Verify insurance coverage, roaming fees, cabin baggage limitations, and make arrangements for cat care
Preserve your plans
Get travel insurance as soon as you make your vacation arrangements. An annual package is generally more affordable if you plan several travels and can begin at any time. We quickly calculated the cost of a yearly policy that covers several journeys inside the EU versus a vacation in France using Comparethemarket. For a person in their 40s, the starting price was £5.55 for a one-week vacation and £12.15 for a year. (These are basic insurance; you will pay extra for more coverage or fewer exclusions.) The duration of each trip is typically capped at 24 days in annual plans, so be sure this meets your needs.
Evacuation or emergency medical care should be covered by travel insurance. It also covers you in the event that illness forces you to shorten your trip or unexpected government travel advisories force you to change your plans. When comparing insurance, make sure to read the terms and conditions and disclose any pre-existing medical issues. Know what is and isn’t covered before making a purchase.
Look after your pets
Both paid and unpaid options are available for finding someone to remain in your home and take care of your pets while you’re gone. Gudog, for instance, states that the average cost of dog sitting in London is £32 per night. Cat sitters who come once a day for £20 or twice a day for £39.00 can be found on Happymeow.
Some will provide free care for your pets in return for lodging. Parties are connected by organisations such as TrustedHousesitters.
It’s a good idea to have both house and pet insurance if you are hiring folks to remain at your property or visit while you are away to take care of an animal. Most professional sitters for homes have to be covered by public liability insurance as well.
Mark Shepherd, head of general insurance policy at the Association of British Insurers, says: “Hiring a trusted house-sitter or having a friend or family member stay at your home while you’re on holiday usually won’t invalidate a home insurance policy. However, we recommend checking your policy for any relevant exclusions. For example, some policies may not cover theft or malicious damage caused by someone you’ve invited into your home.”
Sort out your thoughts
Depending on your UK operator, you can use your phone throughout Europe this summer just like you would at home. Virgin Media/O2, Tesco Mobile, and smaller providers such as GiffGaff have refused to levy roaming fees to British citizens visiting Europe after Brexit. EE, Vodafone, and Three do, however, charge, and their summertime rates have gone up.
Fortunately, by purchasing a bundle, clients of these businesses can typically lower these costs.
In order to utilise your data, minutes, and messages in any of the 47 countries that make up EE’s EU roaming zone, you will need to spend £2.47 per day if you joined the service after July 7, 2021. In addition, if you’re going to be away for longer than ten days, EE offers a roaming pass that lasts for a month for just £25.
Vodafone Credit Customers visiting any of its 49 EU destinations on a monthly basis can purchase a European roaming pass for £2.42 per day, or £12 for eight days or £17 for 15 days if they choose to purchase a package. Customers with Xtra plans, however, might already have access to EU roaming, so make sure to confirm.
In addition to charging £2 per day for EU roaming, Three’s Go Roam service also provides £5 three-day passes and £12 seven-day passes. Go Roam Around the World is available for £30 for seven days.
Monthly payment plans are subject to these charges. Customers that pay as they go should verify their individual expenses. For anyone travelling outside of Europe, the same advice applies: before you leave for the airport, confirm the prices charged by your supplier and search for any special offers. Be wary while visiting nations like Morocco and Turkey, as they frequently catch tourists off guard with exorbitant roaming fees.
Pack adapters
The twenty-first century traveler must bring multiple electronic devices, all of which require charging. Adapters to convert your UK plugs to EU, US, or international plugs are about £5. Should you want more than one plug, you might want to pack a four- or six-gang extension lead, which you can use in conjunction with the adapter to supply several UK sockets from a single outlet.
As an alternative, you can buy USB chargers with removable cords, such as the £30, four-port Anker 543. The EU-compatible figure 8 (C7) cable costs £5 from Maplin, or you can locate one at a hardware or electronics store when you get there. You can swap out the UK figure 8 (C7) cable for one that is compatible with your new country.
Weigh your belongings
If you’re flying, figure out how much luggage you’ll need before making your reservation because it may cost more to add it at the airport or later. To find out if your case will fit inside the airline’s cabin baggage allowance or if you will have to pay for checked luggage, measure and weigh it when it is all packed (using bathroom scales or an inexpensive set of luggage scales). Remember that you may want to carry mementos back with you, so if you’re close to the weight restriction when travelling, you may run into problems when you get back.
Travel expenses can be considerably impacted by the baggage policies of different airlines. You can bring a small bag up to 40 x 30 x 15 cm and a second cabin bag up to 56 x 45 x 25 cm (with wheels and handles) on British Airways flights. The combined weight limit for both bags is 23 kilogrammes. Finance Checked luggage is a paid item for basic passengers. EasyJet allows one complimentary bag up to 45 x 36 x 20 cm and up to 15 kg in weight. Ryanair allows one complimentary bag, up to 40 x 20 x 25 cm in size. There are weight and size restrictions set by other carriers. Extra allowances, such free pushchair check-in, are frequently given to families.
