Holiday Information

Flight Info | Advanced Passenger Info | Car hire | Passports Visas & Health | General Travel Info | Financial Protection | Useful Info & Forms |

Canada

Passport: For British passport holders a passport is required to be valid for at least one day beyond the intended departure date from Canada. 

Visa: No visa is required for British passport holders.  For passengers of other nationalities please contact the Canadian High Commission well in advance of your departure to check Visa requirements www.canada.org.uk.

Health: There are no recommended vaccinations for travel to Canada however all travellers are advised to ensure that tetanus and polio vaccinations are kept up to date.  Recommendations do change from time to time and it is important to discuss your personal requirements with your doctor.

USA

Passport: For British passport holders a valid passport is required for entry to the USA with at least 6 months validity beyond the intended departure date from the USA. All passengers intending to enter the USA on the Visa Waiver Programme (see below), must present a machine readable passport (MRP). An MRP has the holder’s personal details e.g. name, date of birth, nationality and passport number contained in two lines of text, numbers and chevrons at the bottom of the photo page. This text is machine readable. Passports issued after 26 October 2005 must contain a digitalised photograph (all British passports issued after 2003 contain digitalised photos). Passports containing photos that are glued or laminated will not be accepted for travel. In addition, all  passports  issued on or after 26 October 2006, must contain bio-metric data (this may be for example data about the holder’s face, fingerprints and iris details), to benefit from the Visa Waiver Programme.  It is our understanding that the UK Passport Service will issue biometric passports as standard to all applicants from this date.

Children should obtain their own machine readable passport (with digitalised photo if issued after 26 October 2005 and with biometric data if issued after 26 October 2006) to benefit from the Visa Waiver Programme (see below).

Visa: Most British citizens do not need a visa to visit the US for stays of less than 90 days as long as they have a machine readable passport, with digitalised photo if issued after 26 October 2005 and with bio-metric data if issued after 26 October 2006 (see above). If your passport is issued before 26 October 2006 you may continue to travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program provided the passport is machine readable and you are otherwise qualified for visa free travel. 

Passengers travelling to the USA with a passport that does not comply with these requirements must obtain a valid US entry visa, even if they are citizens of a country within the Visa Waiver Programme.  Currently these countries are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK. 

Children travelling on a parent's passport (be it machine readable or non-machine readable) cannot benefit from the Visa Waiver Programme. Applying for a US visa is a lengthy process which can take several weeks.  Therefore, it is strongly recommended that:

  • All Visa Waiver nationals who hold a non-machine readable passport obtain a machine readable passport before their next visit to the USA. 
  • Children travelling on their parent's passport obtain their own machine readable passport prior to travelling to the USA.

Customers who arrive at the airport and do not have the correct documentation will be refused travel.  If this is the case, the rules of the ticket purchased still apply.  If the customer holds a restricted ticket which is non changeable and non refundable, they will be bound by the rules of the ticket and will be required to purchase a new ticket before they can travel. For passengers of other nationalities please check with the US embassy well in advance of your departure to check Visa requirements, or see http://www.usembassy.org.uk/ . 

On arrival in the USA the immigration officer will collect unique data from each visitor in the form of fingerprints using an inkless scanner and a digital photograph. This will take place at the normal immigration desk as part of the entry process and it is not expected that the arrival process will take any longer than usual. At some airports this procedure may be repeated on departure.

NEW entry requirements

The USA is changing its entry procedures for travellers to the USA under the Visa Waiver Program and has introduced ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation.  This system is replacing the old, green I-94 application form which had to be completed during a flight to the USA to present on arrival.  The system is voluntary until Jan 12th 2009 at which point online application will become mandatory for all Visa Waiver Programme travellers to the USA.  Until Jan 12th, the green I-94 form must still be completed.
 
An application must be completed by/ for each member of your group/ family - you will be required to give personal details, flight details and the address of the accommodation you are staying at on your first night in the USA - this address will be shown on the accommodation voucher included in your ticket pack, which we will send to you two weeks before you depart.
 
Applications should be made online a miniumum of 72 hours before departure - we recommend that you apply as soon as possible. 
 
Please note that this visa waiver system application is in addition to the Advance Passenger Information which you are required to provide to your airline.
 
Further information and a link to the application website can be found at http://www.visitusa.org.uk/visitors/esta.aspx

Health: There are no recommended vaccinations for travel to the USA however all travellers are advised to ensure that tetanus and polio vaccinations are kept up to date.  Recommendations do change from time to time and it is important to discuss your personal requirements with your doctor.

Chile

Passport: For British passport holders a valid passport is required for entry to Chile with at least 6 months validity beyond your departure date. Passports issued to children must contain a photo and state the nationality.

Visa: At present, a visa is not required for British passport holders for holidays of up to 90 days. For passengers of other nationalities please contact the Chilean embassy well in advance of your departure to check Visa requirements, or see http://www.echileuk.demon.co.uk/consulatevisas.htm

Health: All travellers should visit either their GP or a travel health clinic 4-8 weeks before departure. The following vaccinations are recommended :

  •  Hepatitis A - Recommended for all travellers
  •  Typhoid - For travellers who may eat or drink outside major restaurants and hotels
  •  Rabies - For travellers who may have direct contact with animals and may not have access to medical care
  •  Routine immunizations - travellers are advised to ensure that tetanus and polio vaccinations are kept up to date. 
Recommendations do change from time to time and it is important to discuss your personal requirements with your doctor. 

Switzerland

Passport: British citizens require a valid passport with 3 months validity after the end of your intended stay. For other nationalities please contact the Swiss embassy at http://www.swissembassy.org.uk/.

Visa: There are no visa requirements for British citizens. For other nationalities please contact the Swiss embassy at http://www.swissembassy.org.uk/

Health: There are no recommended travel vaccinations to Switzerland. It is recommended that you obtain a European Health Insurance Card  (which has replaced the E111) from your local post office. This is not a substitute for medical or travel insurance but it entitles you to emergency treatment and immediately necessary healthcare at reduced cost.

Austria

Passport:  British citizens require a valid passport for the duration of your intended stay. For other nationalities, please contact the Austrian embassy at austria.embassyhomepage.com

Visa: British citizens do not require a visa for entry into Austria. For other nationalities, please contact the Austrian embassy at austria.embassyhomepage.com

Health: There are no recommended travel vaccinations to Austria. It is recommended that you obtain a European Health Insurance Card  (which has replaced the E111) from your local post office. This is not a substitute for medical or travel insurance but it entitles you to emergency treatment and immediately necessary healthcare at reduced cost.

Japan

Passport: All foreign visitors to Japan must be in possession of a passport that will remain valid for the duration of their stay.

Visa:  UK citizens are exempt from applying for a visa for Japan providing their stay is for less than 6 months. For other nationalities, please contact the Japanese embassy at www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/

Health:  There are no required vaccinations for Japan.


 

General Health Information

In-flight health: For comprehensive information including DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) see http://www.flighthealth.org/

Injury, off-piste skiing and avalanche:  There is a risk of injury attached to winter sports, including skiing and snowboarding. The risk can be minimised by making sure that you are fit to ski before you travel and ensuring that you ski in a controlled fashion.  If you wish to ski off-piste, outside the ski area boundaries and/or in the backcountry, you do so at your own risk (please also see insurance section below). Resorts do make every effort to ensure that the risk of avalanche on pisted ski areas is kept to a minimum but this risk, being a force of nature, can never be completely alleviated. The risk of avalanche is greatly accentuated if you ski off-piste and you should always seek expert opinion that morning of the day’s avalanche risk and carry the necessary avalanche equipment with you.

Altitude sickness: In some resorts which are very high (notably those in the US Rockies and Chile), a small number of travellers suffer from altitude sickness.  Symptoms include, headache, nausea, fatigue and shortness of breath.  Ideally, you should avoid travelling directly to super-high resorts.  If visiting Colorado, a night or two in Denver (1600m) might help - but this is not always possible, so it is important to take certain precautions:

  •  Don't over-exert yourself on your first few days
  •  Drink more water than usual and avoid too much salt intake
  •  Reduce alcohol intake - this has a greater effect at altitude
  •  Eat food that is high in carbohydrates: grains, pasta, fruit and vegetables
If you are concerned about altitude sickness or if you have heart, circulatory or respiratory problems then we advise that you consult your GP before travelling.

Sun protection and appropriate clothing: We advise that you use a high factor sunscreen and wear UV protective ski googles/sunglasses for protection from the high levels of UV in the mountains. Temperatures can often fall to minus 30˚C or below in North America so make sure that you take appropriate ski clothing for these weather conditions.

Further information about health requirements include the Department of Health’s free leaflet ‘Health Advice for Travellers’ which is available at www.dh.gov.uk
 


The air holidays and flights shown are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 4488. ATOL Protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in United Kingdom. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For futher information, visit the ATOL web site at www.atol.org.uk. For holidays that do not include flights, you are protected by Tour Operator Failure Cover Insurance.