Here's another key tip for you travellers:
Travel Ex Cards:
I mentioned these in my 'What to pack' guide. For those of you who have been abroad before I wanted to withdraw money from an ATM using your debit or credit card, you'll notice when you return home there's a nasty fee for using your card abroad. Now, most banks will promise you it's only a minimal charge in comparison to the conversion rate and all this rubbish but the truth is, if you use your card abroad, you're most likely going to be charged for it. Now, I'm going to be using my card for a year, and I don't fancy returning home to £300 of just charges.
This is where Travel Ex comes in. Basically, a Travel Ex card is a card that can be bought for however much money you would like on that account. For example, I purchased a Travel Ex card for £100.60 with £100 (155 euros worth) on it. It can be used at anyone ATM displaying the Mastercard logo and I will not be charged to withdraw my own money! As I created account with cashpassport (the site you use to sign up for the card) I can transfer funds between my regular bank and my Travel ex card whenever I want. So glad my friends informed me of this and I would STRONGLY URGE any travellers out there for an extended period of time to invest in one of these!
Can sign up here:
http://www.cashpassport.com/
Card number 2:
E111 Card.
Now, hopefully I will never have to use this card. Basically it's a European health insurance card that will mean if I do fall ill, I will be able to save a large percentage of the fees. For those of you who have fallen ill abroad before and had to purchase medicine, you'll know exactly how I feel when I detest paying such large fees for anti biotics etc. Although this card doesn't entitle free health care, it WILL cut down your medical fees buy a substantial amount.
Applying for one of these cards is easy enough. You can either pick up a E111 form from your local post office or you can apply online here:
https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/home.do
NOTE: This card is only available to UK residents
NOTE: This card is completely free, but some places will try and charge you. DO NOT LET THEM CHARGE YOU
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