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travel insurance cover is essential for overseas travel. Foreign
medical bills could cripple you or your family if you are not
properly insured. Buy peace of mind for a few dollars a day. |
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It is a good idea to
register online with the Deptartment of Foreign
Affairs and Trade before you leave. This helps locate
you in an emergency.
You must have a valid passport with at expiry date of at least
six months after your departure date from Australia. Australian
and New Zealand Passport holders wishing to stay for less than
three months do not require a visa.
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The World Health Organisation rates the French Health System and number
one in the world, so if you must get sick or injured on holiday, France
is not a bad choice. It is not uncommon for UK residents to come to
France for medical treatment rather than rely their own National Health
System.
Pharmacies are very thick on the ground in France. Every one horse
town has one and they are all identified by a green neon cross. The
French are notorious hyperchondriacs so must never be more than 500m
from a pharmacy. France is also home to several major pharmaceutical
companies.
For medical emergencies in France dial 15
Police
In France there are several different types of police. The Police
Nationale are in charge of urban areas of over 10,000 and are a civilian
force. The Gendarmerie handle rural policing and highway patrol duties.
They are a paramilitary organisation with military ranks and tend
to live in barracks. Customs or Douanes have police type powers and
patrol the border areas. Since borders have been virtually rubbed
out by the Schengen Agreement they now have a greater patrol range
and can often be seen on their motorbikes patrolling autoroutes hundreds
of kilometres from a border. The border hotspots for Douanes activities
are the Spanish and Italian frontiers.
Australian Embassy
4 Rue Jean Rey,
75015 Paris FRANCE
Telephone (33 1) 4059 3300
Facsimile (33 1) 4059 3315
For emergency assistance, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, telephone
(33 1) 4059 3301.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is essential for any overseas holiday. There is a
wide range of products out there and its not only travel agents who
sell it. Check with your own home, car or health insurer or bank to
see what they offer. Often your credit card has travel insurance options.
Like mortgages, there are also travel insurance brokers who bring
together a large range of products under one banner. Buying travel
insurance online from a reputable company is perfectly safe.
For a comprehensive range of policies from a number of Australian
Insurers travelinsurance.com.au
is a useful site.
Just make sure that if you are going to engage in potentially dangerous
activities such as skiing, skydiving, contact sports etc that you
get yourself appropriate cover.
Secure
Sentinel is offered through many financial institutions in connection
with their credit cards. They provide a range of useful services to
stranded travellers such as organising the cancellation/replacement
of credit cards, blocking mobile phones if stolen and providing advice,
assurance and emergency cash advances.
Personal Safety
Crime in France is mainly of the petty theft variety. Pick-pocketing
on public transport is a favourite method. Major public festivals
as these tend to attract a few undesirables so exercise caution
while attending them. If you are able to leave your passport in
a hotel safe then this is probably the best option.
Avoid large housing estates on the outskirts of major cities as
they normally suffer a far higher crime rate than the national average.
These places where the focus of the 2006 riots
Gun crime is rare in France so you have more chance of getting caught
in a ‘drive by’ in Sydney than in France.
Terrorism however is a very real threat and France has had its share
of incidents although there hasn’t been much in the last few
years.
Valuables
If you prefer not to let your passport and valuables out of your
sight then a neck
wallet worn under your shirt or a slim money belt are good options.
Avoid using the old 80s ‘bumbag’ like the plague! Apart
from being tragically old school, nothing says “I’m
a tourist – rip me off!” like a bumbag.
Documents
Your passport is a valuable document that is attractive to criminals
who may try to use your identity to commit crimes. It should always
be kept in a safe place. You are required by Australian law to report
a lost or stolen passport. If your passport is lost or stolen overseas,
report it online or contact the nearest Australian Embassy, High
Commission or Consulate as soon as possible.
Scan your documents
A good idea is to scan your passport, driver’s licence and
other important documents and keep them on a memory stick or email
them to your webmail address so if you ever do lose them you have
a head start replacing them. Save the Australian Embassy email address
into the same webmail account.
Take a few minutes to register with the Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade online before you go just as an extra precaution.
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