Planning a romantic weekend in Paris?

Whisking your partner away on a surprise Valentines break may seem like an extremely romantic idea for but it does not always work out that way. In reality, a two week holiday, or even a weekend break, can often be filled with problems or things that you haven’t thought about, that can spoil the trip.

Here are some tips that may be useful if you are planning a Valentine’s Day surprise. Thanks to Bukisa for some of the advice here.

• Travel Insurance: A surprise is great but don’t forget to take out travel insurance, even for the shortest break away. Lost luggage or an accident could completely ruin the trip, but even more so if you don’t have travel insurance to cover you for the mishap.  Furthermore if the one you are surprising has a medical condition it is especially important that these are declared to your insurance provider to ensure you don’t come unstuck in the event of a claim!
• Work Annual Leave: Obviously if you are going to be away over the weekend this is not so much of a problem ( and quite feasible seeing as Valentine’s Day is on a Monday this year). But otherwise you will need to make sure annual leave is sorted out for your partner. Depending on their relationship with  their boss, you may want to contact them directly and book the leave – making sure the holiday is a complete surprise. Alternatively (especially if they are the kind of person who don’t like surprises quite that big!) just tell them the time to book off work, but don’t give any further details. The anticipation will be almost as good as a complete surprise!
• Babysitters: Babysitters are going to be  in demand over the Valentine weekend so make sure you book yours early. Even if  you are planning on asking the grandparents or another family member, make sure you give them lots of warning, as otherwise they may have their own plans (or be looking after your brother/sister’s kids already!). A gift from the place you have visited when you come back is always a nice way to say thank you.
• Travel dates: Think about whether or not you want to actually be traveling on Valentine’s Day. You might want to plan on either leaving after Valentine’s Day or before Valentine’s Day so you can spend the holiday relaxing together instead of traveling. Travel can be very stressful and tiring so if you want to avoid problems which may result from this, it is a good idea to plan your trip so you will not be traveling on Valentine’s Day. Plus the travel networks are likely to be decidedly busy at that time of the year – you know what it is like when you go to a restaurant on Valentine’s evening and are rushed in and out because it is just too busy – now imagine this on a train or coach!
• Location, Location, Location: Make sure you select a location which both you and your partner will really appreciate. There may be a number of activities you enjoy as well as a number of activities your partner enjoys but these activities will not necessarily overlap. However, there are likely to be some activities which you have in common – maybe you both enjoy exploring a romantic city for example. In fact, we ran a poll near Valentines day last year and found that a city break was the most popular Valentine’s holiday, with over 50% of the vote.

Overall though, if you are planning a surprise on Valentine’s day, chances are your partner will be really pleased, even if everything does not go completely smoothly. So make sure that you have fun and enjoy!

It is something about holiday problems that gets people really riled up (does anyone remember that TV show ‘Holiday Nightmares’ or something, that should give you an idea!). And I can definitely see why – after all the stresses and strains of everyday life, and saving up all year for a holiday, people deserve to have a relaxing, enjoyable break. People really put themselves into the shoes of others who have had their holiday cancelled, and imagine their own disappointment, and the media goes wild. Thousands of British holidaymakers caught up in the Goldtrail crash have been told to either pay extra money or face being thrown out of their rooms by hoteliers who fear they will not be compensated following the holiday firm’s collapse. There are now lots of individual stories about people’s individual experiences of the Goldtrail collapse.

Take this article,  where a British couple on holiday in Turkey were forced to sleep outside their hotel on deckchairs after the collapse of tour operator Goldtrail left them stranded. The hotel they were booked into was demanding £1,000 before allowing anyone to enter. At another hotel, staff confiscated guests’ passports and refused to return them unless they paid an extra £400.

One couple had to sleep outside their hotel in deckchairs following Goldtrail collapse

The CAA (UK Aviation regulator) said that it was contacting hoteliers in both Turkey and Greece to assure them that bookings will be paid for through ATOL, the CAA’s financial protection scheme.

In another story,  a brother and sister, Laura North and Andrew Coleridge, missed their nephew’s wedding in Turkey this weekend due to the collapse of Goldtrail. The siblings managed to rebook their flights with Thomson travel agents, but said they were left £400 out of pocket due to inflated prices.

Overall, 50,000 customers have been affected by the collapse of Goldtrail. So what can you say for these people who have been affected? Well I doubt there is anything that can be really said to make them feel better, but hopefully at least their experience can act as a warning for next time. In fact, the customers are lucky in one respect as they booked through a travel agents, they get some financial protection from regulatory bodies, like ATOL.

However, more and more people now book their holidays online and therefore independently, rather than through a travel agents. The consequences of a financial failure in this situation could be even worse. For example, you may book a flight, excursion, car hire, a ferry crossing or even a camp site, hotel or villa online. If any of these service providers could go bust, this could leave you with little realistic chance of getting all your money back, or possibly even stranded abroad.

So is there anything you can do to help yourself in this situation? Well it is said a lot but it really is always worth checking the small print of your insurance policy to see exactly what cover you have, because this Goldtrail incident reminds us that there is always a risk of financial failure by the airlines and tour operators etc, particularly in the current economic climate.  For example, AllClear Travel, include ‘Dynamic Packaging Insurance’ as part of their policy which protects you in the event of financial failure of holiday providers. This means you are covered against the insolvency of a supplier, even if you book your travel on the internet in separate transactions – Accommodation, Flight, Car Hire, Excursions, etc. The policy will pay up to £5000 per person for irrecoverable sums paid in advance in the event of insolvency.

If you have been affected by the Goldtrail incident, and would like to share your story, please do so in the comments box below. If you have any questions, we will try to answer them. I hope this blog has helped you out a little bit when you are next preparing for your holiday…

We know that this is a complete nightmare for people who have been looking forward to their holiday for ages. And there is a cloud of uncertainty (get it?!) as well in terms of what you can claim for your travel insurance.

So just wanted to let you know the exact details for you if you are an AllClear Travel policy holder and make it a little bit easier for you. The good news is that you are safe with AllClear as, unlike a number of other travel insurance providers, you can make a claim under your policy:

• Travel Delay or Trip Abandonment? The Association of British Insurers has warned that many policies do not offer cover to those affected by the UK and European airspace closure. However, at AllClear, those claiming under the Travel Delay and Trip Abandonment sections of the AllClear travel insurance policy, WILL be eligible to make a claim.
• Package Holiday? Where a traveller has booked a package holiday, there is an obligation for the tour operator to provide an acceptable alternative or a refund. But increasingly people simply book a flight and make their own arrangements for accommodation or car hire – in this case the airline will only compensate for the airline ticket. This leaves the traveller picking up the bill for a hotel room or villa which he can’t get to, though no fault of his own! The disappointment on missing out on the holiday is bad enough without having to payout for accommodation not used. This is where a reputable travel policy is important to limit these losses
• Claim: If you have not been able to travel because your flights have been cancelled AllClear is offering to reschedule the insurance to your new dates. AllClear has confirmed that those claiming under the travel delay and trip abandonment sections of the AllClear Personal travel policy, WILL be eligible to make a claim.

 To find out how to make a claim, please follow this link

Ok so that information should help if you are an AllClear Travel policy holder and have a holiday currently affected by the volcano. But what about if you have a holiday coming up soon and need to look at your travel insurance? What additional considerations might you need?

• Forward thinking for a new holiday? The volcanic ash cloud is costing the airlines and tour operators millions of pounds and it’s probable that not all will survive, so the next issue could easily be a spate of financial failures. AllClear has led the way in providing cover for this eventuality. You might want to check the small print for this option when shortlisting your travel insurance
• Does the policy have Dynamic Packaging Insurance? Package tours booked through a travel agent are usually protected by bonding such as ABTA or ATOL. But if you tend to book your travel separately – Accommodation, Flight, Car Hire, Excursions, etc., if one of the companies suffered financial failure, you may lose out without this cover.

We hope that information removes some of the cloud of confusion surrounding the travel disruptions from the volcanic ash. You might also want to check out our news article on this topic here.

If you have any other questions on how to make a claim, or the detail of your cover, please feel free to ask them in the comments box below. Alternatively, if you would just like to share your own experiences on how you have been affected by the volcanic ash cloud, please feel free to do so in the box below.

Holidays aren't always all sun and fun...

> If you are feeling ill while on holiday, try to write down the symptoms. If you are familiar with the symptoms, use any suitable medication that you have with you –see the AllClear 4 you site for more information on travelling with medication. If the symptoms persist, seek medical help as soon as possible and notify your travel insurance company’s claims line immediately. If you fail to notify them on time, there might be delays in receiving the appropriate support from your insurers.

> While seeking medical treatment, inform your close relatives back home about the situation if you are travelling alone.

> It may be that you would rather travel home for further medical treatment. You should still be in touch with the claims line, as they can ensure all your travel arrangements back home are taken care of

> If you are hospitalised abroad, ensure you collect all the medical documents, bills etc from the hospital before you are discharged. Ensure you submit these documents as soon as possible to your Insurance company for claim reimbursement. Without adequate travel insurance, the costs for emergency medical treatment and repatriation could result in a hefty medical bill running into many thousands of pounds

> Always check with the Foreign Commonwealth Office for information regarding your holiday destination that may affect your health – for example a heat wave or cold snap

> Make sure your travel insurance covers you for cancellation and curtailment in case an unexpected medical condition, or another situation, arises causing you to cancel or cut short your holiday

> If you plan to participate in adventurous activities on your trip, make sure you have read your travel insurance policy wording beforehand to check you are actually covered to do these

> The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) may entitle you to free or discounted medical treatment in a European Union country but remember it’s no substitute for travel insurance as it does not cover repatriation or cancellation

> Given this information, it is a good idea to take some time exploring the many holiday insurance options, and that doesn’t always mean the cheapest. For example, if you have pre-existing medical conditions, it is important to check that your travel insurance policy covers them in case you fall ill abroad – take a look at AllClear for more information. Also, you should consider whether it is better to purchase single or annual multi trip insurance – annual insurance is often better value if you’re a regular traveller and travel more than once a year.

We hope this blog provides some useful information for you about your travel needs. If anyone has any additional information they would like to add, or have a question that is not answered, please do so in the comments box below.