Plan for hassle-free holiday travel

SO, you’ve booked your airline tickets to your ultimate bucket-list destination and you’re counting down the days until you leave. Desmond O’Connor, head of kulula holidays, suggests a few steps to ensure hassle-free travels.

■ Get your name right on the booking: it seems almost too obvious to mention, but airlines have to abide by civil aviation authority regulations, so the name on the booking must conform closely to the name on the identity of the passenger. There’s a little leeway: spelling can differ, but not names. So if your name is spelled Kerry on the booking and Kerri on your ID, you’ll probably be allowed to board. But if your ID lists your first name as Richard but you’ve booked your ticket as Rick – because everyone calls you that – you’re likely to be prevented from boarding. Give yourself time to get the documents you need: visas, passports and other necessities for international travel can take time to organise, and you may have to book weeks ahead to get a visa interview. The more time you’re able to give yourself for that, the better. Driving overseas? You’ll need an international driver’s licence.

■ Check entry requirements: imagine that you’re flying to Paris via London. You check all the criteria and the evening that your flight leaves you arrive at the airport and aren’t allowed to board because you don’t have a transit visa. “But I’m not visiting Britain,” you exclaim. “I’m just passing through.” Those are the rules: even if you only spend a couple of hours at Heathrow Airport.

■ Notify your bank about your international travels: credit-card fraud is a sad reality and banks will look for unusual activity on your accounts and may freeze them. The easiest solution? Go to the branch of your bank at the airport and ask them to clear your bank card for international use. They might ask for your boarding pass and ID.