Travel Health and Safety Advice

Backpacker Hostel Fire Safety Guide

It almost goes without saying that it's important to think about travel health and safety on a gap year. The good news regarding travel health and safety is that very few people experience any significant health or safety problems while they're away. In terms of health the odd upset stomach is perfectly normal following a change in diet and environment, but that's about the only out of the ordinary health problem most people experience on a gap year. Similarly, in terms of travel safety, as long as you follow all the usual precautions you're no more likely to come to any harm in Bangkok than you are in Basingstoke.

The most important travel safety advice to take heed of is that it's absolutely imperative to take out a decent gap year travel insurance policy before you depart. It may be tempting to try and save a few hundred pounds by risking having no insurance, but it really isn't worth it. Travel insurance gives you vital peace of mind and in a worst case scenario could save you tens of thousand of pounds in medical fees. Apart from the medical side of things you'll also be covered for things like lost or stolen luggage.

A good general piece of travel health and safety advice for visiting any big city is to never leave any bags unattended, never flaunt money and never get drunk in the company of strangers. It all comes down to keeping your wits and common sense about you in the same way that you would at home.

With regards to the health side of travel health and safety you need to be properly prepared before you go. Any travel health and safety precautions you need to take will obviously depend on what areas you are visiting. For example, someone who is travelling round the world will need to take more travel health and safety precautions than someone whose year out is being spent in Australia or New Zealand.

The best piece of health and safety travel advice for anyone planning to travel anywhere remotely exotic is to pay a visit to the GP. GP's have the latest information on which vaccinations or medication are necessary for which countries, and at what stage prior to departure they should be taken.

A useful source of travel health and safety information is the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, (telephone 09061 337733 - calls charged at 50p per minute), which offers up-to-the-minute protection advice.

A really good idea to consider in terms of travel health and safety advice is attending an organised gap year safety course. These courses can teach you all sorts of things, from mouth to mouth resuscitation to basic first aid.

The basic rule with travel health and safety is to be properly prepared before you leave and use the same common sense when you're away as you normally would at home. If you follow these basic pieces of advice you're highly unlikely to experience any significant health and safety issues on your gap year travel.


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