SOME TIPS FOR THE TRAVELLER

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Holiday travel is an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately with a little misfortune or lack of attention, it can turn into the most unpleasant experience in a lifetime. Sometimes you can’t avoid what has to happen, but most of the time, simple precaution can prevent accidents. So here are some tips to avoid the unpleasant.

Preparation

When travelling on your own, you need to prepare beforehand about your visit. Decide what type of holiday you want and then what towns or cities you would like to visit. Today, thanks to internet, one can also search on places of interest and discover beforehand the landmarks and important historical places one can visit. It is also important to make an estimate of your spending.

Try to find the Tourist office of the town or city you would like to visit and send them an email. Most of these offices are willing to send you material like brochures and maps free of charge to attract the visitors. A map is a very important tool that helps you plan your tour of the city.

Accommodation

When you come to choose your accommodation, look for a hotel or a guesthouse which is close as much as possible to the centre and preferably within a walking distance from a train or bus station. However be careful of certain areas close to the Train station which are usually somehow unpleasant. Sometimes the money saved on hotels outside the centre is spent on transport to and from the centre together with loss of time. So evaluate the situation before you decide which hotel. Three star hotels offer good tourist accommodation but in certain countries, like in Italy, two star hotels can be as comfortable and convenient. Try to enter websites like Tripadvisor, Venere, Excite, Yahoo etc to obtain comments on the hotel you will visit. Most of the comments there are from persons who visited the hotel. Try to obtain an overview of all comments and decide on how objective they are. These websites and others like booking.com also have special offers for persons who book through internet. However, make sure that you are booking with a reliable company. Do not trust websites of companies you never heard of. If you need to check about a company you can always search the name of the company in Google, or msn or any other search engine. If there is something wrong on the company's reputation, or the company is a scam, I’m sure you will find such information online.

After you decide that a company may be trusted, then make sure that you only give your credit card details if you are provided with a secure server. A secure server has a picture of a padlock shown against the url address and starts with the words https:\\ and not http:\\.

Also ensure that you read the conditions of payment and of cancellation. Some online companies charge your credit card immediately upon your booking and do not refund any money in case of cancellation. Others keep your credit card number as a guarantee and will charge you only after you check out of the hotel. The latter usually allow you to cancel anytime before 24 hours from the day of arrival. Personally I always prefer to book with the latter online companies. Always keep a copy of the printed email of confirmation and take it with you in case you need to present it for the check in.

Insurance

Purchase a travel insurance policy in case something happens to you or to your companions. Insurance gives you indemnity in case of illness, theft and other mishaps that might happen before and during your holiday. Please note that today the costs of medical services are quite high.

If you are travelling within the European Union, you are advised to obtain the European Health Insurance Card from the Department of Health. This will entitle you to state-provided medical treatment only. Private treatment is not usually covered.

If you are travelling to countries outside the EU check if you require a VISA.

Utility List

Prepare a utility list of items you need to carry with you during your holiday. Apart from clothing and other toiletries don’t forget to take with you some medicine which you can take in case of an emergency such as Paracetamol, medicine for gastric flu etc, and any other medicine which you are required to take under the doctor’s prescription. Keep in view that it will not be easy to find a pharmacy immediately when you need it when you are abroad. Take also some Elastoplasts and one or two bandages.

If you suffer from a particular health condition ask your doctor to advise you if you can actually travel. Your doctor will advise you also of what to take with you and what to do in case of emergency.

If you have to walk in the sun, make sure that you take with you a bottle of sun block for protection. Even for walks in the mountains sun block is a necessity to protect you from the ultra-violet rays of the sun which are also present at high altitudes.

Also don’t forget to take with you a raincoat and an umbrella. The weather in some countries is unreliable and a cloudless day in the morning may easily turn out into rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon, especially in mountain resorts.

If you are travelling in winter, keep in mind that northern countries may have sub-zero temperatures which require suitable clothing. If on the other hand you are travelling in summer, you may need to take with you summer clothing together with some other light winter clothing and a jacket. Temperatures in mountain regions in Europe sometimes do not exceed the maximum of around 14 degrees and accompanied by cold wind. This is also possible in certain cities where unstable weather is the order of the day.

Finally you will also need good walking shoes. Do not attempt to take with you new shoes that have just been purchased and never used because this may create problems to you and may ruin your holiday.

Be on time

Always check your time of departure especially with flights. Be at the airport at least 1 hour 30 minutes before the departure time of your flight. This is important especially if there are queues in busy periods. With flights you have to check in up to a certain time and then the flight is closed. And be in time at the gate. Try to avoid being called for the last and final call. Remember that airlines have a tight schedule and they will not wait for you.

Here in Malta we do not have trains. So when you use the train, always check with the electronic board which you usually find on the platform that that is the appropriate train for your destination. Sometimes the platform changes a few minutes before departure and if you do not understand the language you may not even notice it. If you have difficulties ask before boarding. It would be better than having to stop at the nearest train station which may be going in the opposite direction.

Security

Keep an eye on your belongings especially in train stations, in airports and on transport means such as busses. If you are carrying cash keep only little cash in your pockets and try to leave the rest inside of jacket pocket. The safest way is to have a small pocket underneath your shirt securely kept in place by means of elastic tape.

Pick-pockets are very creative. They usually appear so gentle trying to help you that you don’t even have the least suspicion that they are stealing your wallet. They can also act in pairs. Sometimes they play tricks on their victims like for example, they accidentally drop something on you and while you are distracted with them trying to help you out, an accomplice is putting his finger in your pocket to pull your wallet.

Be also careful when you are using modern carrying bags with wheels which have zips at the front. Some pickpockets follow you and while you are walking they unzip your bag’s pocket to take whatever comes in handy. If you bag is small they can just snatch it and run away with it. Always keep an eye on your luggage.

Avoid catching attention by opening your wallet in front of people or displaying electronic goods such as mobile phones, cameras, camcorders etc. to involuntarily attract attention. Be careful when you use the metro or underground. Observe the behaviour of those around you. Be suspicious of those who get out of the metro and who clearly show they have no destination.

Above all, avoid using the metro in the late hours of night and do not react to provocation in case someone addresses comments at you. Just ignore him and keep on going as if you heard nothing.
At night try to avoid risky areas such as near train stations, red light districts, and places that are usually empty. These places may be zones frequented by drug addicts where drug related crime is possible.

Notwithstanding all this I don’t mean you should go out wearing a bullet proof vest with a gun in your pocket. These things rarely happen if you take the necessary precautions.

When you are at the hotel it is advisable to leave you valuables and your cash in a safety deposit box, either in your room or at the reception. Some hotels do not guarantee safety in room deposit boxes so the best way is to use the safe at the reception. This is usually free of charge and you are given a key which you shouldn’t loose. Otherwise some hotels may charge hefty sums in order to open such safes which may be in the region of €300.

Take a camera with you
Travelling is an experience which is sometimes buried in the mind of the traveller. So take a camera with you and capture those nice moments, those beautiful landscapes, the buildings, the plazas, and the people. Then share your beautiful experience with us. We will be glad to share with you your experience.

Well, the next thing now is to pack your bags and enjoy your holiday.