All set for your summer hols? You’ve got your tickets and a trendy new pair of
flip-flops, but have you forgotten anything important?
And will your trip be affected by the heightened airport security introduced
after last weekend’s attack in Glasgow? Follow our essential check list to
avoid that familiar last-minute panic.
FOUR WEEKS BEFORE
Book your airport parking now – you’ll save up to 60% on the prices at the
gates. To find the best deals in a matter of seconds, use a comparison
website such as SimplyParking. co.uk, which checks prices at 23 UK airports,
on and off site.
Alternatively, splash out on meet-and-greet. A valet parker collects your car
when you arrive at the airport and delivers it to the terminal building on
your return. Before you book, however, ask where your car will be kept –
some companies use unsecured compounds many miles from the airport. Check
that your vehicle will be insured and make a note of your mileage at
drop-off. Most meet-and-greet services were unaffected by last week’s new
airport security measures, but check with your operator before you set off.
If you’re away for two weeks or more – and especially if you have an early
departure – it’s worth considering a night in a hotel near the airport where
you can leave your car. We found a fortnight’s off-site parking at Heathrow
in August for £55 (compared with £99 for on-site parking and £120 for
meet-and-greet). But at Simply-Hotels.co.uk, a triple room in an unnamed
four-star hotel two miles from the airport was £59 with 15 days’ parking
included. (A Google search revealed it to be the Holiday Inn, overlooking
the M4.)
Note that hotel rates tend to bottom out about 30 days before departure, then
inch up again as rooms are filled, but even if you leave it late, you should
find some bargains.
You should also arrange car hire now. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to
book is via Travelsupermarket.com, another comparison site. It sifts through
quotes from 26 suppliers, including brokers, local operators and
multinationals such as Hertz and Alamo, and displays real-time prices with
direct links to booking pages.
If you’re travelling with children, ask your airline if you can take your own
car seats. Most will check them in for free, so you won’t have to pay Avis
£30 a week to rent one.
TWO WEEKS BEFORE
Check your passports. Every year, thousands of people are sent home because
their passports are out of date or don’t have enough blank pages. Some
countries insist that your travel documents must be valid for six months
after your return date.
If you need to renew, use the fast-track service, which guarantees a seven-day
turnaround. Applying by post is a bit cheaper, but can take up to four
weeks, with the risk of longer waiting times in peak season. To get a
passport in a day, make an appointment and apply in person at the Identity &
Passport Service offices in London, Liverpool, Peterborough, Durham,
Glasgow, Newport or Belfast (0870 521 0410, www.passport.gov.uk
). Neither of these short cuts are available for first-time adult passports,
or to replace damaged, stolen or lost documents.
Anybody travelling within the EU or Switzerland should carry a European
health-insurance card. These have replaced the old E111 forms and cover most
medical costs. If you don’t have one, your insurance company may hike its
excess charges. The cards are free: apply at www.ehic.org.uk
, or by phone (0845 606 2030), and you’ll get one within seven days. If you
are travelling outside Europe, consult the latest Foreign Office travel
advice (0845 850 2829, www.fco.gov.uk/travel
) and check whether or not you need a visa with your tour operator or travel
agent. If you do, and you don’t want to spend a morning queuing in London,
use a specialist visa agency such as Travcour (020 7223 5295, www.travcour.com
).
Can’t bear the thought of sending Rover and Tiddles to kennels? Book a
housesitter. Agencies such as Animal Angels (0800 161 3242, www.animalangels.co.uk
) and The Home Service (0845 130 3100, www.housesitters.co.uk
) charge about £40 per day, depending on how many pets you have. All sitters
are vetted.
ONE WEEK BEFORE
If you’re driving to the Continent, check that your breakdown cover is up to
date. You’ll also need your vehicle registration and insurance documents,
and, if you’re in a company car, a letter from your employer authorising you
to drive it.
Ensure that your car has the legal-minimum safety kit. Most countries now
require a red warning triangle, a first-aid kit, a reflective vest for each
occupant and a set of spare bulbs, plus the tools to fit them. Local laws
vary – in Spain, drivers who wear glasses must carry a spare pair, and in
Germany, your first-aid kit should contain disposable surgical gloves.
Details from the AA (www.theaa.com ).
If you’re travelling to Spain, contact your airline to see if it will let you
submit your advance passenger information. Spain has become the first
European country to apply new rules that require airlines to record
passengers’ full names, nationalities, birth dates and passport numbers
before travel. Some airlines, including EasyJet (www.easyjet.com
) and British Airways (www.ba.com ), let you
give your details online.
TWO DAYS BEFORE
Buy your foreign currency. Unless you have a current account with Nationwide,
which doesn’t levy a charge for using ATMs or charge cards abroad, it pays
to order your cash on the web. Travelex (www.travelex.co.uk
) consistently comes up with the best rates – and, if you book and pay
online, you can avoid the usual 1.5% commission and pick up your cash at the
airport or ferry port.
Got your travel insurance? Again, Travelsupermarket.com is a useful place to
look – it compares policies from more than 30 companies. For a family of
four, it found annual worldwide cover ranging from £49.50 to £220. Read the
small print if you plan to do anything life-threatening, such as canyoning
or paragliding.
Some airlines, including Ryanair and Flybe, now charge passengers for checking
bags into the hold, with lower prices if you pay in advance. Flybe (www.flybe.com/baggage
) lets you go back into your booking to add items of luggage (£4 each in
advance, or £7 at the airport). Ryanair doesn’t.
24 HOURS BEFORE
Nervous about rip-off carhire charges? You should be. Most rental contracts
now include “free” insurance – but the excess for damage or theft can run
into thousands.
Most people realise this only when they collect their car – and are persuaded
to buy expensive top-up cover. But for a fraction of the price,
Insurance4CarHire.com can arrange insurance against excess fees. A year’s
European cover costs £51.45, and indemnifies you against damage to tyres,
windows and roofs – all excluded by most insurers.
Many airlines – including BA, Virgin Atlantic, BMI, Flybe, Monarch Scheduled,
Jet2 and KLM – now let you check in online up to 24 hours before departure.
This saves time and hassle, and often means you can select your seats.
Ryanair lets you check in up to two days ahead for £2pp, but only if you
have no bags to stow.
LAST-MINUTE
Excited yet? Check the likely temperature at your destination using the BBC’s
five-day forecasts (www.bbc.co.uk/weather
), then pack accordingly. Before filling your cases, check your baggage
allowance – there is now little consistency between airlines. BA lets you
check one bag free, but charges £60 each way, within Europe, for each
additional piece. BMI lets you carry two pieces with a total weight of 20kg.
No airline will let you check in a bag weighing more than 23kg, and Ryanair’s
allowance is just 15kg. If you go over that, you’ll pay £5.50 per kg in
excess fees. Recent reports of widespread theft from luggage at airports
should persuade you to lock all your cases.
If you travel light, it’s worth trying to squeeze everything into a carry-on.
You can take only one item as cabin baggage – usually with maximum
dimensions of 55 x 45 x 25cm – but some carriers, including EasyJet, have
no weight limit. Others, including Flybe and Ryanair, allow 10kg. Remember,
no bottles of liquid over 100ml can be carried through security – so buy
your sunblock airside.
Airport security
LAST WEEKEND’S terrorist attack at Glasgow airport has led to extra security
at airports across the UK, and passengers arriving by road are advised to
allow an extra 15-20 minutes for their journey. Most airports are not
allowing drivers to set down or pick up directly outside terminal buildings.
Instead, they are being directed to drop-off zones or short-stay car parks.
Birmingham, Bournemouth, East Midlands and Glasgow
Prestwick are allowing free drop-offs and pickups at their short-stay
car parks for up to 10 minutes. Stansted is allowing 15 minutes; at Cardiff,
it’s 20 minutes.
At Heathrow, short-stay car parks are also free for 20 minutes, and it
is possible to drive to all four terminals. However, passengers are being
encouraged to use public transport, to avoid congestion at peak periods.
At Gatwick, both terminals were operating normally last week. Luton has
set up a drop-off zone near the terminal building. London City,
with fewer options for relocating drop-offs, has suspended valet parking and
says all drivers should expect delays. Liverpool says it is
operating normally.
