FOR EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE IN ENGLAND: DIAL 999 ENGLAND TRAVELER INFORMATION This document has been prepared to assist first-time travelers to England who will attend the 384th Junket XI in Cambridge, UK; others may find it useful also. It is focused on helping you travel from your home to Cambridge, England, via London's Heathrow Airport, and back again, with some additional guidance for those wishing to extend their stay in the UK. The information is based on personal experience, and some research on the Internet. Before committing to any specific travel options mentioned herein, please seek the most current information available as this document may not address every change that might affect your travel. As planned, the 384th Junket XI in September 2019 will provide for all activities from a HQ Hotel near Cambridge, including a group transfer between a designated Heathrow hotel and the HQ Hotel before and after the reunion. Participants will be responsible for making all travel arrangements to arrive in and return from the designated Heathrow hotel – or the HQ Hotel in Cambridge if not using the group transfer service. This document has nine pages. It is not intended to be read through in one sitting. Rather, use the PDF Reader "Bookmark" navigation feature to find the topic you need information about and just read that. And it is most useful if you keep a digital copy on your smart phone, tablet, and/or laptop so you can access the links provided. For the latest updates to this document, click here. For airline reservation recommendations, click here. Before You Go To make the trip you will need to make some of your travel arrangements in advance. The following list should be pretty complete, and includes some tips you may find helpful: Immunizations The US Government Centers for Disease Control provides recommendations for travelers to the United Kingdom on their Traveler's Health page. The short answer is, if you are up-to-date on recommended vaccinations you are good to go. Passport You will need one, and it must be valid for the intended period of travel, plus a comfortable cushion (for your comfort). If you need a new one or just a renewal, the U.S. Post Office can take care of that for you. Some countries require the passport to be valid for six months following the intended travel period, but the UK is not currently one of them: see this US State Department page. Also, citizens of some countries are required to obtain a visa for entry into the UK, but US citizens currently are not. To confirm this, visit the official Check if you need a UK visa page. Travel Insurance Do you need travel insurance? The answer is a definite "maybe." Of all the travel that happens worldwide, very little ever goes rong – at least on a percentage basis, so why bother? Before continuing, let me emphasize that this is not a "one-size-fits-all" situation. Each must evaluate his/her own situation and decide for themselves. What does travel insurance coverage cover? Here are the basic risks covered (but each policy is different): • Trip cancellation • Trip Interruption • Delays • Injury and/or illness • Rental car damage • Etc. For me it is a balance between the possibility of risks, the impact of the risks (inconvenience, cost to remedy, and/or missing out on planned activity), and the cost of the specific insurance policy. Version Date: 29 March 2019 Author: Fred Preller Page 1 of 9 FOR EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE IN ENGLAND: DIAL 999 Your first step should be to look at what coverage you already have. Check your auto, homeowner's and/or renter's policies, your health insurance policy (if any), and finally, your credit cards – yes, your credit cards often include some travel insurance coverage! Let's look at insurance provided by credit cards – I'll leave it to you to investigate the other policy coverages you might have. The card I use covers: worldwide car rental insurance ($75,000), medical evacuation ($100,000), trip cancellation & interruption protection ($5,000), trip delay protection ($500), lost ($10,000) and delayed ($500) baggage coverage, roadside assistance, travel & emergency assistance, worldwide travel accident insurance ($1,000,000). There are a lot of ifs, buts, conditions, and limitations, but that is the gist of it. The key to a lot of the protections seems to be you must have used that card for booking your trip. Check yours out; you may be pleasantly surprised. Alternatively, if you feel travel insurance of some sort is right for you for this trip, read on. You can purchase travel insurance that covers unexpected travel and medical expenses, and there are many companies who offer it in myriad forms. While I have not needed to use the coverage provided by such policies, I have purchased them in the past. I have found Insure My Trip to be helpful in comparing policies offered by a variety of insurers. Also, I have paid a modest annual fee to Emergency Assistance Plus for additional coverage – kind of a belt-and-suspenders approach, but it saves me by covering every trip I take during the year, anywhere in the world. Airline reservations You have many options for air travel. Fares vary by airline, season, day-of-week, time-of-day, itinerary, class of service, and how far in advance you purchase them. You will have to do some research to find a fare that gives you sufficient convenience in your travel and meets your budget goal. Make certain you know which UK airport you will be using, Arrangements are being made to bring attendees from the designated Heathrow hotel to the Reunion HQ Hotel in Cambridge and back in a private coach: if you use another airport you will have to arrange your own transportation. • TIP: When comparing airfares, always investigate whether there are additional "fees" that are not included in the quoted fare. The fees may range from government fees to "carrier-imposed" fees for seat selection, checked (or even carry-on) bags, fuel surcharges, etc. (e.g., see this page). Airlines have no shame, so CAVEAT EMPTOR! • TIP: If you intend to purchase a non-refundable air travel ticket, delay booking your air travel until notified that enough people have registered to ensure the Junket will happen, and you are certain that you will be able to make the trip. Hotel Reservations While the reunion registration includes five nights at the reunion HQ hotel, – The Doubletree by Hilton Cambridge Belfry (about 11 miles from the Cambridge Train Station) – you may wish to extend your UK tour earlier or later than other attendees. For accommodations during those times you can reserve in advance (I like to), or not. Whichever you decide, I recommend being prepared by loading up your smartphone with appropriate apps for finding hotels and making reservations. • TIP: Some UK cities and areas have events that we Yanks have no clue about (like Morris Dancing – you can google it), that fill up accommodations, so double-check ahead of time for availability. Case in point – Lincoln, Lincolnshire, apparently has something going on the weekend before the reunion and I found no hotel rooms available! And, yes, Lincoln is worth a visit. Spending the first night after landing at Heathrow in a hotel that is easily accessible at, or nearby the airport, and the same for the night before departure for the USA, gives a bit of a head start on coping with jet-lag, and avoids to some extent any anxieties associated with getting to/from the airport, etc. Arena Travel has obtained a block of rooms at the designated Heathrow hotel, both before and after the reunion, at a favorable rate: I recommend it. Reunion Registration Make sure you make all deadlines for initial deposit and final payment. Version Date: 29 March 2019 Author: Fred Preller Page 2 of 9 FOR EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE IN ENGLAND: DIAL 999 Landing at an International Arrival "Gateway" Airport Although the systems and practices vary, you will basically encounter these things, in this order: • "Landing Card" – you will likely be given a form on the airplane to fill out for use after you land. Whatever it is, fill it out as best you can and keep it with your passport. Someone during the post-landing process will ask you for it, and then you won't have to worry about it anymore. You will do the same kind of thing on return to the USA. • Immigration – the first hurdle is usually Immigration or Passport Control. Often there is a very long line – or "queue" – so remember to take care of any personal needs before joining the queue (go to the restroom, "Toilets" in England). Nothing too complicated here, just hand the officer your passport and landing card and answer any questions – usually how long you will be in country, where are you staying, etc. The officer will hand you back your passport and any unneeded paperwork. • Baggage – proceed to Baggage Claim – "Baggage Reclaim" in the UK – and find your bags. Good luck! • Customs – take your bags and head for the customs exit. There is usually a "Nothing to Declare" exit (at least in the UK) which is the best option – but only if you do have nothing to declare, of course. Otherwise, join the line or queue depending on the country, and hand the officer your papers. He or she will hand you back everything they do not need. They will probably ask more questions, but they are of the same nature as previously mentioned.