If you are about to plan an overseas trip to spend some time watching basketball matches, then we have a few handy tips to ensure that trip goes smoothly and without a hitch! With that in mind please do read on and discover what you should be planning and putting into place before you leave your front door!
The very first thing you will need to find out is just what currency the country you are visiting uses and work out whether now or later may be a good time to buy some local currency for that country, as such we would urge you to pay a visit to www.exchangecurrency.com as that site will enlighten you on all matters related to buying currency and will also ensure you get the best currency exchange rate too.
Cash
For a start, you’re going to need cash and when abroad you’ll need a fair bit. We recommend that you use a pre paid credit card. That will give you the safety of knowing that your actual bank details are safe and you aren’t carrying wads of cash around on your person. It’s also brilliant for kid’s spending money as you can give them a card each and can top them up as and when required, giving them a sense of responsibility with money, and the actual value of money, which is never a bad thing!
Insurance
God forbid you or your family become ill on your holiday, but it does happen. We have all been there, with a dodgy stomach that usually only lasts a couple of hours, or motion sickness because the flight was turbulent.
However, if something more serious occurs, such as an opportunistic infection, and you need medical care, you are going to have to rely on your insurance. If you are an EU citizen, then you really need to get an EHIC (European Health Insurance Card), as this will get you medical care nearly anywhere in the EU and will grant you treatment.
Medication
This is a really important one. Not only is medication vital, you should ideally take 2 lots of meds with you, just in case. Medications that are rigidly needed, no questions asked, such as HIV, Cancer, HRT, Morphine etc, need to be kept with you at all times, however, carrying a second set is not going to hurt.
If you lose your drugs, or your baggage is lost, you at least have a set to fall back on until you can source new ones. By law, life saving drugs cannot be taken off you on a journey if they are prescribed. So basically any medication you are taking cannot be taken off of you, but having a back up is a good idea, just in case as mistakes do happen or your bag gets lost and you misplace your medication.
Passport
This is really important, if your passport is due to expire in the next 12 months, a lot of countries will deny entry. Check your passport expiry date and if it’s coming to its end date, get it replaced. This will not only save you a load of aggro in the future, but will also end up costing less as renewal of a valid passport tends to be cheaper than getting a complete new one.
Alcohol
We all like a drink when setting off on our holidays, however, there is a fine line between having a few drinks before setting off, and being inebriated to the point of disgusting. Alcohol is not the enemy, however, bear in mind that not everyone wants a drunken person next to them who is trying to start a party.
Drink in moderation, be polite and courteous to your neighbours and to staff and take the travelling time to simply relax.
Hand Luggage on Planes
This is a touchy point for a lot of people, especially on budget carriers. There is a golden rule, if your bag doesn’t fit, don’t force the rest of the plane to move their stuff so you can fit it in. If you didn’t bring such an absurdly large bag with enough clothes to fill an Oxfam shop, there would be none of this. Pack what you need and either wash your clothes, or buy new.
Don’t think that because your wife’s 16 pairs of shoes and 50 bikinis take priority because you paid for priority boarding. Each seat is allocated a section of the overhead cabin. Demanding someone can’t use their baggage allocation is the tackiest of the tacky. You are allowed one or two NORMAL sized bags + hand/man bag. Not a handbag so crammed with Duty Free it weighs mo