Travel Safe with House of Travel

Calder and Lawson House of Travel has pulled together some handy travel tips to help keep you safe while travelling. It isn’t a tale of woe and despair, but a few simple travel tips that could save you time and money.

There’s assurance with insurance No one ever thinks they’ll get sick, injured or robbed while travelling, but it happens. With travel insurance, you don’t have to worry about huge hospital bills or stolen gear when and if it happens. Reduce the risk and always buy travel insurance. Rather than leave it to the last minute when you’re more likely to forget about it completely, discuss your policy options with a House of Travel consultant at the time of booking. Purchasing your travel policy as soon as any money has been paid for your trip ensures you are covered from the outset.

If you need assistance while away At Calder and Lawson House of Travel, we provide 24/7 holiday assistance. Whether you miss a flight, get sick or have to change your itinerary, we have an after hours number you can call to resolve the issue.

Back up important documents We encourage everyone to safely and securely store important travel documents on their phone. Use an app, such as the House of Travel app, which will store a series of documents all in one place. As well as storing itineraries, travel documents and flight details, the House of Travel app also puts you in direct contact with your travel specialist. Of course, you might lose your phone, so also store everything in the Cloud, on email or take hard copies. It’s important to record key phone numbers for your travel consultant, bank and insurance provider so they can be easily accessed.

Register with Safe Travel Always be aware of your environment. We encourage travellers to register with safetravel.govt.nz before departure; they provide travel advice, regional information and alerts should something happen while you’re away.

Have a confidant Make sure that someone who’s not travelling with you has a copy of your itinerary, passport and travel insurance policy. Keep in regular contact and if things change or you find yourself in an emergency situation, call or email to let them know you are okay.

Never flash the cash Your cash should not be on show so zip it up and lock it away. Never put anything valuable in your back pocket. Ask any thief – back pockets are like an unlocked car…with the keys in the ignition…and a full tank of petrol. We recommend you avoid carrying any large amounts of cash. Ask us about the MasterCard® Multi-currency Cash Passport™ – it’s secure, convenient and re-loadable.

Stash a bit of extra cash in a safe place Cash is king. In the event of an emergency, make sure to stash some cash in a few different places – we recommend a couple hundred dollars worth. If you lose your wallet, your card stops working or the ATMs run out of money, you’ll be glad you did. Some of our favourite stash spots include inside your socks, under shoe inserts, in a toiletry bag, around the frame of a backpack or even sewn behind a patch on your bag.

Beware of public transport opportunists Public transport is busy, especially in bigger cities where crowds make pickpocketing easier. Don’t dismiss a graze, little push or gentle pat as unavoidable contact with a fellow passenger. If you’re being touched, you’re a potential target. Often, opportunists work in pairs – one distracts while the other acts! Bear hug your belongings and try to secure some personal space.

Keep the kids safe If you’re travelling with children, prep them. Either give them a small notebook with emergency numbers and details of what to do if something unexpected happens or give them a step-by-step guide in the notes section of their phone.

Beware of distractions Con artists rarely work alone. Essentially, they want to focus your attention elsewhere while they ‘rob you blind’. Stay on guard from anyone or anything designed to distract you. Unfortunately these distractions usually take advantage of your own decency – cute children, animals, helpful (or helpless) locals, the elderly. Sad but true.

Wait! It’s all gone wrong. Now what? So, it happened – Little Oliver Twist (or Olivier El Twisto if you’re in Spain) has taken your treasures and is already spending large on eBay. But that’s okay, because you did the following four things before you left New Zealand:

1. You wrote down the phone number of your bank’s ‘lost or stolen cards overseas’ department 2. You photocopied your passport 3. You have travel insurance 4. You have a secondary credit card

And you have all of this safely back at your hotel.

Calder and Lawson House of Travel recommends using pacsafe gear when travelling. View the full range and order online at rewards-shop.co.nz