Five essential travel steps
- The Checklist
- Essential phrases
- Emergencies
- Budgeting your travels/Budget Planner

The Checklist
- Your passport
- Driving licence
- Insurance documents
- Some passport photos
- Health Insurance certificate and a note recounting your history of health (e.g. allergies, illness)
- First aid kit: plaster, aspirin, Alka-Seltzer, sun cream, something against diarrhoea, etc.
- Important telephone numbers: nbank card cancellation numbers (in case they get stolen), embassies, parents
- Student ID: you will get reductions in all sorts of places
- Tickets
- Travel cheques, credit cards, money
- Important addresses: parents, friends
- Maps and guidebooks

Essential phrases
It really will help if you know some basic words like 'hello', 'goodbye', 'thank you' in whatever language you'll be confronted with. So it could be worth taking a phrase book along with you. Alternatively, check Tiscali's online phrase books, they're free!

Emergencies
It is not nice to find yourself in the following situation: you are in the middle of a beautiful town, which you do not know. But you don't speak the language and all your belongings have been stolen. Don't worry! Other people have had the same experiences. Here are some tips what to do.

What should I do if...
...all my belongings are stolen? - Go to police station and call your embassy
... I feel ill? - Find a doctor or call you embassy (they will normally be able to refer you to a doctor who also speaks your language)
... my money is running out? - Go home while you still can
... my money has run out? - Call somebody who is close to you and would be willing to wire you some money (parents, friends)
... I continuously argue with my travel companion? - Try to sort it out, otherwise go your separate ways, so as not to ruin yours and his/her holiday. If you do split up, make sure your travel companion will be okay finding his/her way back home

Budgeting your travels
This is one of the most boring tasks before going on holiday and admittedly very few people actually do it. Nevertheless, even if you don't actually calculate every penny which you might need to have a vague idea how much you can and want to spend and discuss this with your co-travellers can avoid bad surprises at the end. A holiday is supposed to be fun and relaxing. A bit of planning will pay off in the end.

WaluEurope
May 2006

Photo: freeimages.co.uk