Consular Christmas blogs: Know Before You Go

The following is a post by the FCO’s ‘Know Before You Go’ Team in London.

Christmas can be a wonderful time of year to travel – to beat the weather and find a bit of summer sun, to travel to the frozen north with the family to visit Santa, to catch up with family or friends living in far-flung places, or whatever type of travel inspires you…

All around the world, our consular staff experience the joys of Christmas celebrated in the style of their host countries. Our staff are many and varied – some come from the UK and are in their host country just for a few years, in which case they will be experiencing a new way of celebrating Christmas; others are recruited locally, have family there and are well versed in local customs; and others are from third countries, and may be new to the festivities entirely.

Over the next couple of weeks on this blog, we will hear from a number of individuals working in our consular network throughout the world. We will see local customs through the eyes of our staff in different parts of the world – but the one thing we will hear about again and again is the need to take some basic steps in preparation before travelling in order to stay safe and enjoy the Christmas holidays.

Most people who travel over Christmas will have a trouble-free and fun-filled festive holiday. But sometimes things do go wrong. Every year, consular staff help people in distressing situations abroad – they might have been victims of crime, have fallen ill and ended up in hospital, or even been arrested.

Taking out comprehensive travel insurance that covers everything you want to do while you’re away means that if the worst happens and you lose any belongings or face any medical bills, you don’t have to worry about how to cover the cost.

Checking out medical requirements for the country you are going to could help prevent you falling ill in the first place.

Doing a little research into the laws and customs of your destination means you are less likely to fall foul of them by accident, and get arrested for something you didn’t even know was illegal.

Did you know that in some countries it is illegal to carry medicines that are available over the counter here? And a lot of countries have a zero-tolerance approach to alcohol-fuelled bad behaviour – behaviour which might not entail much more than a slapped wrist in the UK, could land you in prison abroad.

Making sure your passport, visas and all your important documentation are in order, and having access to enough money while you are away, will make it less likely that you face some logistical hiccup which wastes your valuable holiday time.

Who wants to sit in a bureaucratic office trying to sort out paperwork when they could be enjoying the sun, sea, sand or snow?

Whatever you do, wherever you go, we hope you have a wonderful trip and a very happy Christmas!