Insurance is an area that can often be overlooked or left till the very last minute when planning a getaway or that “once in a lifetime” round the world backpacking trip on a shoestring budget, but nevertheless, it is a very important addition to your must-have checklist.

If something were to go wrong whilst you are traveling, medical bills, possible repatriation and cancellation fees can cost the earth, running into tens of thousands of pounds in some cases.

If you are busy planning your next backpacking trip or simply a quick getaway for some winter sun then here are the top 10 tips to help you get the most from your travel insurance:

Top 10 Tips

1. EHIC (European Health Insurance Card); if you are traveling in an EU member country the EHIC is a must have, free to sign up for and invaluable should something go wrong. In many countries it will mean that you receive free medical treatment or at worst, at a reduced cost rate. When receiving initial emergency medical treatment this card will usually be asked for as a precursor to claiming on a travel insurance policy.

2. Quality over cost; cheap is not always best when it comes to sourcing travel insurance, it is best to follow the approach of balancing policy features with a competitive price. Cheaper policies usually have higher excesses should you need to claim and offer less in terms of the amount they will pay out for each item of cover. You should aim to secure medical cover of at least £1 million (£2 million if traveling to the USA). Public liability, theft and cancellation cover are also vital items of cover.

3. Honesty is the best policy; be sure to be as honest as possible when applying for your travel insurance policy as one single lie – however small – could void your policy should your insurer find out (remember they can access to your medical records in order to facilitate a claim). All health problems, no matter how small, should be reported to the insurer to ensure the cover you receive is adequate and comprehensive.

Backpack

4. Single, multi-trip, family or backpacker; if you only travel once or twice a year to get some winter sun and top up your Vitamin D levels, then a single trip policy taken out before each holiday should prove adequate and cost effective. Any more than this and you should consider opting for a multi trip policy that will allow you to make several trips abroad for a lengthier duration, usually proving more cost effective than single-use policies. For the family or backpacker, purchasing cover can be expensive due to the number of heads or duration of the trip and many insurance companies offer specialist cover which can be a much more cost effective option (many family policies offer free cover for children under 18).

5. Policy Exclusions; all policies have their exclusions, and for this reason, you should read the small print thoroughly when taking out a new travel insurance policy. One thing that many have in common however is the exclusion of cover for activities deemed to be dangerous such as, skiing, rock climbing/abseiling, bungee jumping and scuba diving. Alcohol or drug usage is another common exclusion as the majority of insurers will not pay out for an accident where the policy holder is known to have been under the influence of either.

6. Pay attention to excesses; as mentioned above, virtually all insurance policies have some form of excess that will be required to pay in the event of claiming for some cover items, unless it is clearly stated that this is not applicable you should pay close attention to how much you will have to pay out to receive any recompense from your insurer. In some cases (mainly with cheaper policies) excesses will almost outweigh the benefit of the cover level for some claims, one example being loss of spending money or theft of your personal possessions.

Not many can resist the beach, sand & sun!

7. Avoid packaged insurance; if booking your next trip through a high-street tour operator, be careful to avoid the trap of letting them package travel insurance into the deal for you. More often than not this will prove to be much more expensive than purchasing a stand-alone policy as unusual as this seems. Major Bank and insurer, Alliance and Leicester recently found that UK holiday makers overspend by £1.3 billion every year for this very reason.

8. Emergency help; when browsing through prospective policies and insurers look for one that offers a 24 hour emergency helpline accessible to you wherever you should choose to travel. Remember to print out all documents to take with you on your trip so you can double-check what cover you have in the event of an incident.

9. Compare a multitude of policies; to ensure you get the best level of cover you can afford on your budget it is best to compare a number of policies and different insurers. You should then aim to narrow your search down to 2 or 3 strong contenders and compare their offerings in your key cover areas. Making use of a comparison site can make this task much easier and will give you access to a wide array of insurers and their respective policies.

10. Do not double up; purchasing 2 insurance policies will not give you double the cover and you could actually slow the claims process down by doing this. It is also essential to check if your bank account or credit card comes with free travel insurance as this is becoming a more common occurrence and could save you a tidy sum (Sangria anyone?) if the levels of cover are sufficient for your trip.

Follow the above tips and you should get the best fit travel insurance policy, hopefully saving some hard earned cash in the process!

“Jason Bader led the traditional 9 to 5 lifestyle for a long time. Today he has a lot more free time on his hands and makes a point of enjoying it as much as possible. Along with sharing his personal interests through online articles and blogs, he spends most of his time traveling, fishing, camping, antiquing, and adding to his unnecessarily large baseball card and fossil collections.

For piece of mind while on a trip, he recommends taking a visitors health insurance.”

It does not matter how great your backpack is if you do not know how to use it. Think about packing for a hike the same way that you would when you are packing luggage for a vacation. The key is not only making sure that you have everything that you need, but also that it is packed in a way that you can easily carry it during a hike. Fortunately, there are some simple tips that will make using a backpack as effective as possible.

Hiking

The first thing that you should always do is take a step back and figure out what items are going to be the most important. Not necessarily important in terms of your entire trip, but specifically while you are hiking. The reason for this is simple, if you are going to need to get into your backpack to get something during a hike, you should not waste time and effort digging for it. This means that while having your cooking equipment is critically important to your camping experience, it does not need to be handy during your hike. Instead, you should make sure that things like insect repellent, sunscreen, snacks, etc. are all towards the top and easily accessible. Additionally, your first aid kit should be nearby as well because you never know how quickly you will need it.

Now that you have a good idea what needs to be readily accessible, the next thing that you should do is consider what type of terrain you will be hiking on. The right weight distribution can make your hike a lot easier or a lot harder. If you are hiking on a trail that is pretty easy or even moderate, then you should load it so that it is a little top-heavy. This will make it easier to keep it between your shoulder blades as well as on your hips. This will help keep the weight on the strongest parts of your body. If you are on rougher terrain, then balance should be a higher priority than “easiness”. Instead of keeping the weight higher, where it is easier to carry for long periods of time, you should keep a bulk of the weight lower and close to your back because it will help you lower your center of gravity. This will make it much easier to keep you balance.

By following these two basics, you will already be well on your way to packing like a pro. However, there are some additional miscellaneous tips that can make the entire process much simpler as well. For example, you need to make sure that you do not waste space. If you have something small, keep it in a smaller compartment. If you are carrying something that can spill or drain, such as lantern oil, double and triple check to make sure that everything is secure and will not leak. Finally, try to keep as little on the outside as possible because the more that is outside, the more it can potentially throw off your balance.

There is no reason to over complicate the process of packing your backpack before an exciting getaway. Prioritize the most important items and keep them handy. Make sure that you pack to maximize either ease of carrying or balance (depending on terrain). Maximize your available space and make sure that nothing will spill or leak. By keeping all of this in mind next time you are getting ready for a hike, then you will be packing like a pro in no time.

Do you write travel journals? I would rather call my travel journals as backpackers diary because I am a self acclaimed devoted backpacker. All backpackers are welcomed to write your backpacking diary for The Backpackers Place. In return, the Backpackers Place will link to your blog or site, if you have one. Wonder how to write a backpackers diary? Here is a sample.

Los Cristianos was once a small fishing village situated on the south coast of the Canary Island of Tenerife, Spain. Today, Los Cristianos is the second largest resort town in Tenerife, after Playa de las Americas. The resort town itself is not big and is best explored by foot. As Tenerife is an island, the best way to arrive is by air. There are 2 airports on the island, namely Tenerife South Airport (Reina Sofia) and Tenerife North Airport (Los Rodeos). One is advised to arrive at the Tenerife South Airport, in which Los Cristianos is just 25 minutes drive from the airport. Alternatively, you can also get in Los Cristianos via daily ferry services from neighboring islands of La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma.

What to expect for your holidays in Los Cristianos? Being a seaside resort town, Los Cristianos is most definitely famous for its beaches. It is home to 2 famous golden sand beaches, namely Playa de Los Cristianos Beach and Las Vistas Beach. Both beaches boast a number of facilities including watersports, showers, beach volley ball, tourist information and children’s playing area, just to name a few.

Beach at Los Cristianos

One can travel to Los Cristianos all year round due to its year round sunny climate. Besides beaches, the resort town also has excursions such as dolphin and whale spotting cruises as well as game fishing trips and party cruises. You can also make a trip up Mount Teide to see a dormant volcano up close or take a hot air balloon trip. It is just fun to travel to Los Cristianos in Tenerife, isn’t it?

Hostelworld.com have launched a new Service Guarantee.

This simple guarantee promises that in the unlikely event of a missing reservation, hostelworld.com will credit the customer’s account with their deposit and add $20 extra credit toward future accommodation bookings on Hostelworld.com.

Hostelworld.com processes millions of confirmed reservations through the market leading booking technology each year and have launched this new Service Guarantee to give customers even more confidence in their bookings with hostelworld.com. They are the first hostel booking site to provide customers with such a guarantee, showing how much hostelworld.com values quality customer service.

Making a Service Guarantee credit claim could not be easier. All you have to do is go to hostelworld.com Service Guarantee page and fill out a short form which Hostelworld.com’s customer service team will then follow up on.

Unless you’ve just won the lottery or get lots of help from a rich mum and dad, it’s likely your backpacking journey of a lifetime will be undertaken on a fairly tight budget, with swanky hotels and first class flights completely out of the question.

Cheap backpacking

However, the great news is there’s so many easy ways to cut corners (and costs) that your backpacking budget will stretch much further than you first thought.

Here are some easy to follow handy hints and tips:

Shop around for bargains
Before you actually start your journey, get yourself online to find great deals on discounted flights, affordable accommodation and cheap travel insurance. Websites like Ebay and Amazon are also fantastic places to grab bargain backpacks and all the other gadgets and gizmos you’ll need. Properly planning ahead in advance can add up to massive savings.

Steer clear of massive mobile bills
Check your phone contract to see how much they’ll charge you for making and taking calls. If you’re staying in one place for a while, think about buying a cheap local SIM card. And use email and social networking to catch up with friends and family, its much less costly than expensive international calls.

Rely on relatives
If you’ve got friends or family living abroad, see if you can fit your trip around their location. They’ll be so happy to see you, you’ll probably get a free bed for a few days – even if it’s only a sofa or spare room, it’ll be a lot less pricey than forking out for a hostel or hotel. And you might even get some lovely home-cooked food thrown in too.

Big is beautiful
Buy a handful of big bottles of water rather than lots of little ones. And as long as the water’s safe to drink in your destination, refill them and use again and again, rather than buying new ones. Not only good for the wallet, but also the environment too!

Scope out where you stay
It’s a sensible idea to only book for the first night at a new hostel you are unsure about – it gives you the chance to scout it out and see if you’d like to stay there longer. If you pay in advance for a full week’s stay, but on the first night find the place is packed with crazy people or infested with insects, then you’ll be seriously out of pocket if you end up making alternative arrangements.

Make the most of freebees
If you eat out or have takeaways once in a while, snaffle a few free napkins, knifes and forks, and packets of salt or ketchup. Similarly, if you do spend a night or two in a hotel, make off with some of their tea bags, soap and shampoo. A few little freebies means more money in your pocket.

Ditch the guidebooks
Don’t splash out on expensive travel guides for your journey. Do some research online and download any maps that might be useful. It’ll also save your backpack being weighed down with books too.

Scrub up well
Why pay to have your laundry done when you can do it yourself at a fraction of the cost? All you need is some hot water, a bath or sink, and some cheap detergent. It’s not great having to wash your own underwear and dirty clothes, but it’s a small sacrifice to make some pretty big savings.

Guest post by Chris Owens from moneysupermarket.com’s travel insurance team

Wonder how to write a backpackers diary? Here is a sample. It is of my backpacking trip to Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces in Guilin, China.

Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces is located within the Longsheng County northwest of Guilin City. To get to the Rice Terraces, one has to take a bus from Guilin Main Bus Terminal to Longsheng. Bus to Guilin Main Bus Terminal can be easily spotted along the Zhongshan Zhong Road. Then you have to get down at Heping Village on route to Longsheng. The journey takes around 2 hours and the bus ticket is 22 Chinese Yuan per person. At Heping Village, you can rent a van to bring you all the way up to one of the many villages uphill.

There are a few villages in Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces Scenic Area where you can stay and see stunning rice terraces view. They are the Golden Bamboo Zhuang Village and Huanglong Yao Village just to name a few. Be sure to stay overnight at Diaojiaolou, a kind of traditional long footed house built on the mountain slope. Wake up early the next morning to hike all the way up the hill to see sunrise. It is a bit tiring but certainly a worthwhile experience. I was told by locals that the scenery of rice terraces viewed from hilltop varies according to season. This picture was taken in August, I would say during which time is the late summer.

Stunning sunrise at Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces

I always think the best way to remember one’s travel experiences is probably to keep a diary. Do you write travel journals? Do you keep a diary of your backpacking trips? If you do, then you are certainly who The Backpackers Place is looking for!

Do you write travel journals?

You are most welcomed to write your backpacking diary for The Backpackers Place. Just fill up the contact form and I will get to you as soon as possible. You will then be requested to submit a minimum 100-word article of your backpacking advice, emotion, experience, feeling, tip or anything you would like to share with our fellow backpackers. Please also submit a photo or more taken during the above backpacking trip. Please be reminded that only original and unique content is entertained and all your writings and pictures should be solely from you.

In return, The Backpackers Place will link to your blog or site, if you have one. I will be more than happy if you link back to The Backpackers Place. What do you think? Please act now! I shall put on my own version of backpackers diary in the next post.

Aren’t we backpackers supposed to be green travelers too? We share one common interest, which is to travel around the world. This world never lacks in beauty, it is just that whether you know how to appreciate or not. At the time of travel, we may have engaged in activities which can cause substantial damage to our natural environment. One example of such activities is air travel. Thus it is important for us backpackers to take a responsible attitude in minimizing the impacts on the natural environment while traveling.

Beautiful African sky

Inspired by Green Traveler Guide, here is my guide to sustainable travel and tourism as a backpacker. I shall call it Green Backpacker Guide.

1. Pack less. Follow your airline’s excess baggage policy. The less you bring, the fewer burdens you will put on your plane and the less carbon emission by your plane. According to Tourism Concern again, if the rapid growth in aviation industry continues at present rate, it will become a major contributor to global warming by 2030.

2. Fly less. Try to use land or sea transports particularly for shorter journeys. Land transports such as buses and trains as well as sea transports such as cruises and ships produce less carbon footprint than planes.

Fly less!

3. Do not take home hotel amenities. Some guesthouses and hostels do provide matches box, shower gel, soap, shampoo, toothbrush, etc to the guests. Leave them alone if you do not use them. This is to ensure that less resources being exploited to replace the items.

4. Do not buy if it is not necessary. To me, shopping is never a part of backpacking. Do not also buy souvenirs made from endangered species, hard woods or ancient artifacts such as carvings made from elephant tusk.

Last but not least, be a responsible backpacker and shows love to our Mother Nature. Do not litter in the scenic spot. Do not waste energy and water. Think green all the times. Remember, this might be your holidays, but it is their home!

One mix-up when comparing hostels with hotels is we tend to think that hostels are budget hotels. A hostel is by no means a budget hotel, so do not expect the same level of comfort in a hostel as in a budget hotel. If you are ready to sacrifice some comforts during your traveling, please read on!

Cheap accommodations at hostelbookers.com

The 2 biggest portals providing online hostel bookings for backpackers and travelers are hostelworld.com and hostelbookers.com. Let’s look at hostelworld.com first, shall we? Hostelworld.com provides online confirmed bookings for hostels and other budget accommodations. There are also packaged tours and city guides of your travel destination on their website. There is a service charge of USD2 for every booking made, but the money is donated to UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). Hostelworld.com has been partnering with UNICEF since 2004 to help improving the lives of children living in some of the world’s poorest countries. Kudos to both hostelworld.com and UNICEF!

Began in 2003, London based hostelbookers.com provides online bookings to over 17,000 budget accommodations in more than 3,500 locations worldwide. Unlike hostelworld.com, there is absolutely no booking fees if you book your hostel with hostelbookers.com. The Backpackers Place has signed up to become an affiliate of hostelbookers.com. So, do click on one of our banners to book your hostel with hostelbookers.com starting today! There is absolutely no booking fee, no hidden cost, no service charge, thus guaranteeing you the lowest price around!

We backpackers should adhere to staying in the modest accommodation. I used to stay in youth hostels. And most probably I will keep on staying in youth hostels wherever I go traveling in the future. This post determines to bring you the differences in between youth hostels and traditional hotels as well as convinces you to stay in one in your upcoming trip.

So, what a hostel is? Hostels are budget orientated accommodation providing overnight lodging to backpackers. The concept of youth hostel was first created in 1912 by Alex Schirrmann under German Youth Movement which encouraged young people back then to concentrate on outdoor activities. Alex Schirrmann then set up the first youth Hostel in the world in the name of Altena Castle in Germany. His idea has spread rapidly worldwide and resulted in the founding of the International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF) in 1932 in Amsterdam. It later changed its name to Hostelling International. Today, Hostelling International has more than 90 different national youth hostel associations as members. The organization also runs over 4,500 youth hostels worldwide.

Hostelling International

What are the differences in between a youth hostel and a traditional hotel, you may ask. Youth hostels run by Hostelling International promote cultural exchange, conservation of the environment, love and care of the nature and simple but quality living, among others. They are not hotels because hostels tend to be more budget orientated and do not have the same level of formality as hotels. Many hostels also have programs to share books, DVDs and other items. Unlike hotels, youth hostels encourage guests to socialize with each other. One evidence is the dormitory room commonly found in any youth hostel.

Stay tuned for I will share with you next the 2 biggest portals providing online bookings for hostels and budget accommodations worldwide!