or lose luggage etc. It might seem like a cost that you can do without, but just think about how much you'd be willing to pay if you were stuck in a Tunisian market with a broken leg, no doctor and no way of getting home for help! Shop around for good insurance cover and ask the travel agent for advice. Remember people are trying to sell you things so get a few quotes and compare the policies and the prices. You may also need an E111/European Health Insurance Card and you can get a booklet and application form from your post office or online. When you book you must ask about passports, visas, permits and vaccinations. Make sure that you know about everything you need before you go!

You're spoiling our fun…..

Nobody wants to stop you from enjoying yourself, but if you're mature enough to leave your mum at home…..don't start acting like a kid! Here are a few pointers that you might want to consider :-

Making jokes about having a bomb in your bag is likely to have you refused onto the flight or spending some serious time in a police cell. Security is taken very seriously and airport staff will not find your jokes amusing.
Getting drunk in the departure lounge can lead to you and everyone on your booking, being refused entry onto the flight…ooh wouldn't you be popular!
Look after your documents and cash abroad. Try and see if you can hire a safe at your accommodation. Don't take large quantities of cash out with you. The less you have on you, the less that can be lost or stolen in one go!
Just because you're in the sunshine and chilled out, don't relax your personal safety rules When you're out and about
Take care in the sun and use UV protection. No tan is worth sun stoke or even worse, skin cancer. Keep drinking lots of water to avoid becoming dehydrated. In some countries this should be bottled water, so check with your rep.
Remember that you are not at home, ask the holiday rep or tourist information office about local laws and rules. You might find that their local police may deal with you differently to the police in the UK!
Budget your money. Don't spend all of you cash in the first two days…it has happened to many others who have got carried away with the holiday spirit.
Try and learn some basics of the countries language. A little can go a long way…especially if you need help!

Can you afford to work abroad?

It's not a holiday and you will be expected to be professional whether working or volunteering. If you want to hop from beach to beach, save up and go travelling abroad instead. Get advice from your Connexions Adviser, a parent or related organisations to help you plan your work abroad. Think about confirming the work offer in writing, find out about work permits, the countries tax, legal and health system and even about local banking arrangements. Careful planning means that you can enjoy spending longer abroad, earn some cash and get valuable life and work experience.

Web Links

Department of Health - Health Advice for Travellers
Including information about the E111 - which is in the process or being replaced by the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)

Passport and Visa advice from The Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Health & safety holiday tips from 1st Store holiday

Protecting yourself from the sun from Mind, Body and Soul

Applying for an E111 form from The Department of Health

Advice on working abroad by Connexions

Working abroad from BUNAC

The UK Passport Office

Vaccination advice from Fit for Travel

NHS - Travel Health

Adios, Au revior, Ciao!

Jennie Glitherow

At school or college? Look out for Jennie's future articles which we'll have here for the first Monday of each month and which we'll link to the best sites we can find on the Web. Why not bookmark us now?

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