To be getting into an anxious state about forthcoming holiday?

[Unacceptable]

Our family has a foreign holiday booked for August. We normally holiday in the UK but after years of pleading from DC we have booked a week away.
I am now panicking. I know what I'm doing in the UK. I'm familiar with the law, what to do in an emergency, how much things cost, customs etc
I'm worrying so much that I'm annoying myself!

I'd love some advice from experienced travellers. I'm hoping a few tips will stop my worries spiralling.

We are a family of 6 going to the Canary Islands for one week. We have insurance and EHIC, passports...now what?

What should we bear in mind? How's the best way to be prepared so that we can have a good time?

I would say photo copy your documents before you go including outside and inside of passports and keep in separate hand luggage in case the originals get lost or stolen .

As PollyPocket said you don't need to take any towels at all for the room or the pool, they'll all be provided. However if you want to go to a beach outside the resort you should take a beach towel each as the resort probably won't want you taking theirs out and getting them all sandy.

Ignore those who say you need to speak a bit of the language - yes it's nice to be able to say "Gracias" and fund to try a bit more but you absolutely will not need it to be a tourist in the Canaries. Your rep will be there to look after you in the highly unlikely event of a problem/emergency and at all other times the locals are trying to sell you stuff/get tips so they will make very sure to speak English!

Language will not be a barrier in the Canaries, so don't worry about that.

I would contradict earlier advice about not taking an outer layer, only because the temperature does drop considerably in the evenings. Although it won't be anything near freezing, you may need a hoody or something like that.

Have fun!

A guidebook for your destination will give you info on emergency numbers, local laws and customs, etc. Get one in advance and read it before you go! A phrasebook is also useful and puts your mind at rest.

Keep all your travel paperwork together in your hand luggage, with spares/copies safely in your case.

Remember to reapply suncream often, stay out of the midday sun and keep well hydrated. As others have said, a basic first aid kit with immodium, paracetamol, plasters, antihistamines, insect bite relief, scissors etc will be handy.

Other than that, just have an amazing time. Once you're there you'll wonder what the hell you were worrier about.

If it's all inclusive you really won't have to worry about much, who have you booked with ? If you have booked with the big travel companies they will have reps who do everything for you, they will tell you where you need to be for trips and transfers etc.
You just need money for day trips and if you want to go out to eat for entertainment out of the hotel.
It will be fine, it will be lovely, you just need to go out there and enjoy yourself.
Where abouts in the Canaries are you going ?

The canaries are lovely. I 'discovered ' them just three years ago and september will be my 11 th visit.

It does get hot but there's a cooling breeze but do be careful as it is so easy to get burnt.

Where are you staying? Tenerife? Las Americas? Adeje? I know Los Cris and las Americas pretty well if you want any more specifics.

You will love it.

There's no need to panic. The island is a very chilled out place to go . The people are lovely and really make us feel welcome.

You do get pestered by the Lookee Lookee men ( street sellers) and the hair braiders, but usually a firm 'no' is all that's needed.

In las Americas the hospiten, hospital is just up from the vulcano hotel and along the road el camison, there is a doctors clinic that appears to open pretty late.

If it is tenerife and las americas there are lots of shops. The beach shops right up to ones selling high end products like €600 for shoes so you might want to bring spare cash for shopping. Booze, you can bring a litre of spirit home with you. Soberano brandy for eg is €9 or there abouts for a litre.

Anyone still smoke? faggies are cheap too.

You can get all your beauty products here. The Spanish are very beauty conscious. If you are staying at a hotel with a spa, you might want to treat yourself to a pamper treatment. Some of the big hotels have hairdressers etc

You should also find the hotels to be very clean as a general rule and I have no problem with using the water in las Americas.

The great thing is, you are still in the uk time zone and just 4 to 4.5 hours away.

We go in winter and autumn just to shorten our English winter.

You will love it.

You are going to an all-inclusive hotel in a popular tourist destination. You will have a rep to help you; all the staff in the hotel (and most people you meet outside it) will speak English;, the laws, customs and prices aren't that different from the UK. Keeping your money and possessions safe is just the same as here - keep bags zipped up, don't leave your phone lying on a table while you go to the loo, use common sense.

You will be fine.

But, for peace of mind.

Prepare for things going wrong

• Take copies of your EHIC cards and passport (the page with the photo and the page inside the front that has the passport number on it). Make sure one person has the original and a different person has the copy.

• Make a note of your insurance policy number and the emergency phone number on your policy documents. Also note the details of your holiday booking - travel agent name and contact number, hotel name and address, flight times and numbers. Make sure at least 2 of you have these details.

• Make sure all of you know the hotel name and address, and number to call for fire, police and ambulance. (122 works across the whole of Europe - this is free from any landline or mobile; the specific numbers for the canaries are 080 for fire, 091 for police and 061 for ambulance).

• In case your luggage goes missing (which is rare) make sure your hand luggage contains essential medicines, one change of clothes, and your swimming things and toothbrush.

Buy a phrasebook
Not just for the language (which you won't need but it's much nicer if you do learn a bit) but because most of them have information about local culture and customs, such as meal times, tipping etc. They also usually include emergency service phone numbers and similar useful details.

Cards and money
You'll need very little if you are staying at an all-inclusive place.

M&S is one of the cheaper places to get get currency, and doesn't charge to change back any leftovers after the holiday. The Post office also has fairly good rates. Rates at the airport are expensive.

Using a cashpoint while you are abroad is often as cheap as changing money before you go (but see below).

Credit and debit/cashpoint cards can be used abroad in just the same way as here, but:

• If you use a debit card to take money out of an ATM, the fee is often less than the charge for using a bureau de change, but if you use a credit card to take out money you will be charged interest as well as the fee (form the day you take the money out, not from the date of the next bill as you would be on a normal purchase).

• Some restaurants or tourist attractions will ask you if you want to pay in the local currency or in sterling. This usually uses an exchange rate that costs you more, so choose the local currency option.

• Depending on your bank, you may need to tell them you are going abroad (some will stop cards that are used abroad unexpectedly). Ring and check.

Pack

• Sun cream
• Mosquito repellent
• Hot-weather clothes
• A light jacket/cardigan/warp or similar for evenings
• A lightweight long-sleeved shirt and long skirt/trousers to cover up if you get sunburn, and to protect against mosquitos in the evening
• Swimming costumes.
• Toiletries (the hotel will provide soap and probably shampoo, but you'll need toothpaste, moisturiser etc)
• A sunhat
• At least a couple of travel adapters
• Chargers for any electrical gadgets you are taking

You will not need:

• Towels
• Bedlinen

Pack things in the correct bags
Hold luggage
Do not pack

• any electrical items or batteries. Do pack
• Tweezers, scissors, nail files, knitting needles, diving knives, penknives, anything else sharp
• any liquids or gels in containers larger than 100ml.

Hand luggage
Do pack

• Essential medication (in original packets. If you have anything unusual, like opiate pain killers or insulin syringes, take a copy of your prescriptions)
• Swimming costume, one change of clothes, toothbrush
• All your electrical gadgets, chargers, adapters, batteries. Make sure these are near the top so you can fish them our for security checks. Make sure any phones, cameras etc are charged so that you can switch them on to demonstrate that they work.
• Any liquids must be smaller than 100 ml (note that this is the container size, not the actual quantity of liquid. You are allowed up to 10, but they must all fit into a single clear, resealable plastic bag that has a capacity of not more than 1 litre (the Lakeland bags for freezing soup are ideal). Again this needs to be at the top of your bag so you can fish it out for security checks.
• Your passport, tickets, insurance docs and emergency details file

Do not pack

• larger quantities of liquid (including drinks)
• Anything sharp and metal

Hiring a car/scooter
If you want to do this you will need both parts of your driving licence (although the regulations on this are changing - if your holiday date is after the change you will not need the paper part of the licence, but you will need a code. See the DVLA for details). But the rules of the road are one thing that do vary significantly between countries, so if you are nervous and on your first trip abroad, stick to using buses and taxis.

Go on google maps and google streetview to get a feel for the area you will be staying in and anywhere else you plan to go.

You can also usually pick up free paper maps of many resorts at the airport.

Have you got travel insurance? Check money supermarket. I photographed all my documents and passports and e-mailed them to myself, partner and brother so there were copies available. I also made up a list of important telephone numbers, embassy, bank, mobile provider etc and again sent this by e-mail. Relax and enjoy you'll have a great time.

Good luck op was just going to post a similar thread so watching with interest

Go on trip adviser and read other guests' reviews of the resort you are going to, there will be loads and they often have good little practical tips in them.

Check with your mobile provider about overseas rates so you can decide whether to use it for calls / texts / just via wi fi.

Check with your bank about overseas cash access and charges: it might be fine to go to an ATM out there rather than carry large amounts of cash with you, and it's worth knowing if any particular banks provide cheaper access than others

the Canaries are just off Africa so the UV will be very strong. (temperature is irrelevant, basic physics). cover up, use rash vests and boardies when swimming, lots of suncream. It can be pleasant in the evenings so take one lightweight fleece each.

make sure you have the contact details of your travel insurers, as a geographic number. If you do (hope not) need medical attention, you may have to pay and claim later; hence that credit card.

packing:
hand luggage: valuables, fragile items, essential medicine, documents. NO liquids, gels or pastes over 100ml/20cm bag limit. NO sharps.
hold baggage: NO valuables/fragile items.. If more than one bag, split clothing between them so if one bag is lost, no one person is naked.

tell your bank and credit card company where you are going and when. Take a float of E100 and withdraw any more if needed. If offered the chance to pay in sterling on a credit card, refuse and insist on paying in Euros.

tell timeshare touts to get lost.

it's not hard to learn 10 words in Spanish. Do it.

try and get out of the AI place and see something of the island. Shame to go all that way and see nothing. If it is Tenerife it has wonderful scenery so hire a car or use the buses.

enjoy.

The chances of anything going wrong are slim..We have been on loads of holidays with babies to older teens and the only problem l ever had was my bag was stolen in London with passports etc..l had come from lreland. Holidays abroad are so much easier. The children are so much happier in the warm weather. It will do you good to see their faces as they run in and out of the sea without shaking with the cold like here. The fact you have an all inclusive makes life so easy. Start to get excited. You will love it. I wouldn't be surprised if you are booking straight away for next year when you arrive back. One of the hardest things for me with my kids growing up is they don't come on holidays with us any more. They are the best days. Have fun

I've never told my bank that I'm going abroad and never had any problems.

We've never been hassled by timeshare touts - we must look like we can't afford a holiday home .

not all banks want to be told all the time, but rules change. For the sake of a phone call or a few minutes on the internet, why not do it?

Thanks everyone loads of great tips!

Off to play on GoogleEarth now, thanks for that OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat

Do pack Tweezers, scissors, nail files, knitting needles, diving knives, penknives, anything else sharp

Blimey Punkhedgehog, why would she need all those for an AI to the Canaries?

We usually have a Swiss Army knife because it comes in useful for picnics and mending spectacles; but I would never have thought of taking knitting needles. And I didn't even know you had special knives for diving - is that to cut yourself loose if you get tangled up in some underwater creeper-y thing?

Yes, 5foot5, divers carry knives in case they get tangled in reeds or fishing lines etc.

The baggage handlers at lanzarote airport stole DPs Swiss army knife .

I would put suntan lotion on before getting on the plane as DS got painfully burnt from popping into the sea for a ten minute dip on our drive from the airport, and had to wear at shirt in the pool all week

You don't have to take knitting needles . It's just that if you do take them, they need to go in the hold, not in hand luggage.

PunkHedgehog

The emergency number is 112