Travel health is a major priority when planning your Round the World Airfare. Researching your travel destinations beforehand is essential to find out the vaccination requirements as well as health advice regarding safe drinking, food, STDs, insect borne diseases and other travel related health issues. Before setting off on your gap year travels, it’s worth spending some time getting fit by walking, running, swimming and any number of different sports.
Although travelling will make you fit and walking for long distances will seem quite normal after some time, exercising and eating healthily before you go will help prepare you for the journey ahead.
Also ensure that you leave plenty of time to obtain all the necessary vaccinations before setting off on your travels (although they can be done pretty quickly – this is an expensive option). This could be a few months in advance in some cases. Travel health issues will vary from country to country but some of the things to look out for include:
Too much sun
Heat stroke, sunburn, skin cancer and a variety of ill effects can all result from too much sun exposure. Babies, children, and fair skinned people are at greater risk especially in tropical areas. The general advice here is to use a good sunscreen, drink lots of water, avoid over exertion, avoid alcohol, wear a hat, stay out of the mid-day sun and minimise time spent on tanning.
Water and food
There are a large number of diseases which can be contracted from infected water and food including Escherichia coli, dysentery, giardiasis, and hepatitis A. Less common diseases for travellers include typhoid and cholera. The general rule here is to drink bottled water (where the top has not been tampered with) and to use bottled water for brushing teeth. Water can also be treated by boiling, chemical disinfection through a tincture of iodine and through the use of portable water filters. With regards to food poisoning, travellers must be cautious when travelling in areas of poor hygiene and sanitation. Milk products, salads, uncooked or undercooked vegetables and meat must be avoided. Fruit which can be peeled and piping hot food is generally safe.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
Diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhoea and AIDS are commonly contracted through casual sex. Symptoms vary but early treatment is often essential to avoid long term complications. Prevention is through abstinence, using water-based lubricants and through the use of latex condoms. Condoms can vary in quality and if in doubt, always try to purchase well-known brands or buy them from home before travel.
If you have any concerns regarding a condition, you may have or a travel health issue, consult your doctor before going and also ensure that you take out a good travel insurance policy.
Malaria
This is transmitted by the female mosquito usually during the period from dusk to dawn. Malaria can kill and early symptoms include chills, fever, body aches and sweating. For the prevention of malaria, travellers are advised to:
– wear light coloured long sleeve tops and trousers
– take the appropriate malaria prophylaxis before, during and after the period of travel.
– apply insect repellent. Both DEET based products and natural insect repellents such as those based on oil of eucalyptus and citronella are available.
– Use a mosquito net or stay in a room with mosquito netting on the windows.
Vaccination Chart
One vaccination does not automatically offer protection against a disease for life. Many vaccines need to be routinely boosted to offer continued protection. The following chart gives some idea of how often boosters should be administered according to the UK Guidelines. This chart is offered as a guideline (it is not definitive!) and should be used together with specialist advice from your travel health advisor or GP. Before travelling you should ensure you have had all of your childhood routine vaccinations. Take advice from your GP about whether you really need Yellow Fever and Rabies inoculations depending on the areas you are going to. The following is a very general list of jabs most people would take on most general RTWs – but please make sure you see a qualified medical professional before you go.
| Diphtheria/Tetanus | Following initial course of five doses boost every 10 years for adults and adolescents | Given as a Tetanus/Diphtheria combination for travel to risk areas |
| Hepatitis A | First injection gives protection for one year. Booster at 6-18 months gives protection for 10 years – some vaccines can be boosted up to three years after first dose | Protection occurs 10-14 days after the primary dose. |
| Japanese B Encephalitis | Following primary course boost after 2 years | |
| Meningitis A&C | After initial vaccination boost every 3-5 years | Travel to Mecca – certificate of injection valid after 10 days. |
| Polio (oral) | After initial course – boost every 10 years | |
| Tetanus/Diphtheria | Following initial course of five doses boost every 10 years for adults and adolescents | Given as a Tetanus/Diphtheria combination for travel to risk areas |
| Typhoid (injection) | After initial vaccination boost every 3 years | Partial protection occurs 10-14 days following first injection |
| Typhoid (oral) | Following 3 capsule course protection lasts for 1-3 years | Protection against typhoid following a 3 capsule course is 70% after 7-10 days after initial course |
| Yellow Fever | After initial vaccination boost after 10 years | Certificate valid 10 days after vaccination |
Graduate professionals do not hang out at tourist sites bothering tourists
From Bangkok to Cairo, from Beijing to Marrakesh, you’ll be approached by more “teachers”, “lawyers”, “archaeologists”, “filmmakers” and “doctors” than you could shake a stick at – much as we all would have loved to.
Most of these encounters have resulted in an invitation to some scummy, over-priced tat shop for the sort of hard sell that makes the Kray Brothers look like Mother Teresa, though a few, by way of variety, will no doubt try introduce you to travel agents offering tours for the price of your firstborn, or perhaps just a kidney.
People who invite strangers to tea usually have ulterior motives…
After a while in the Middle East, the simple word “tea” can trigger a fight or flight reflex that sends one soaring back to the prehistoric savannah. In the Arab world, extensive emotional-cultural blackmail, riddled with guilt-tripping references to “traditional Arabic hospitality”, tends to lead to an eye-bleedingly awkward afternoon resisting the siren lure of the sort of carpets and statuary Michael Jackson used to buy during his glory days in Vegas, perhaps with the occasional offer of money exchange by way of variation.
…especially if they’re Chinese
The Chinese take the ancient art of the tea ceremony to a whole new level with the tea scam. Here new friends gauge your gullibility and susceptibility to flattery over small talk then invite you to join them for tea. Where there are no prices on the menu, the dishwater concoctions we Brits so politely sample can run to hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds. Where there are prices, the thirty quid loss hurts the ego more than the wallet.
If someone says somewhere is shut, it probably isn’t…
There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. Typically, however, the taxi driver who claims your guesthouse is closed is receiving commission from the competitor he will take you to, a gratuity that will be added to your already extortionate room bill. And the “archaeologist” who explains that the museum is shut will rapidly suggest an alternative destination, typically a “government bazaar” with a special sale.
If someone says something is government-run, run…
Tying with the very special temple only open on “Buddha Day” for the coveted position of most popular scam in Bangkok is the TAT tuk-tuk tour, allegedly donated by the government for a token 20 baht, because, lord knows, there really aren’t enough tourists in Bangkok. The Egyptian government also has a range of eminently avoidable special offers, from government bazaars to discounted entry to the pyramids.
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is
Rather as with the folk who send their life savings to that charming Nigerian general with the winning email style, it’s difficult to feel too sorry for travellers who fall for the gem scam, dropping thousands of quid on coloured glass and painstakingly smuggling it overland, let alone the various variants on the poker scam. Because those Filipino poker sharks you’re playing with so totally want your money to extort the OTHER guy, right? Err, right?
One of the most expensive components for any travel insurance claim is a Medical Evacuation, and in the unfortunate event that you or anyone in your party requires one, most insurance companies will look into every contributing factor in order to reject a claim that requires one.
Medical evacuation while travelling round the world can be a daunting prospect, but it is important to be prepared for the worst. Medical evacuation insurance can provide you with the peace of mind that you will be able to get the treatment you need in the event of an accident or illness. The cost of medical evacuation can be high, so it is important to make sure that you are covered by a policy that meets your needs. When choosing a policy, consider the regions you will be travelling to, the activities you will be undertaking and the length of time you will be away. With the right policy in place, you can enjoy your round the world trip safe in the knowledge that you are covered should anything go wrong.
#1 Important Factor – Alcohol in your system may result in your claim being denied (please read the fine print of your policy, it’s long, but worth it)
1: YOU DON’T NEED TO BE SERIOUSLY INJURED TO REQUIRE AN MEDICAL EVACUATION.
In places like Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia and many Pacific Island nations, even apparently routine problems can lead to emergency evacuation. Some locations these is done by the military and their pricing can be sky high.
2: EMERGENCY MEDICAL EVACUATIONS RARELY HAPPEN INSTANTLY
The insurers’ assistance company, your first point of contact during a medical emergency, needs to balance the patient’s needs against the underwriters’ desire to control costs. Both underwriters and assistance companies work 24/7 but negotiations do take time.
3: AIRCRAFT COMPANIES NEED MONEY UPFRONT
No air charter company will send a helicopter, let alone a plane, without a solid “guarantee of payment” in place from your insurers (or cash or credit card if you’ve been unwise enough to travel without insurance).
4: LOGISTICS ARE INSANELY COMPLICATED
Even for an emergency helicopter evac within a single country, the nearest helicopter needs to be found, the medical team, equipment and crew need to get to the helicopter, and a flight plan, often including refuelling, needs to be agreed.
5: MOST OF THE TIME, THE PATIENT NEEDS TO BE “FIT TO FLY”
With most medical evacuations, a medical professional will need to certify that the victim is “fit to fly”: in an emergency mountain rescue situation, the rules are less strict.
6: MOST HELICOPTERS DON’T FLY AT NIGHT
Most helicopters are not allowed to fly at night. So unless an emergency happens early in the day or near the helicopter base, you are likely to have to wait until morning.
7: INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY EVACS TAKE DAYS
International air ambulances are not designed to rush victims to the nearest hospital. They are intended to transport patients whose condition is stable – be that conscious with a broken leg or in a coma on a ventilator – from one medical facility to another.
8: AIR AMBULANCES ARE NOT WELL-EQUIPPED
Air ambulances are lightly customised private jets, not flying hospitals. They don’t have operating theatres, MRI scanners, blood banks or pharmacies and they can’t just set down at the nearest airport if something goes wrong.
9: SERIOUSLY INJURED PATIENTS MAY END UP IN THE NEAREST PUBLIC TRAUMA HOSPITAL
Because of the “fit to fly” rule, the ultimate treatment option in a developing country may be the best public trauma hospital in the capital. If you survive, once you’re stable, you can then be moved internationally for treatment.
10: INTERNATIONAL AIR AMBULANCES TAKE AEONS TO ARRANGE
International air evacs are a logistical nightmare. A plane and team needs to be found, and a flight path has to be cleared through at least two, and sometimes several, countries. Medical crew need visas for the country where the patient is, the country where the patient is going and the country where they are meeting the air ambulance.
11: IT’S RARE FOR AN INTERNATIONAL AIR AMBULANCE TO LEAVE ON TIME
Even once the plane is signed off, last minute holdups are legion. Bad weather and customs inspections can delay a flight for hours, as can plain old paranoia, like the air ambulance that left Tel Aviv for Addis Ababa only to sit on the runway for five hours because the Ethiopians decided the patient must be an Israeli spy
A fellow traveller is climbing a tree so he can jump into the local river, suddenly you hear a scream, turns out he’s fallen from the tree landed just short of the water and it looks like he may have broken his leg. You’re 2hrs from the local hospital and getting a helicopter is not going to happen due to the canopy of the trees overhead. You help stabilise his leg using a couple of branches and reassure him and his friends that he won’t freeze overnight 🙂
No, it’s not a scene from a typical RTW trip, mercifully. It’s just a practice scenario, and part of the High Peak Wilderness First Aid Module 1 & 2 (16hrs) – Outdoor First Aid course with the team at High Peak First Aid, outside the pretty village of Hope in the Peak District.
“Outdoor First Aid is defined as any situation where you are at least an hour from medical care,” explains John, a course instructor. “We call the first hour the Golden Hour, because that’s the timeframe in which treatment can best help the patient survive.”
It was a family friend, an expedition hiker, who pointed me in the direction of Outdoor First Aid, after my friend broke his arm in the middle of bloody nowhere, Papua New Guinea, and I realised neither of us had any idea how to patch up a broken arm – let alone how to move him safely if he’d had head or spinal injuries.
“In normal first aid courses, they’ll teach you never to use a tourniquet,” my friend explained chirpily, over a beer. “In expedition medicine, they’ll teach you to use one in some situations – you’ll lose the limb but save the life.”
Like a lot of Round the World travellers, I’ve routinely been more than an hour’s travel – sometimes a day or more – from any form of medical care, even the most basic and unskilled. You don’t have to be trekking high in the Himalayas, downriver on the Nile or exploring the Uluru on a camel – all it takes is to be on a bus from point A to point B when it crashes, and, bang, you can be hours from help.
A good mate and I are doing the entry level course: In total it’s 16 hours, spread across two days, alternating between the classroom and the muddy wilderness around us. (These courses are not usually open to under-16s, but anyone who is travelling in your group should have a reasonable handle on the principles of wilderness emergencies.)
Over the first day you can expect to cover the management of routine injuries – burns, sprains, fractures, bleeding. We practise CPR and learn how to use a defibrillator. We’re drilled, again and again, on the basic principles of ABC – airway, breathing, circulation – and discover how to assess and monitor a patient. And we learn an impressive amount of physiology and anatomy.
Day 2 takes us out into the muddy, chilly woodland for a range of scenarios. After inadvertently killing a couple of victims, I learnt how to move victims with suspected spinal injuries, how to remove a helmet safely, how bloody difficult it is to keep a victim warm and, importantly, how to patch up a broken limb.
“The reason he’s screaming,” explains the instructor helpfully, as I hastily wrap bandages around the poor guy’s arm in fear of the approaching bandits, “Is that you’re bandaging the wrong bit of his arm. You need to stabilise the break.”
Have I had to use these skills yet? Thankfully, noy. But I have them, and if your Round the World Trip takes you off the beaten track, then it’s highly recommended that you consider acquiring them too.
High Peak Wilderness First Aid Module 1 & 2 (16hrs) – Outdoor First Aid – Course Content
First aid kits
First aid kits and best products for the wilderness environment
Safety
Safety for self, other’s and casualty
Correct PPE for the incident
Hygiene and infection control and prevention
Incident management
Incident management
Awareness of Triage
Awareness of high-risk mechanisms of injury
Communication
Communicate effectively with the emergency services
Summoning Help
999/111/Mountain and Cave Rescue/Coast Guard/What 3 Words
Life threatening (catastrophic) haemorrhage
Recognise life threatening haemorrhage
Understand a stepwise approach to managing a catastrophic limb bleed
Apply a tourniquet competently
Competent in use of haemostats
Spinal Injury
Appreciate high risk mechanisms of injury for spinal injury
Manual inline stabilisation (MILS)
Airway
Inspect and clear airway
Recognise and treat airway obstruction, choking, stridor
Perform a head/tilt chin lift
Manage an airway by postural drainage
Breathing
Identify if the casualty is breathing normally
Correctly assess breathing, rate, depth and quality
Identify life-threatening chest conditions
Basic life support for Myocardial Infarction
Basic life support for Drowning
Competent in the use of an AED
Circulation
Assess presence of circulation
Measure pulse rate and rhythm
Measure capillary refill time
Apply direct pressure
Application of appropriate wound dressings
Elevation of limb where appropriate
Splinting as haemorrhage control method
Disability
Assess AVPU
Identifying indicators of underlying head injury – concussion and compression
Perform a FAST Test (acute stroke)
Exposure
Differentiate cold from hypothermia
Differentiate heat exhaustion from heat stroke
Recognise possibility of and prevent hypothermia
Assessment, treatment and casualty handling of patients exposed to extremes of temperature
The unconscious casualty
Recovery position
Spinal log roll
Primary Survey
Shock
Recognition and treatment of shock
Medical
Recognition and management of Asthma (including life threatening), Diabetes (hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia), Epilepsy, Allergic reactions, Anaphylaxis (including application of auto-injectors), Myocardial Infarction, Angina (stable and unstable)
Recognition of sudden weakness/paralysis/abnormal sensation
Recognition of collapse/transient loss of consciousness
Meningitis – early warning signs and late signs
Thermal Injury
Apply appropriate treatment for burns including dressings
Understand immediate simple chemical and thermal burn management
Drowning
Recognition and management of the unconscious drowned patient
Recognition and management of conscious patient after immersion in water
Recognition of late complications of drowning
Minor Injuries
Splinters
Blisters
Grazes
Nose bleeds
Bruises
Eye
Treatment of foreign bodies
Chemicals
Snow blindness
Musculoskeletal
Recognition of possible fracture
Identification of suspected dislocation
Recognition & appropriate initial treatment of soft tissue injury
Poisoning
Recognise and treat poisoning
Bites, stings and envenomation including Lyme Disease
Casualty Handling
Physical Exam
Monitoring of vital signs
It’s cheaper to travel in a East or West direction, most fares are not affected but the direction you choose to fly. Each city has slightly different departure taxes along the way and as long as there is availability on the same flights, there will only be a minor change based on if you head East or West. Our Airfares Experts may suggest the order of your itinerary should booking class availability make the difference.
I want to book a round the world airfare because it’s open dated Round the World Airfares / Alliances / Tickets certainly offer good flexibility and value for money, allowing you to see more for often similar or less than the cost of a return ticket. Like return tickets though, dates for each leg are booked in advance and change fees are in place for future amendments. Change fees along with seat selections, baggage and even food and entertainment fees are a big part of the airlines profit in the current climate with fare pricing not really changing in tandem with inflation over the past 10-15 years. It’s best to have your dates firm where you can and avoid paying those penalties by the airlines. On a positive note, with changing a round the world airfare, you are able to change multiple legs on at the same time and is covered by the one change fee [subject to availability in your tickets booking class]. There are also fares with minimal change fees when booking the more inclusive OneWorld ® / Star Alliance style fares.
A minimum of 2 stopovers must be taken on an a round the world airfare. More than 20 stopovers can be had on the top tier of tickets. A city may only be stopped in once but can be transited up to 3 times. Some tickets will restrict the number of stopovers in each continent, particularly the OneWorld® tickets which only allow 2 stops in Europe on their 26,000 mile around the world airfare.
An overnight stay can be utilised without necessarily counting as a stopover. Cities can be transited multiple times if needed; this can be the case with major hub cities such as London, Frankfurt and Chicago, but please check with your RTW Airfares Expert first.
You can backtrack whilst remaining inside a continent, however, some restrictions apply. For example, you can only travel from the west coast of the US to the east coast once, but you may backtrack as long as you don’t make your way back to the coast. Bear in mind that backtracking is counted in your mileage should you be purchasing a mileage-based ticket.
Round the World Airfares can also construct an itinerary to achieve almost any routing, we combine point to point fares (ticketed separately) but within the overall itinerary to achieve some incredibly unique and complex journeys.
Booking economy and upgrade with frequent flyer points, upgrading with frequent flyer points is a bit of a mirage for most travellers. While we see a lot of people earning points with credit cards and many wanting to use them to upgrade to business class. Unfortunately, that is not a realistic option without maintaining a high-status frequent flyer account. Airline upgrades are primarily based on frequent flyer status, rewarding those who spend the most time in the air with them. Also, you need to pay upfront for an ‘upgradeable’ airfare which generally rules out all discount level pricing. For Gold and Platinum frequent flyers this may be something worth considering but for Bronze or Silver members it is very unlikely you will receive a confirmed upgrade with so much competition from high tier frequent flyers.
Round the World Airfares can use your FF points to achieve other return sectors within a traditional RTW Airfare, ask you RTW Expert® for more details on this option.