Road/Rail Travel and Travel Insurance

For many, the journey is as important as the arrival...

Did you know that the majority of Travel Insurance Claims are based around Air Travel? Lost baggage, delayed or cancelled flights, incidents at airports or on the way to or from airports, lost deposits, lost passports, phones, laptops, ipads - all these incidents revolve around the one part of the holiday that most of us hate.

Travelling to the Continent by road/ferry or road/rail removes a huge part of stress for many travellers and at Holsure we have returning customers who travel by road purely to avoid airports and air travel. For some too, the journey is part of the break, the driving, the organisation of the accommodation and even the mapping out of the route is all a part of the holiday - you can't often say that about the two hour check in wait at the UK's airports or the mad scramble for trolleys at Baggage Reclaim. Air Travel doesn't have the romance of Road Travel - after all who dreams of flying across the United States - wouldn't you rather drive on Route 66, or cruise through the Rockies in an RV, or take the Amtrak across the Continental US?

So, for some the dream of seeing the real Europe involves the driving option, the need to get among the locals and stop where and when the fancy takes you. For some the journey is the holiday, the driving, the planning, the local involvement at ground level and the integration with ones surroundings - not just at the Package Holiday Hotel. I have always enjoyed the drive to our friends in Holland and would much prefer to drive to Scotland than fly. For me, part of this is the convenience of taking what I need on holiday rather than what baggage weight restrictions dictate, but I also love the ability to stop where I want - and the greatest tip I can give anyone in this position is to come OFF the Motorway, Highway or Autobahn and take your coffee and lunch breaks in a TOWN and not in some Motorway Service Area. It doesn't add much extra time to the journey but it can add some magical memories. Have you ever, and I mean, EVER had a wonderful meal or magical memory in a Service Station?

The other good news about road travel is that Travel Insurance is very reasonable. Without the need to cover the Air and Airport problem areas, insurance policies are cheap, whether you require one day or one month travel insurance we, at Holsure, can provide you with full Insurance Cover and European Breakdown Cover for minimal cost ensuring that your holiday plans -  including the memorable journey - are fully covered.

Brazil, The World Cup and Some Booking Tips

2014 Sees The World Cup visiting Rio but visiting fans are being warned about rocketing room and accommodation rates during the Tournament.

Based on figures from Trivago, hotel room costs averaged around £145 per night in June and July 2013 but advanced bookings for Summer 2014 are averaging at around £300 per night. This is according to The Brazilian Tourist Board who have lodged a complaint with Fifa.

Fifa's accommodation agency, Match, have been criticised for charging booking fees of up to 40% a claim the company denies. But concerns are also raised that elevated hotel costs during the tournament could see a slump in tourism both before and after the World Cup events as happened in London in 2012 both before and after the Olympic Games.

However, the Brazilian Tourist Board Embratur, are attempting to tackle this problem through negotiations with both the Brazilian Justice Ministry and Fifa.

If you intend to visit the Tournament you may be best placed to check with your Travel Agent and avoid bookings through Match if at all possible. Waiting for last minute bookings obviously has its own inherent problems but as always, Holsure recommends that you carry out your research thoroughly before booking. Check Fan websites for extra tips and help.

It is also important to see your GP regarding any precautions or inoculations you may require before your visit. Please also visit our WEBSITE and make sure you are insured for your trip to the wonderfully vibrant country of Brazil.

Can you imagine the celebrations if they win?

Outdoors....Observations and Oddities

Walking with the Kelly Kettle for brews..

I'm not a patient person.

In fact my daughter has been known to call me The Dwarf Doctor - a man of little patients (!!!)

So it may come as a surprise to those who know me that on our recent trip to Scotland I spent some time just sitting around chilling out, reading my books, writing and playing guitar. I don't have much time for any of those things normally - as many of us who have the exigencies of life thrust upon us will know - leisure time is hard to come by.

Yet in Scotland I seem to have the ability to slow down - and this was not a pure holiday trip, work was commingled with holiday time but still this capacity to relax, unwind and not pester the life out of my wife - all of which are so difficult under normal circumstances and even on vacations take days to achieve - was accomplished almost instantly.

Not a soul to be seen....anywhere!

I think it's Scotland. Since I first drove through Glen Coe in November 1990 I have had a love affair with the country that has led, at times, to an almost insane need to get there, even if it's only for a weekend. Even now after 23 years Mrs Kelly knows that any trip to Scotland - even one with the most time demanding work schedule - will cheer up even the darkest of moods, the most miserable of days.

We saw these beauties on a walk straight out of our front door

I recently had a fantastic holiday on the island of Madeira (and if you get the chance to go you really should) but I noticed even there that it took two or three days to completely unwind and settle into "holiday time". It's a wonderful place and the ability for the islands to grow crops on even the most inaccessible or tiniest of plots fired me up to work extra hard on my own garden this year and with great success I might add, but nothing helps me to relax like Scotland. Nothing else gives me the ability to stop and look around, to slow my mind into the pace of the countryside, the beauty, the rolling fields, the monolithic mountains and the tumbling rivers like this country does. I even find myself driving slower on the motorway home..

We only saw a handful of other people on this glorious September day

However, there is one British phenomenon which upsets me so much that I am at times speechlessly bemused but which doesn't seem to happen in Scotland quite so much. Yet it does happen and due to the nature of the Scottish landscape, its beauty, its accessibility and its availability to all, the occurrence of these paradoxical events are all the more upsetting.

I'm talking about the outdoor trip to a car park.

This is the marvel that is outdoor picnics, drinks and sometimes even barbecues within 50 feet of a car. The great British drive to the Country, Seaside or Park, the unloading of camp chairs, flasks, food and all the paraphernalia of the kitchen just to sit within sight of the car, eat the food drink the drink take a long look at the wonderful scenery and then to turn ones back on it, get back into the car and drive away.

Where I live, in our country cottage we have a wonderful first hand view of this oddity as mile upon mile of cars pass by towards Hastings and the coast, beginning at about 10 am every Bank Holiday and returning at around 6 pm the same day. The thought of those thousands of people filling up every pebble of space on the beach, squeezing into every Fish and Chip Shop and fighting for every car parking space makes my blood freeze. We are so lucky to have about 770 acres of wonderfully cared for National Trust land on our doorstep yet of the 2000 to 3000 people who visit here every Bank Holiday Weekend only a few dozen or so walk the entire Estate, most of the visitors never make it past the Cafe and Shop.

Our coastline has endless miles of walks, available to all

This is so sad, I understand that we are all different and many of us enjoy these shared experiences, but sitting in traffic fumes for hours, jostling for breathing space and food is not my idea of fun. There is still an awful lot of outdoors available - in fact in Scotland there is a legal Right to Roam, to make the most of ALL the land and countryside, to walk for as long or as far as you wish. In England and Wales there are miles and miles of coastal paths, country parks, National Parks and footpaths lovingly documented and drawn up by assiduous, country loving people in every community - our local Pub even has cards of nearby walks available to all.

The Outdoors is there for everyone, walking is free and healthy and there is so much to discover. I don't even mind if you come and walk around here, just enjoy it and respect it, take your litter home;

Take only Photographs and Memories and leave only footprints.

And most rivers have miles of walkable banks - this is the Itchen

Please check our website for both UK and International cover for ALL your holidays...HERE

Pre-Existing Medical

At Holsure we understand that many people have irrelevant, minor health conditions and yet cannot go abroad because they can't get adequate travel insurance cover. We pride ourselves on offering cover for as many conditions as possible. We try hard to ensure that as many people who want to travel, can. Many conditions are certainly not life threatening and may not even be expected to impinge upon your holiday plans in any way and yet some companies place expensive restrictions or even exclusions on these conditions - we try to help as much as we can - we don't want you taking the risk of travelling without insurance...

Please click here to see a copy of the policy wording for our medical conditions scheme and view the health conditions which apply. Other policies on our website have different health conditions and you should review the Health Declarations as part of the quote process prior to accepting the quote. 

If you cannot comply with the relevant health conditions you will be given a number to call for medical screening. The medical screening service will ask detailed questions about your health and medication and will then either confirm cover, request a small additional premium (to be paid separately to the medical screening helpline) or in rare cases refuse cover for your particular condition.  

Alternatively, you can purchase the policy and call the medical screening healthline within 14 days (or before you travel if this is sooner) once you receive the policy. 

For specialist travel insurance for those with pre-existing medical conditions, choose to insure your hols with Holsure HERE.