Travel Advice
When you're going on holiday, ensuring you are fully informed on all documentation requirements and health matters and making sure you have all bases covered in your trip organisation can smooth your journey and make for a much more enjoyable trip.
- The European Health Insurance Card offers some free medical treatment
- The Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice unit offers advice on destinations.
- The ABTA Information Department offers advice on travel-related subjects.
- Passports & Visas: The United Kingdom Passport Office offers advice on requirements.
- The Department of Health offers advice on immunisations and health requirements abroad.
- Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s 'Know Before You Go' (KBYG)
- The Canada Electronic Travel Authorisation.
- Health and Safety in Resort
- No snow in resort? Read our snow Guarantee to know more about how we can help - Snow Guarantee
- Purchasing insurance - Winter Sport Insurance for Skiing and Lapland holiday, and insurance for walking holidays.
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Medical Treatment - For the time being, reciprocal agreements remain in place in some EU countries enabling citizens of member countries to receive some free medical treatment via the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or the UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC).
If you have an EHIC, this will remain valid until the date of expiry on the card. UK residents are now able to apply for the GHIC, which is free to apply for and provides you with access to emergency and medically necessary healthcare in the EU during your holiday, though this may vary from country to country. They do not provide cover in the event that you require medical repatriation to the UK.
We highly recommend taking out further medical cover as part of your travel insurance and not relying exclusively on these arrangements since they may not be very comprehensive and they do not cover any insurance matters outside of health. It may be that it is a condition of your travel insurance that you have an EHIC/GHIC card covering you for initial treatment.
Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) Travel Advice - information about your holiday destination, including entry requirements and health matters. You are advised to check the FCDO website for the latest advice. You might also like to read through their range of special-interest pages for different types of travellers who may need different types of advice.
ABTA - can provide advice on travel related subjects and can verify ABTA membership details. ABTA is the UK's Premier Trade Association for Tour Operators and Travel Agents. ABTA's main aims are to maintain high standards of trading practice for the benefit of its Members, the travel industry at large, and the consumers that they serve.
Passports & Visas (The United Kingdom Passport Service) -
It is your responsibility to be in possession of a valid passport and any visa that may be necessary. For further information, please see section 1.12 of our Booking Conditions.
If you hold a Commonwealth or non-British passport, please check visa regulations with the embassy or consulate of the country you will be visiting. You should allow ample time when making visa applications and check for any changes in visa/passport requirements that a country may make at any time.
From Autumn 2025 we expect to see the introduction of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) – an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay (up to 90 days within any 180 day period) each time they cross the external borders of European countries. It is anticipated that this will replace passport stamping and automate border control procedures. For more information on EES, please visit: General information - European Union (europa.eu).
From Spring 2026 onwards it is anticipated that the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will be effective, which will require visa-exempt EU nationals, including UK citizens, to hold an electronic authorisation to travel to or within the Schengen Zone (currently 27 EU member states, plus Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus). An ETIAS travel authorisation is a visa waiver which will be required regardless of the length of your visit. Once granted, it will be valid for 3 years or until your passport expires. It can only be applied for online and a fee will be payable unless an exemption applies. If you are unable to travel on your holiday because you have not obtained an ETIAS travel authorisation, our normal cancellation charges will apply. For more information on ETIAS, please visit: What is ETIAS - European Union (europa.eu).
Health - Please refer to the Department of Health for up to date advice on immunisations required and advised for travel abroad.
Know Before You Go - The Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s 'Know Before You Go' (KBYG) is an ongoing campaign to ensure travellers get adequate travel insurance, have the necessary passport and visa documentation, leave emergency contact information with someone and tell them where you are going, have enough money and have access to emergency funds, visit GPs before travelling as appropriate, familiarise themselves with the destination’s local laws and customs and check the FCDO’s country travel advice. For details, see the FCDO website.
Canada Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) - Canada operate an Advance Visa Waiver programme for which you must have a 'chipped' passport to qualify and are required to complete registration before departure. For more information on how to apply, please visit the Government of Canada website.
Please note - requirements can change and it is your responsibility to check with the relevant body and ensure you have the necessary and correct documentation and advice.
Driving in the EU – If driving your own vehicle in Europe, you must display a ‘UK’ sticker (replacing the previous ‘GB’ sticker). Check the GOV.UK website for more information.
If you are hiring a car, you need to ensure you have a green card.
In both instances you must make sure that you have the relevant international driving insurance with your chosen provider.
ABTA advice
We are a member of ABTA, membership number V4871. See the Frequently Asked Questions section of our website with regards to contacting ABTA.
As we have received a number of queries from guests about the potential impact of Brexit, we have put together this brief Q&A to answer the most common questions. ABTA also have their own page with advice for travellers.
For the winter season, ABTA have released a guide, as how stay safe and healthy in the snow.
For the summer holiday season, ABTA have released these two guides on "How to stay safe and healthy in the sun" and "Swim safe", a fact sheet to help keep safe in the water:
You can view these by clicking on the above links, which will open the PDF in a new window within your browser.
To view a PDF document you need to have a suitable reader program installed on your computer this usually means installing Adobe Reader. You may already have it installed on your computer. If not, the software is free and downloadable from Adobe's website.
Related information
Other pages of interest related to Travel Advice: