Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office

Updated travel advice is essential during your time abroad, as well as pre-departure, to help ensure you have a safe holiday.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has evolved their Know Before You Go pre-departure advisory campaign in Travel Aware, which offers travel tips and information to cover both of these stages.

Travel Aware offers the following advice for people going on holiday to help make sure you have a trouble-free, enjoyable trip:

Check you are insured – take out appropriate travel insurance before travelling and make sure it covers you for all the activities you want to do.

Do your research – learn about the laws, customs, and entry requirements of the country you’re visiting and understand how they differ from home, check www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.

Penalties if you get it wrong can be severe so think twice and know the risks. Check if vaccinations are required for your destination. For medical advice, visit travelhealthpro.org.uk. Understand what consular staff can and can’t do to help British nationals travelling overseas. Familiarise yourself with the number of the local British Consulate in case of an emergency.

Make sure your travel documents are up to date – check your passport is valid and you have all necessary visas. Look after them while travelling. Once in resort, keep them in a safe place at all times. To make copies of important travel documents, take a picture of them and/or store them online using a secure data storage site.

Keep an eye out while you are away – act responsibly and be responsible for yourself when abroad. Tell someone where you’re going and provide them with emergency contact details. Take enough money with you and make sure you have access to emergency funds. Keep an eye on your drink and stick with your friends and/or family.

Travel Aware aims to better prepare British travellers before you travel and while you are abroad with a view to reducing the number of problems you could face when overseas and ultimately the number of consular cases.

Read more about Travel Aware on travelaware.campaign.gov.uk/.

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