The information in this section contains an essential list of articles aimed at helping you stay safe and well while you are abroad.

Your policy should pay out if you need to cancel or cut short a trip because, for example, you fall ill. It should cover pre-paid expenses, such as excursions, and any extra costs incurred in getting home. Check your policy documents to see what would be covered' accident, illness, pregnancy unknown when you buy the policy, jury service or witness summons, etc.

Market surveys show that many people don't take out travel insurance. They believe that their credit card accident cover, home insurance, or private health cover is sufficient. However, it is unlikely that these will give adequate cover. If you make several trips each year, consider taking out annual multi-trip insurance to save time, money and effort.

If you travel without travel insurance, and something happens to you, you are alone.
If you have travel insurance and something happens to you on a trip, your insurance acts like another person, helping you out of the situation so that you are not alone.

You may have to pay thousands of pounds in medical costs if you fall ill or have an accident outside this country. Most people are aware that medical care in USA is expensive, but many other countries also have expensive medical services.

Whether you're riding the waves in Hawaii, wakeboarding in Italy, kite surfing in Sharm el Sheik or bungee jumping in New Zealand, make sure you take out comprehensive travel insurance.

Just got an iPod or expensive digital camera for your birthday? Well, you might want to consider leaving them behind if you're going to be heading off on your gap travel.
Here are some top tips on what to take with you when you head off on your gap travel:

It´s essential to plan well before any big trip abroad - especially one that could entail months away from home. Arriving in a foreign far-flung country is always exciting but it can be daunting too! So when it´s all so unfamiliar it´s important to do a little preparation before you go.
Here are a few handy top tips to get you started´

For your journey to be trouble-free you´ll need to make sure your passport´s in-date and in good condition. You´ll also need to have the right visas and documentation for all the countries you plan to visit before you go. If you don´t have the right paper work on arrival in a country, you won´t be let in!

Before you go abroad you´ll need to think about how much money you´ll need, what format you´re going to take it in and where you´re going to stash it.
The following tips should help you when thinking about cash on your gap travel...

Maybe you're planning to hire a car to see the sights or taking a road trip on a Harley across the States. Either way if you're planning to drive abroad you'll need to check with the relevant country's embassy about the laws and driving licence requirements of the country you're visiting. These can vary greatly from the UK.

Alcohol
Different countries have different attitudes towards alcohol and your behaviour may offend others. Try to recognise your limits and make sure that you are taking care of yourself:

You don't need to become a native overnight, slaving over research about a country when you want to be having fun. But a bit of local knowledge can go a long way to enhance your travel experience and earn you respect in the country you're visiting. Before you head off on your gap year, make sure you familiarise yourself with your destination and its local laws and customs. It's also a good idea to learn some key phrases and words of the local language. This can make a huge difference to your trip and the reception you get.

Don't forget it's worth keeping in touch with those back home when being away from home and having the perfect opportunity to do your own thing.

The information in this section contains  an essential list of what you must do before and while you are travelling, and what to do if something goes wrong. We have also included travel insurance for backpacker information.

The information in this section is aimed at helping you stay safe and well while you are abroad.

Skin cancer:

Skin cancer is currently the most common type of cancer in the UK, with over 65,000 cases being diagnosed every year.  It also has one of the fastest growth rates for cancer.  Most skin cancers are caused by long-term exposure to the sun, or to UV light, such as the use of sun beds, and could be prevented by minimising exposure to these sources, by regularly applying sunscreen, wearing long sleeved clothing.  With the recent heat wave in the UK equal care should be taken at home.

Measles in Greece, Fiji, Kenya and the Ukraine

• Many children are not vaccinated in developing countries so it is important to have boosters.
• The Department of Health are recommending that all 18-24 year olds in Britain should be boosted with the MMR vaccine as they have received insufficient vaccine.
• We recommend this to anyone older than this too, unless you have had the disease.
• Remember mumps is a leading cause of infertility in young men and rubella may need boosting for women of childbearing years.

CHIKUNGUNYA OUTBREAK:

The outbreak of chikungunya virus that was first reported on La Réunion in March 2005 has extended to other islands in the Indian Ocean. Cases have also been reported in Mayotte, the Seychelles, Mauritius and now Madagascar.

Rabies is a horrifying disease, with a 100% death rate for those bitten by a rabid animal with no pre-exposure vaccination. The disease is carried by a variety of animals, but a human is most likely to have contact with the disease through dogs, foxes and vampire bats. Any bite from a possibly infected animal should be treated seriously and emergency treatment sought immediately. Symptoms include a fear of water and flying, muscle convulsions, and cardiac and respiratory arrest.

Influenza is a serious illness, caused by a virus. Its symptoms include bouts of shivering, sweating, high fever, muscle aches and pains, weakness, dry cough, and extreme tiredness, and are extremely debilitating. Some individuals are at risk of serious complications. People with flu can spread the infection even before they themselves begin to feel ill.

Not just a vaccination service!
Travel Health Newsletter - November 2006 Travellers' diarrhoea

50% of travellers get sick either whilst travelling or within the first 6 weeks of their return, usually due to travellers' diarrhoea. This is generally caused by human contact with food, and is particularly common in food that has been handled a lot, such as hotel buffets. There are a number of simple precautions that can be taken to minimise the occurrence of this illness, which can severely disrupt a trip:

Avoid foods which are not served hot

Avoid ice and drinks which are not sealed

Use hand sanitizer if eating food you will handle yourself

Other high-risk foods to be avoided include fish, shellfish, and salads.

Africa is experiencing its worst flooding for three decades. More than one million people have been affected by flooding in 17 countries - but in particular Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Togo and Burkina Faso.
Heavy rains have destroyed homes and crops and displaced cattle, leaving whole communities vulnerable, extremely short of food and exposed to health risks.

Yellow fever (also called yellow jack, black vomit or vomito negro, or sometimes American Plague) is an acute viraldisease.It is an important cause of haemorrhagic illness in many African and South American countries despite existence of an effective vaccine. The yellow refers to the jaundice symptoms that affect some patients.
Yellow fever has been a source of several devastating epidemics and is endemic in ten countries in South America and over 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It is thought that there is a great degree of underreporting of this disease; the World Health Organization estimates that there are approximately 200,000 cases of yellow fever per year, with 30,000 deaths.
The yellow fever vaccine is very effective and safe, although there have been a few reports of rare adverse events associated with the vaccine. Yellow fever vaccine is an entry requirement for some countries, but it is advised that travellers to yellow fever endemic areas should be vaccinated even if there is no specific requirement