The world – well, certain sections of the press anyway, are getting all excited about Samantha Cameron and her new baby, Florence Rose Endellion. She was born whilst her parents were on holiday in Cornwall and, although born one month early, you can’t help  suspect that her parents were well prepared for the event or at least someone made pretty sure they were prepared. (more…)

Now this is interesting! Whilst World First can’t actually book your holiday for you as we’re not travel agents, we can make planning it just that little bit easier with a new service called Essential Holiday Extras. Extras puts those little annoyances of the journey like where to park, where to stay or getting away from the crowds into a convenient, easy to use online booking system so that all you have to worry about is where you put your passport and whether or not you’ve remembered the factor 50. (more…)

Are safaris dangerous? What happens if I get eaten by a lion? The chances of that are pretty slim, in fact you’re more likely to get eaten by a shark surfing off the coast of Australia – there are 15 attacks and one death a year apparently – but safaris are classified by underwriters as activities and as such carry their own risk. And when you start talking of risk, insurers (or their underwriters) tend to get twitchy. So are safaris any different to any other holiday? What is actually covered by your travel insurance policy? (more…)

This is a guest post by Patrick Hamilton. He is a specialist in travel to Southern Africa and safaris in particular.

Africa is not the only destination for Safaris, but obviously it has the greatest variety both of accommodation and of animal and bird species available to the traveller.  From the Masai Mara in Kenya to the Okavango Delta in Botswana to the Kruger National Park in South Africa, the choice is bewilderingly wide.  Real luxury is available on safari, if that is what you want, splash pools at every chalet, wine cellars and other trappings which are regarded as necessary by some to make a complete holiday. There are truly magnificent Lodges, but my preference on safari – and I have done a few – is to get a little closer to nature. (more…)

The airwaves seem to be full of annoying but admittedly brilliant advertising campaigns for cheap insurance generally involving meerkats. This is all very good for meerkats because a large proportion of the population had probably never heard of them before, but not so good for the insurance industry generally as it gives the impression that all policies are similar and the only important differentiator is price.

Price is obviously important but there are other considerations to take into account when assessing the real value for money that your travel insurance policy gives you. (more…)

Lets face it, we’re all part of the food chain. Humans have always relied on both wild animals and plants  for our most basic needs. Since we first got up on two legs, we’ve relied on our surroundings for food, shelter and clothing. Fast forward to recent years and concern has been increasing over trade in what have now become endangered species. Formed in 1973, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has drawn up a list of species and their by-products to be protected and its member countries (currently 126) have introduced laws banning trade in them. (more…)

Be a traveller, not a tourist. It’s an expression that gets banded about a lot these days, by me if no-one else. But what does it actually mean? If you read travel literature, not just Bill Bryson (good though he is) but Paul Theroux (Louis’ father), Jonathan Raban or Bruce Chatwin, you’re probably a traveller. If you’re more interested in what’s going on the beach or go on the tour to the local Roman ruins but don’t understand (or care) much about them, you’re a tourist. Travellers go to places to discover, relax and learn. Tourists go to places to tick them off a list of places they can say they’ve been to. (more…)

Some women choose to travel abroad to give birth. They have time to put things in place and plan.

But sometimes things just happen. Junior decides it’s time to make a break for the big wide world  just when you were enjoying yourself on holiday or even when you were in a business meeting.

If you do travel abroad when you’re pregnant, you’d be advised to take a certain number of precautions just to make sure things go smoothly. (more…)

The holiday season is in full flight (excuse the pun!) and people are heading off to the four corners of the world to sun themselves, get a bit of rest and recharge the batteries. Perhaps one of the last things they’re thinking of is whether to take single trip or annual insurance. Sounds a bit of a philosophical question. doesn’t it? But, believe it or not, it’s a question worth pondering. (more…)