A perfect foreign holiday requires a lot of planning, backed by adequate preparation. Any unpleasant episode could turn your perfect holiday into a nightmare. A delay in the arrival of checked-in baggage can leave you in a pair of smelly clothes; lost passport or travel documents could leave you stranded in an unfamiliar territory. During a foreign vacation, you cannot rule out the possibility of any eventuality, but a prepared mind and some precautions can fix any problem threatening to wreck your dream holiday.

"A traveller should understand the details of the coverage provided by the insurance card," says Kashmira Commissariat, Chief Operating Officer, Outbound Division, Kuoni India. "Carry the phone number of the country's embassy and consulate. Leave copies of the itinerary, hotel numbers, copy of your passport, and flight details with friends/relative at home," says Kashmira.

BAGGAGE DELAY

The most common emergency an Indian traveller encounters is baggage delay. Often, travellers don't anticipate baggage delay. For convenience, travellers pack all the clothes, documents and even cash in the checked-in luggage. "Ideally, a traveller should pack a change of clothes, photocopies of travel documents and cash in the hand luggage. Typically, an airline company reimburses $100 to $300 for buying extra pair of change clothes depending upon the delay in the arrival of the baggage," says Ashish Kishore, vice-president, leisure business, Yatra.com. "But, prior to the departure of the flight, you have to get in writing from the airline company that they would pay a compensation in case of any delay. The best thing to do would be to confirm the baggage loss policy in writing at the time of booking itself," Kishore says.

WAYS TO PREVENT IT:

"Put a proper name tag on each bag with your flight details and contact numbers. There are cases when two passengers can have similar bags and unintentionally pick up by the wrong baggage. To avoid such scenarios, always attach big and bright name tags," suggests Noel Swain, executive vice-president, Cleartrip. Zarir Shroff, AVP - Outbound Tours, MakeMyTrip.com, adds, "There are specific suitcases available with belts around them. These belts hold the suitcase together even as the suitcase opens. Ideally, you should invest in a good suitcase before you set foot out on a holiday. If the passenger is in the given city where the bag is lost, the airlines will make arrangements to deliver it at the given address or if the passenger is travelling to some other location, he needs to give the forwarding address where the luggage can be delivered."

LOSS OF PASSPORT/TRAVEL PAPERS

If you lose your passport and/or travel documents, you should first file a complaint at a local police station. Then contact the Indian embassy abroad or the zone representative like SAARC, for example. They will provide a travel certificate to the traveller to fly back to India. "The travel certificate can be in the form of a temporary passport, just a paper document. In worst-case scenario, the consulate even arranges for the travellers' ticket. The traveller has to leave the country immediately," Shroff says. But always carry multiple photocopies of the passport and other travel documents. Also, keep a scanned copy in a USB pen drive and in your email account. If the tickets are lost, the traveller can contact the airline and get a duplicate ticket.

WAYS TO PREVENT IT:

"Keep your passport, crucial travel documents and travel insurance in a separate pouch that can be tied around your neck or the waist. You will be able to supervise these documents better," Shroff says.

MONEY MATTERS

Credit cards are the most expensive instrument to be used for shopping because of foreign currency fluctuation and cross-border surcharges. For instance, in case of debit/credit cards, banks bill on the basis of the exchange rate prevailing on the date of the transaction. Banks further levy a 3.5% cross-border charge. Card users also have to incur a 3.5% cross-border charge for overseas transactions with credit/debit cards. However, carry a spare credit card as it can come in handy as a back-up option if all your cash is locked up in the checked-in baggage. It is always better if you carry a traveller's cheque because if it is lost, the traveller can contact the local counterpart of the agency that issued the traveller's cheque and claim it by showing the FIR lodged at the local police station.

WAYS TO PREVENT FRAUD:

There are some countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Russia, and in Africa where tourists can be highly prone to fraudulent activities. Once you return from these countries, request the bank to replace the credit card. Irrespective of the country you travel to, always monitor and ensure the card is swiped only in front of your eyes. "In many countries, the fraudsters obtain sensitive information of your credit card and use it at a later date to commit the fraud, which makes it difficult to track the fraudster," Shroff says.

BOOKING ERRORS

Always eliminate unpleasant eleventh-hour surprises by confirming your booking at least 24 hours before departure. This applies both to the airlines as well as the hotel. There can always been a technical error because of which the booking may not reflect in the hotel system, irrespective of whether the booking is done through a travel agent or a hotel website.

WAYS TO AVOID IT:

"Confirm your booking at least 24 hours in advance. If the error is diagnosed at that stage, the problem can be sorted before you board the airline or check into the hotel," Kishore of yatra.com says.

HEALTH ISSUES

Travel insurance is a must because of higher medical costs in other countries. "The patient's family has to contact the travel insurance company and they will make the necessary arrangements. In fact, we came across a traveller who fell in a hotel abroad and broke his leg. The doctors mentioned that he cannot walk for at least six months. Not only did the insurance company take care of the foreign hospital bills but also made arrangements for a doctor from India to travel there to help him fly back. They had to carry him on a stretcher and block four seats for the same. The insurance company took care of every small detail," Swain of Cleartrip says.

WAYS TO PREVENT IT:

Carry a first-aid kit, which should have basic medicines, painkillers, bandage cloth and pain balms. Patients with heart problems, diabetes or hypertension should carry all their medicines and the doctor's prescription besides the first-aid kit. If the bag or the medicine gets lost, the prescription can come in handy to know the chemical composition of the medicine. Typically, the names of medicines vary from country to country.

Source :ET