It’s less than two months before schools start to break up and the summer holiday rush begins. Time to start thinking ahead. Being prepared will save you time, money and stress. Here is our checklist to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Passports
This is the first thing you should double check, especially if you are travelling to the EU this summer. Since the withdrawal agreement, new rules have been catching out some travellers. These stem from the confusion around the expiry date of British passports, some of which were renewed so that they have a validity of a few months more than the usual 10 years.
However, countries in the Schengen area impose a strict 10-year limit on all passports. They use the date the passport was first issued as the starting point and also require it to be valid at least three months after you plan to leave the area. In short, to be sure, you must ignore the expiry date and check your passport was issued less than nine years, nine months before you plan to return to the UK. Other countries like Egypt and Thailand, require at least six months of validity left on the passport before departure. You can check individual countries on the Government website. The Passport Office says it “usually” takes three weeks to issue a new passport, but you would be wise to allow longer.
Vaccinations
If you are travelling long haul, there is a high chance you will need vaccinations. The NHS recommends seeing your GP or a private travel clinic at least six to eight weeks before you are due to travel because some take time to become fully effective. It has a useful reference site here.
House- and pet-sitters
Those who prefer to have someone present in their house while they are away – maybe because there is a pet to look after – should be sure to book a house-sitter well in advance. Agencies providing these services include Homesitters and Universal Aunts.
Travel insurance
If you haven’t already got holiday cover, get it now. Travel insurance is normally valid from the moment you buy it so that, if anything goes wrong with your plans, you already have protection in place. Our guide to finding the right policy is here.
Holiday protection
If you have booked a package holiday which is covered by the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Atol) rules then your money is protected if the operator or airline goes out of business. If you are travelling independently, it is worth investing in travel insurance which includes additional financial protection (see our guide above).
Car hire
In the summer peak, the earlier you book your hire car, the cheaper it is likely to be. If you haven’t arranged yours yet, you certainly don’t want to leave things much longer. Brokers, which negotiate with local and international suppliers, are usually the best places to start when comparing prices. Zest and Auto Europe are two of the best. But always make sure you are comparing like with like and have included all the extras, especially the cost of waiving the excess (see below). Our full guide is here.
Car hire insurance
Standard insurance sold with cars doesn’t cover the excesses charged on claims and which are often set at £1,000 or more. To avoid the risk, take out additional cover in advance of collecting the car. Most hire companies will try to sell you a policy which either reimburses the excess or reduces it to zero. But independent insurers are normally cheaper. Which? recommends Chew and ReduceMyExcess.
Your own car
If you are driving to an overseas destination, check that your normal car insurance covers you abroad and print out a copy of the certificate in case you are stopped. You will also need the new UK sticker (rather than the old GB one) and you may want to buy additional breakdown insurance (AA for example). The RAC has a useful checklist for what you need to take with you.