If you’re going to travel overseas, there are lots of places where you can cut back your expenses. You can travel by bicycle instead of renting a car or taking taxis everywhere, or you can choose to stay in a hostel instead of more expensive hotels. That said, when it comes to your health and wellness, don’t skimp on purchasing overseas travel insurance. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that their personal health insurance policy may not cover overseas expenses. Don’t risk it! Make sure that you’re adequately protected before you begin your journey.

Paying for illness while you are overseas

Even though many foreign countries have socialized medicine, you still want to make sure that you can get the best care available. While this is especially important if you have a pre-existing health condition, medical emergencies can pop up in any situation. When you go to a foreign country, you can’t always be sure that the water or local foods will be agree with your system. You may also be exposed to illnesses or poisonous plants and insects that you’ve never encountered before.

It’s also important to think about travel insurance if you’re going overseas to view historic monuments. While these things may seem exciting when you’re planning your vacation, there are also medical risks that you need to be aware of. Visiting monuments and attractions often involves climbing narrow or dangerous pathways and navigating obstacles to reach the actual site. If your vacation includes activities where you might become injured, make sure you can pay any unintended medical bills.

If you plan to take part in any kind of group activities like mountain biking or scuba diving, make sure you go through a legitimate, reputable company. Before you embark on your activity, a member of the staff should cover all safety procedures and ensure that any equipment you rent is in top condition. Most likely, these groups will have their own insurance policies that will help cover your expenses in the event of an accident. However, it’s still important to have your own policy, just in case the company’s policy doesn’t cover all of your bills.

Paying for medical transport

Being able to get to a neighboring country may be crucial if you become sick. If you’re visiting a third world country, even the best hospitals and medical staff available may not be able to properly treat your condition. In these cases, you’ll want to have the option to be taken to a better hospital – even if that means being medivaced to a neighboring country. Without a question, if you can’t pay up front for these services – or guarantee payment in some other way – you won’t be transported. To protect yourself, make sure your travel insurance policy specifically covers medical transportation in case of emergency.

Today, more people than ever are able to enjoy travel overseas. If you’ve saved up for years to travel to a particular country, don’t blow your vacation by forgetting to plan for what will happen if you get sick or injured. If your current health insurance plan doesn’t include coverage for overseas travel, purchase additional insurance that covers the area you’re traveling to and the activities you plan to engage in. After all, the last thing you want to do is to spend your dream vacation trying to negotiate for necessary medical services without the means to pay for them!

As the cost of airfare continues to skyrocket, many people are choosing to drive to their vacation destinations. However, depending on the condition of your car, you may want to consider renting a car for your vacation instead of driving your own vehicle. Weigh your travel options carefully and keep the following things in mind:

Gas Mileage

Even if you aren’t traveling a great distance by car, you’ll want to take the vehicle that gives you the best fuel economy possible – especially considering rising gas prices. If you currently drive an SUV or other large vehicle that gets low gas mileage, it may make sense for you rent a car with more reasonable fuel efficiency. Run the numbers before you leave on your trip – calculate how much you’ll spend based on current gas prices and the length of your trip in your car and in a rental car.

Breakdowns, towing and collisions

Vacations are supposed to be relaxing – you don’t want to deal with car trouble on your trip! If you drive an older vehicle – or one that is out of warranty – it’s important to think about what will happen if your car breaks down. Even if you already have roadside assistance coverage through your insurance provider, it won’t be much help if your car needs extensive repairs. Nothing ruins your vacation like trying to find an out-of-town mechanic for major auto repairs.

On other hand – if you decide to rent a car – towing and repairs will be covered by the rental agency. If you rent your car from a licensed automobile dealer, you’ll have access to mechanics at any dealership close to where your car broke down. If you’re involved in a collision with a rental car, you won’t have to deal with the stress of organizing repairs to your regular vehicle.

Base Cost

While renting a car offers a number of advantages, they also come with a fairly high price and additional fees. Aside from the basic rental fee, you’ll also have to pay for any extra miles you drive, as well as a renters insurance policy for the vehicle. Don’t put the rental car on your regular car insurance policy – it may result in higher rates the next time you renew. This can seem like a lot – especially when the only expense you incur driving your own car is for gas.

However, don’t let these extra expenses scare you away. We’ve already discussed how renting a more fuel efficient car and preventing wear and tear on your own car can save you money. It might also be worth it to rent a car if you’re near the end of the lease on your current car and don’t want to go over your mile limit. That’s why it’s so important to take all these different factors into account and choose the option that makes the most sense for you financially.

Today, the cost of gas and mechanical repairs makes it very difficult to choose whether or not to drive your own vehicle on vacation. If you can afford a rental car, you may find that the peace of mind you gain is worth the extra expense. That said, if you are confident that you can handle any automobile related emergencies that may come up, it might be to your benefit to use your own car while you are on vacation.

Pack reasonably – it’s okay to wear the same pair of shorts twice or to bring your favorite bathing suit – not your favorite ten. Regardless of where you are, you should be able to find some type of laundry service, so don’t worry too much about bringing emergency changes of clothing. Bring along one set of out-of-season clothing, even if it seems strange to bring a jacket or sweatshirt on tropical vacation. If there’s any kind of serious weather condition, you won’t have to worry about finding – and paying for – an extra set of clothing.

Entertainment: Your low cost options

Spending a relaxing day on the beach reading can be just as fun and paying for an expensive boat tour of the area. Even if you do take advantage of some sight-seeing opportunities, chances are you’ll have some downtime to fill on your own. These are the perfect times to have book, deck of cards, small video game console, or other form of diversion on hand. That said, if you are flying, double check with the airline to make sure you can bring certain types of electronics on board.

Maps: Plan ahead for big savings

You might think that finding the maps you want when you reach your destination would be a simple affair. Unfortunately, once you get to an area, you might find that it’s hard to locate a store that sells maps, or that their prices have been jacked up for unprepared tourists. Save money by planning ahead. Order detailed maps online before you go – in addition to saving money, you’ll be able to plan some activities beforehand, allowing you to spend as much time as possible enjoying your destination.

One thing that keeps me from traveling more than I want, is that I focus on places where the people speak good English. Since English is the dominant language in the world, many people in the developed world speak some English. If you search around google, you will see there is a huge demand for sites with free English courses.

There are the obvious places that speak English, like Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Ireland, but there are many other places where the average person speaks very good English, so it is not too difficult to get around. Northern Europe/Scandanavia is an area where the average person speaks almost perfect English. When you visit The Netherlands, Denmark, or Norway, you’ll almost feel that the people’s native language is in fact English.

Other countries where the average person’s English is very good includes Israel, Germany (sort of), and the Northern part of Italy. In France, quite a few people speak good English; it’s just a matter of if they feel like it sometimes

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