Staying safe abroad

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Nathan Collins

As featured in the June 2016 Edition of Journal Magazine

With the main holiday season just around the corner, this month I offer my tips for staying safe when abroad…

Firstly, always arrange suitable travel insurance and take it out as soon as you book your holiday. Don’t wait until when you depart to activate it in case you need to cancel. Ensure it covers you for the destination you are visiting, activities such as snow mobiling, skiing, water sports etc, and that it covers the total cost of the holiday. Some insurers have many restrictions and limits to the amount they will cover. If you need to buy an annual policy or a one off trip policy we recommend ABTA Sure, click here.

Gone are the days of travellers cheques. These have now been replaced by currency top up cards which you can pre load with the currency of your choice. They offer a secure way of keeping your currency without having to carry cash. Shop around for them to ensure you pay a good currency rate, also ask what the charges will be for withdrawing money. Try and get a second card in case you lose one and keep the emergency number handy of the card issuer in case they are lost or stolen. Don’t use them to leave holding deposits at hotels or for car hire companies, they are top up cards, not credit cards so the cash will be taken instantly. Also check which ATM’s or banks they can be used at in the country you are visiting, especially for more obscure destinations.. You can usually top them up online or by phone whilst abroad by connecting them to your debit card which is handy, or send a message home for someone to do it on your behalf.

Credit or debit cards are the safest method of payment, but always check with your bank about their charges. Halifax offer a credit card (Clarity) that doesn’t charge for taking money out of an ATM or charge a currency conversion fee either. These fees can really mount up with standard cards. Local banks may also charge a fee, especially in the USA, typically around $3-$5 for every withdrawal, so it’s worth researching before you go and looking out for certain banks when you need to make a withdrawal. Carrying cash around in some countries isn’t even necessary anymore as the smallest of bars and cafes often accept credit cards, even taxi’s and street parking.

For valuables such as jewellery, laptops and cameras use your in-room safe but if you are still not comfortable with this then most hotels will have their own safety deposit boxes or main safe which they may allow you to use. In some counties, hotels may require your passport to be handed over at check in and kept for the duration of your stay, therefore take a photocopy of it. For an emergency backup send a scanned copy of your travel documentation to your email account so you can access it anywhere in the world.

Choose well known car hire brands if possible, never leave belongings in sight and use well patrolled and secure car parks. If you travel regularly take out an annual excess waiver car hire insurance policy, these start from around £39.99 per year for Europe, it will save you time and extra charges.

Losing luggage can be a real pain and can happen with the most reputable of airlines. It is always wise to pack a change of clothes in your hand luggage especially if travelling long haul. Split your clothes with your family members between suitcases so if one goes missing you have enough for a few days. It’s vital to get a lost luggage receipt before leaving the airport with their contact number for you to chase it up. For the ultimate security you can purchase a tracking tag for your cases which have their own GPS and you can view its location online.

When on holiday, use the expert knowledge of your hotel’s concierge, especially for areas to avoid or for top restaurant and attraction tips. We do this before you travel with our own clients, but appreciate you will probably have questions along the way when in resort.

And finally, keep your 24 hour emergency contact details for your tour operator or travel organiser handy, save the number on different party members phones.

Whilst there is a lot to remember, these precautions may help you to relax and enjoy your holiday in the knowledge that you have planned your trip with security in mind.

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Zain Qazi

‘As usual, Sam at RB Collection arranged our recent Iceland/Scotland cruise with attention to every possible detail. He remembered what had worked for us previously and used that knowledge to enhance our experience. No question was too much trouble for either Sam or his colleague Clare. We would not consider anyone else for our holiday arrangements; RB Collection are truly superb!’

Hilary Carroll

Wonderful way to book a wonderful holiday. Such a personalised & attentive approach to helping us find the perfect family holiday! Couldn’t recommend more!!!

Pandora Bahrami

They found us the perfect hotel for our London stay. Exactly the right balance of perfect location, incredible breakfast and they really listened to what we wanted. I even had access to one of London best gyms included in the stay!

Katie May Medley

RB Collections are a wonderful family run firm who welcome you into the family from the first holiday you book with them. My special thanks go to Clare who always ensures my booking runs smoothly and takes the stress out of the process of decisions by ‘knowing’ and implementing my preferences using information she has ascertained from previous bookings. I don’t have to remember…..Clare does it for me.

Janet Goodwin

Having just returned from a fantastic long weekend at Disneyland Paris, we had to leave a review for Sam and the team at RB Collection. They removed all the stress from organising the trip and ensured everything was in place for a truly memorable trip for all the family. We can’t thank them enough and we will certainly be back for future holidays. Our experience has been 10/10 👍🏻

Mike Boyden

Just returned home from a wonderful holiday in Madeira arranged by Sam from RB Collection. Every detail from flights, hotel, transfers, recommended restaurants and "must to do's" was excellent and all documents arrived by post in good time for checking before departing on our holiday. Due to the weather, our journey was delayed by two days. However after contacting RB on the emergency number in the holiday package, all was sorted by the team - an upgraded hotel room at the same hotel, flight, transfers, taking away all the stress from ourselves and allowing us to enjoy our extra two days. One cannot put a price on a phone call and text messages when something unfortunate happens and you feel vulnerable. On our return, the excellent service has continued by Sam and colleagues who are now dealing with the necessary correspondence with the airline company. My husband and I and children at home who were concerned when we were stranded, cannot thank the team at RB enough for their support and professionalism and we are looking forward to many more holidays using the company. Tom & Janet

Tom&Janet Marks

We came to RB Collection with an idea of some of the places we wanted to visit in Rajasthan, India - and they made it all happen, expertly and efficiently. Oliver and Clare were a pleasure to deal with, sorting every aspect and adding their own ideas to really enhance this wonderful trip. They checked in while we were away to make sure everything was going well (which it was) and I knew they'd be on hand if we needed anything. Thank you!

David Page

The purpose of this review isn't to confirm that our holiday was a 5 star experience (which it was, by the way) but it's a review to say that RB Collection's involvement in planning, booking and safety netting our holiday experiences has been truly 5 stars. Are people bothered if my wife and I had a great holiday - I suspect no...... Are people interested in the company that was instrumental in creating 5 star holidays - I suspect yes ......and so it's RB Collection's skills and involvement that get this 5 star rating. As a family we have booked our own holidays almost exclusively by ourselves for 35 years - until a year ago when we used RB Collection's services for the first time to book a holiday to the Ice Hotel in Sweden. We chose to book through them because we had no experience or knowledge of the Ice Hotel and their exclusive Ice Hotel Website was great. Their involvement made all the difference - in particular their personal commitment to making things work and since the first contact, they have been getting to know our travel "needs, wants and likes" more by each contact. Our next holiday was a Silversea Cruise - one that we could easily have booked ourselves, but RB's influence allowed us to save a significant (4 figure!) sum. Reason alone to recommend! Our third and most recent booking with RB was a safari which could not have been a better holiday experience. The reasons for this are as follows: 1. Up until raising the possibility, I knew nothing about safaris i.e. where to go / at what time of year / for how long etc. Within 72 hours of a discussion of a suggestion by me for a Tanzania trip (based on a google AI search), I was infinitely far better informed and after weighing up possibilities, we opted for a Kenyan trip to Amboselli and the Masai Mara. What a brilliant decision! 2. Whilst the travel options were perfect for our particular needs, RB's involvement to seamlessly arrange the multiple transfers on our journey came to the fore. This was particularly evident on coming back from Zanzibar (beach unwind) to Nairobi International, which would have presented a significant challenge had we opted for self booking, due to the (multiple) security & immigration stages. (Yes, of course - we would have negotiated the stages - we're grown ups - we can look after ourselves, but oh my. the loss of wasted heartbeats would have been significant!) Turns out that what was arranged for us was faster than "fast track" and I certainly became aware of lots of people looking enviously towards us and our safari representative as we whizzed by! 3. Photography is an important aspect of our holidays. Good photographic subjects / scenes are our means of ensuring that we're seeing good stuff, which - IMHO - is a main focus of a holiday. Our safari guides had been well briefed about my photography wishes and from the get-go, they discussed what we were looking for from our holiday and so every day we had a mutually planned itinerary for the wildlife that never disappointed. Our guides had been particularly selected from the briefing given by RB pre-travel to the safari people. In a nutshell, RB have changed our attitude to holidays and their associated experiences. In our time with them, we have undertaken holidays that we have never done before and we are now definitely thinking differently about what to do in the future. Add to this, the reassurance and safety net that travel agency booking confers and I think that RB Collection definitely deserves a 5 star review. By the way - we live distant to their location - all of our dealings have been by telephone and email so don't think you need to be locals to use their services.

Colin Scott

A big shout out for RB Collection ….they have done it again !!!! Made our World touring a pleasure AGAIN ….having done the cruising in various parts of the world …the Canada trip…..the India & Nepal trip…& just recently the Hongkong Australia New Zealand trip…it’s like being transported on a Dreamliner !every attention to detail from getting to the airport arriving at the destinations & being picked up & taken to the various types of accomadation ….Thanks Team RB & especially to Sam for this last one 🌴☀️😎

Linda Taylor

call: 01543 258631 email: vip@rbcollection.com

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