Essential Travel holiday insurance - don't buy

Advantages: They make it easy to buy Essential Travel insurance.
Disadvantages: They make it so difficult to claim that your insurance is as good as worthless.

...Essential Travel initially look good, its a competitive price and they make it very easy to puchase this on-line, however when you come to claim they make it so difficult that your insurance policy is practically worth less. First tactic - (if you ring up first) they tell you that you are not covered by the insurance policy you took out with them and will be unable to claim. This puts most people off - but for those that persevere and read the lengthy policy document properly, find that they can in fact claim. Second tactic, when you do put in a claim they keep demanding more and more documentation before they will pay up. Receipts are not enough, you then need letters from the companies as well. They keep requesting more and more difficult to aquire documentation until you just give up or come up against a brick wall. I...

RJane 01.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Essential Travel Insurance

ESSENTIAL TRAVEL INSURANCE

Advantages: NO INCREASED PREMIUM FOR PRE-EXISTING MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Disadvantages: NONE

...until the last minute if you are not very organised. This insurance is very good value and I would recommend it to anyone considering travel insurance, which is a must have when travelling especially to the USA where medical expenses are very costly. Fortunately we never had to make a claim, so I can't comment on the claims proceedure. They have a website to purchase on online, which is www.essentialtravel.co.uk but if you prefer to phone or have any questions their telephone number is 0870 343 0014. Their call centre opening hours are as follows: Monday:- 8am to 8pm Tuesday:- 8am to 8pm Wednesday:- 8am to 8pm Thursday:- 8am to 8pm Friday:- 8am to 8pm Saturdays:- 9am to 4pm Sunday:- 10am to 4pm or the address to write to is:- Essential Travel Princess Caroline House 1 High Street Southend-on-Sea, SS1 1JE...

SBROWN487 25.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Essential Travel Insurance

pi-tag.com - Secure luggage, keys, mobile tagging.

Advantages: Secure luggage tracking. Automated Service. Get messages worldwide.
Disadvantages: Must subscribe for 1 year at a time.

...Having decided to take a well earned break from the UK, I went looking for some new luggage tags. I found a number of sites on the internet but the best I found was a site called pi-tag.com. pi-tag.com was on BBC Radio 2's website of the day in March 2005 and it was through the Radio 2 website that I found it. It costs just £9.99 to register for one year - and for that you get your choice of 2 tags. You can purchase additional tags online if you wish. Once registered, an activation code is sent to your registered address to verify your contact details and a unique pi-tag number is assigned to you. If someone finds your bag, they don't know your home address or telephone number but that are told on the tag to contact you at pi-tag.com - or by calling the international 0870 number. If you ring the telephone number...

Gichin 14.12.2005 · Read review
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Review of Travel - luggage

Dont Forget your Sleeping Partner

Advantages: see op
Disadvantages: see op

...with a big stash of paperbacks. My husband looked at me and said "what do you need those for, we are going on holiday next week?" Men eh. A good read is essential whilst lying on the beach, by the pool, hanging around the airport or just reading before bed. Libraries are brilliant as they now stock a lot more paperbacks than they used to and you don't want to fill your suitcase with heavy hard backed books. ~~~ Bags ~~~ I have a pretty little floral canvas rucksack which has been a holiday essential for years. I use it as my hand luggage when traveling to keep all my documents and essentials in (Peter has to travel in here in case the luggage gets lost!). Once I arrive on holiday I use it to carry my stuff to the beach/pool and to carry shopping around in. It cost £5 over ten years ago and has served me faithfully ever since. For those...

KathrynE 13.08.2001 · Read review
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Review of Travel - luggage

A Holiday Essential

Advantages: Great for sunburn, reasonably priced if you shop around, leaves skin feeling soft and smooth, feels cool to the touch, spreads easily, lasts forever!
Disadvantages: Can be expensive if you do not shop around, the kids keep pinching it!

...I have recently got back from a two week holiday in spain and this is why I am writing this opinion! If it was not for this product myself, my partner and all the kids would have suffered terribly from sunburn! I bought this product as part of a deal, because it was on offer. If you bought this gel you recieved a dark tanning oil free. Personally, I think it was the oil that made us burn and that is why they sold this gel with the oil! They knew you would burn using the oil and so they offered you something to help, although, I don't think falling asleep on the beach for four hours in the same position really helped either, when it came to the reason why I got so burnt! *************PRODUCT PACKAGING************** This product comes in a clear plastic container. On the top of the container there is a pump action...

purebitch 09.07.2004 · Read review
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Review of Banana Boat Aloe Vera Gel

Hump a pack and sausage-roll clothes.

Advantages: Easy to get around with, loads of space, all-round winner.
Disadvantages: Don't pack breakable items.

...backwards: simply lay the item out on your bed, fold in all extraneous bits like sleeves and collars, then fold the item in half lengthways, and then roll it up tightly, like a sausage. When you get to the other side, simply unroll the garment, and you will see minimal creasing, and it will be ready to wear without re-ironing. If you don’t believe me, try it. This works wonderfully for suits (Suits on holiday? No, I include regular business travellers here as well.) Also, the sausage method is perfect for the actual packing. There is minimal waste of precious space, and you are able to get to anything at almost a glance into the pack. Another handy tip: put all shampoo, lotions etc in zip-seal bags, to prevent leakage onto your clothes. You may think they are perfectly safe in their bottles, but the amount of manhandling they...

Spacecat 27.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of Travel - luggage

Watch the weight

Advantages: Keeps contents safe
Disadvantages: weighs that little bit extra

...So you have decided to go on a trip, well thats great and I hope you will thorougly enjoy that trip but which suitcase should I take with me. There are huge varieties of cases on the market and most importantly you should think about the weight of the case. The standard travelling delsey weighs 5.2 kg which at time of purchase how many of you ask how heavy the luggage is? Most recommemded by myself would be delsey strong durable and will travel well, a Delsey should last you 15 years of heavy travel, I travel constantly working for an airline, and have tried out variuos brands I would secondly reccomend Samsonite hard shell cases, but again the disadvantage is that they normally weigh 7kg, so if you are travelling economy class then that will leave you with only 16kg of luggage allowance with 23 kg being the standard allowance, so...

DT5 15.04.2001 (01.04.2002) · Read review
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Review of Travel - luggage

The Bare Necessities...

Advantages: n/a
Disadvantages: n/a

...:), you'll find these an essential addition to your luggage, especially when idling away the boring hours on transport or in stations. I sometimes even take a sketch pad and pencils, especially when travelling somewhere like Switzerland where if you have a creative bone in your body you'll feel yourself inspired to try and capture the breath-taking scenery. Even if you're not particularly artistic or literary-minded, take a pen and pad just in case ? if nothing else it will come in handy for shopping lists, taking down phone numbers or drawing pictures of a toilet for a non-English-speaking train-guard. Well, I hope you've found this useful. And I don't need to tell you that the most important things to take are a sense of fun, a yearning for adventure and an overall love of life! Happy Trails!!!...

gennymutant 18.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of Travel - luggage

Trunki Terminates Toddler Terminal Travel Troubles

Advantages: Great design. Easy to use. Kid friendly. Durable.
Disadvantages: None to speak of.

...has a loop, allowing you to easily grip it in hand for the pull along mode. This excellent, innovative bit of kit instantly made the trek from the arrivals gate to baggage reclaim an adventure instead of a chore, with my daughter begging me for a ride at every available opportunity. The only drawback was that its not that easy (or safe) to use as a pull along in very crowded areas, as people don?t tend to look down and can easily bash your kid?s head with hand luggage. Also, the strap, when fully extended can be a trip hazard if your kid drifts off to the left or right (instead of travelling straight) as they are wont to do. That said, on balance the Trunki was a godsend and a fantastic investment that was well worth the money. We used the Trunki for spare clothes (in case of in-flight accidents or emergencies), snacks, colouring books...

Hishyeness 09.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Magmatic Trunki Luggage for Little People

Travelling compactly

Advantages: Folds up compactly, bright colours, use as a cot or play pen
Disadvantages: Thin mattress base

...~*~*~INTRODUCTION~*~*~ My mother in law wanted to buy a travel cot when my son was born as she will be looking after him when I go back to work. We looked around on the internet and when she saw the Graco compact she decided that was the one, she loved that it was nice and bright and thought my son would enjoy playing in there as well as sleeping. We ordered it from Kiddicare but unfortunately they have stopped selling it. I have since seen it on Amazon, Halfords and Ebay though for roughly the same prices. ~*~*~FEATURES~*~*~ -Suitable from birth to around 3 years. -It comes in a handy carry case, making it easy for travel. -The travel cot unfolds easily and I actually put it up in a couple of minutes on my first attempt. -The sides are mesh which is nice and soft for wriggly babies banging their heads, also...

ashton08 12.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Graco Travel Cot