TRAVEL TIPS: Planning your trip

Cath Urquhart, travel editor of The Times offers expert advice on every stage of planning and booking a trip, and dealing with problems if things go wrong.

1. Beware when booking flights online
One roll of the mouse or slip of the finger can cost you dearly. Numerous travellers have accidentally clicked the wrong month, or incorrect destination (Parma instead of Palma, Genoa instead of Girona), or filled in their name in a different format to how it is in their passport. The airlines aren’t obliged to help if you made the mistake. So doublecheck everything before you press ‘submit’.

2 Check the latest hand-luggage rules
Since the airport security scare in August, the rules on what you can take on board have changed more often than a supermodel’s hair-do. The latest guidelines are listed at www.dft.gov.uk. At present you can carry one piece of hand luggage, no bigger than 56cm by 45cm by 25cm, through security at UK airports. You can now take liquids through security as long as they are in containers of no more than 100ml, all of which must be in one transparent, resealable, plastic bag no bigger than 20cm square. This bag must be able to fit in your one piece of hand luggage, and you must pull it out to present separately at security. Check with your airline, and at www.baa.com for further information.

3. Get it in writing
Clearly Mr & Mrs Smith has done their homework, but elsewhere on the Web you can’t always rely on everything you read. So if you are booking a hotel or villa overseas, ask detailed questions about what it offers. How far is it from the nearest town, how big is the pool, is it suitable for children? Get the answers in writing in case of a problem later. This is especially important if you’re booking a rental property online, because there’s no easy way to check what it’s like, as there is with hotels — which can be checked on websites like this one, or in guidebooks.

4. Pay by credit card…
Earlier this year, judges ruled that the 1974 Consumer Credit Act should apply to credit card (but not debit card) purchases made overseas, as well as those made in this country. This is great news: if you buy something that’s faulty, or book a service (such as a hotel or flight) that is not delivered, anywhere in the world, you can now argue the toss with the credit card company — much easier than dealing with Dodgy Airlines, Nowheresville. The purchase must be for more than £100 for this to apply.

5 …but not just any credit card
Most issuers add a currency fee, typically 2.75 per cent, to every purchase you make overseas, and to cash-machine withdrawals. Cards from the Nationwide Building Society (www.nationwide.co.uk) and the Post Office (www.postoffice.co.uk) are honourable exceptions — but make sure you pay them off each month, otherwise the interest charges will negate any savings on overseas purchases.

6 Lose the bags…
Your holiday starts in stress-free fashion if you send your luggage on ahead. Two services, First Luggage (www.firstluggage.com) and Carry my Luggage (www.carrymyluggage.com), will FedEx your suitcases to your hotel or villa, to arrive before you — brilliant if you’re travelling with kids, clubs or just lots of clobber. You can send stuff back the same way, too. From £69 per case, one-way, to France.

7 … and find them again
If the airline loses your luggage, don’t panic. Statistically speaking, it’s probably delayed rather than lost for good, especially if you had a tight connection. Don’t leave the luggage hall without getting a Property Irregularity Report from your airline’s ground handlers, then ring them daily. When the bag turns up, they should deliver it to your hotel or home. If you’re abroad, the airline may offer expenses, typically around £25 per day, for essential items, but ask before splashing out and keep receipts. If the bag is lost for good, it’s usually less hassle to claim for it on your travel insurance than to deal with the airline. Next time, use baggage tracking services for extra security (try www.i-trak.com, www.globalbagtag.com or www.yellowtag.com).

8 Check in online
Airlines are now scrambling to offer this nifty service. You log on to your home or office computer in the 24 hours before your flight to check in and print a boarding pass. Posh airlines like BA let you pick your seat, too, but budget airlines don’t allocate them. At the airport you go straight to security, or use the fast bag drop if you have hold luggage — avoiding check-in queues. Also look out for ‘twilight check-in’ — some airlines, especially at Gatwick, let you check in the night before an early morning flight, handy if you’re staying near the airport.

9 Buy good travel insurance
Don’t assume those ‘free’ policies you get with a credit card are enough — they may only pay up if you’re in an accident. Make sure you have a proper policy with at least £2 million medical cover in Europe (£5 million elsewhere), plus cover for cancellation or curtailment of your trip, loss or theft of your gear, and personal liability and legal expenses in case you get into a dispute. Check you’re covered if you get caught up in a terrorist attack, too. More info: the Association of British Insurers (www.abi.org.uk).

10 Don’t forget the EHIC
The plastic European Health Insurance Card (www.ehic.org.uk) replaced the scrappy paper E111 form in January 2006. Carry it if you’re travelling in Europe, where it entitles you to free or reduced-cost medical treatment. It’s no replacement for travel insurance as it doesn’t cover repatriation or private treatment; nor is insurance alone enough, as insurers sometimes insist you carry the EHIC. The good news? It’s free.

The Times Holiday Handbook — The Essential Trip-Planning Guide (Navigator Guides, £12.95), is available from bookshops, or from The Times BooksFirst (0870 160 8080, www.booksfirst.co.uk) for £11.50 including free postage. Cath Urquhart has been travel editor of The Times since 1997, and has reported for the newspaper from more than 50 countries. This is her first book, and aims to answer readers’ most common questions about choosing and booking holidays.