Follow our essential advice for a safe, stress-free holiday
- Take a picture of the inside details page of your passport, including the number, and store it in your phone and with someone at home. So, should it get lost or stolen, you will have the details to report to police and the local consulate.
- Store credit card details in your phone and make sure you have a note of the emergency numbers to call in case your cards should go astray.
- Taking at least some cash in the currency of your destination is a good idea as you may find our Bahraini bank and credit cards don’t work in every ATM. Should you be unable to get currency here at the airport, you might want to consider taking American dollars as these are easily exchanged pretty much anywhere. And it’s also a good plan to download a currency converter on your phone.
- Check out your country’s consulate or embassy at your destination. It may not be necessary to register, though this is a good idea if you’re going to be heading off the beaten track, but it’s certainly useful to know where it is and have the contact details handy in case you should need them.
- Book travel insurance and make sure it covers not just you and your belongings but also any unscheduled delays. If you’re planning on taking part in any ‘dangerous’ sports or activities, such as skiing, bungee jumping or whitewater rafting, it’s a good idea to check whether these are covered – you may need to pay an additional premium but it’s worth it.
- Leave your contact details with someone at home and, if you’re travelling alone, set specific dates and times to check in so they will know you’re safe and all is OK.
- Check visa and vaccination requirements well in advance. There can be nothing worse than booking a flight and your visa not coming through in time, so make sure you check before you shell out for plane tickets. Also, some countries will not issue visas on a passport with fewer than six months to run. If you’re in this situation, you may need to get a new passport before your trip.
- If you’re going to be arriving in a strange place late at night, make sure you’ve booked transport in advance. This is particularly important for lone female travellers. It may cost a little more than taking a local taxi on arrival but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
- Always pack a waterproof. It doesn’t matter where you’re going, a lightweight rain cover weighs virtually nothing and you just never know when you might need it.
- Wear sunscreen. There’s nothing much else to say on this one except that it’s better to look pale now than to resemble a prune in the future!
