Holidays are to be remembered and pretty much everyone tries to capture the essence of their holiday on camera to show to family and friends, and to look back on in years to come.
Digital cameras have made it so much easier to get great shots of one off moments, but with so much choice out there it can be difficult to know what the best option is. (more…)
So it’s over. The phone ins are talking about nothing else, the Fabio will he/won’t he resign or will he be pushed debate is in full swing and there’s just a general hungover feeling. We can blame rotten defending (John Terry, what were you doing? You’re supposed to be able to clear up a route one ball punted from one end of the pitch to the other), shaky self-belief or over paid prima donas, the World Cup dream (for England at least) is over for another four years. It’s time to turn back to more mundane things like going on holiday to forget all the depression of this Tuesday morning. Why not do something truly unforgettable and go on an extreme holiday? Here’s a few ideas: (more…)
A lot of people fantasise about long-term travel and just giving it all up and going away. Most of them never manage it, something or someone always seems to conspire to prevent it happening. But for the lucky few, gap years can be an incredibly enriching and even life-changing experience.
However much we’d like to just throw everything up in the air on a whim it wouldn’t be a good idea. A minimum amount of planning is required to prevent a dream experience turning into a nightmare. (more…)
The World Cup is finally here and thousands of football fans are packing their bags and planning their trip. Because we’re nice people, World First Travel Insurance is giving you a few helpful hints and tips to make sure you don’t score an own goal when it comes to your holiday. And you won’t need to make a claim. (more…)
If you’ve travelled recently, are travelling or are planning to travel, you could be forgiven for being a little confused.
The ash has been coming back in the last couple of weeks but only to the edge of Europe. Frustrating if you live in Belfast, Dublin or Gran Canaria, but it didn’t cause the same major problems as it did across the whole of Europe a month or so ago (and hey, if it means me staying a few more days in Gran Canaria, where’s the factor 50!). (more…)
The recent announcement that travel insurance is now compulsory if you’re travelling to Cuba or if you’re a Cuban national going back home makes another tip to addto the list of things to think of when you’re travelling to such a great destination. This list is of course just a selection. Do you have any more to add to it?
1. Learn Spanish (or go with someone who can speak Spanish) – even with some basic language skills you’ll appreciate the trip even more. And Cubans will appreciate you making the effort. (more…)
Cuba’s one of those places I’ve always wanted to go to. During the years of continued support from the Soviet Union and other Eastern Block countries and the US trade embargo, tourism was a largely ignored and underdeveloped sector. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in the last ten years or so, it has expanded exponentially. (more…)
In recent months Thailand has been embroiled in political turmoil opposing the red-shirted supporters of former Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra and government forces backed by the military. The six-party coalition is under pressure from its supporters in the upper classes and from royalists to crack down on the mainly poor red shirts.
Thailand has a constitutional monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej who has been on the throne since June 1946, making him the world’s longest reigning king. The government is freely-elected with a Prime Minister at its head. However, the military has had a tendency to intervene from time to time when it doesn’t like the government or it does something it doesn’t to upset it. The last time was in 2006 to remove the previously mentioned Taksin Shinawatra. Perhaps they didn’t like him buying Manchester City? (more…)
To paraphrase LP Hartley’s famous line from The Go-Between, “Abroad is a foreign country, they do things differently there”. Recent cases of people getting into trouble have highlighted in the media the need to be very careful when travelling. It’s amazing how many people just don’t do basic research into the places they go to, or just assume either that they can do just like they do at home or, if they do get into trouble, the British Embassy will get them out of it (note: they won’t). (more…)
The new World First web site is to be launched this weekend. It marks the completion of first stage of a new era for us with a new emphasis on building our reputation across the Internet with a variety of social media outlets, this blog being one of the main ones.
Insurance doesn’t have a very good reputation. Insurers are only about one rung up on the interesting chain from accountants. But there’s more to us than you might think. Travel insurance is part of the travel industry. That’s already more interesting isn’t it? So we’re going to be talking about the travel industry, not just insurance. (more…)
