Category Archives: Travel Tips

Too Good To Resist!

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Yesterday I blogged some fantastic deals, one of which was the US Airways 25% rebate on awards.  There is a cap of 30,000 miles which is still a nice round-trip from Brisbane to Tahiti or Rarotonga or any other Pacific Island.

I have had a trip to India and Sri Lanka in the works but planned for 2015, not later this year.  I spent all day yesterday and most of today scrambling to see if I could squeeze in a brief version of the 3 week trip I had planned.  We just got back from Central America and needed a bit of a breather to replenish the travel budget.  Miles and points don’t cover everything, we still have to pay for eco-lodges, public transport, park fees and guide fees.  I was able to scale back to a 12 day trip and still get all the endemic parrot species and lots of other bird species.  I spent hours reading trip reports on Surfbirds, researching bus and train routes and accommodation.  We don’t have a lot of time to play with since we are planning a birding trip to Australia in Feb & March and award seats are rare during the holidays so we needed to do it before school let out in Dec.  We also needed a buffer to save some more cash as many of the places we are going to don’t take credit cards.  I don’t post exact dates of my trips before they happen but you can expect to read the reports during school holidays!

IMG_0416The target parrots I will be looking for are:  Alexandrine Parakeet, Malabar Parakeet, Plum-headed Parakeet, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Emerald-collared Parakeet, Sri Lankan Hanging Parrot and the ever-present Rose-ringed Parakeet.

The reserves and sanctuaries I want to visit are:  SAI Sanctuary, Wayanad National Park, Mudumalai NP, Kitugala and Sinharaja.

Yesterday, I used the United Airlines tool to identify available seats, then called US Airways to put them on hold.  Today, after completing my research and “making it work”, I called them back to issue the tickets.  We have Thai Airways outbound, Singapore Airlines on the return and a 16 hour layover in Singapore so we can pay a visit to Jurong Bird Park.  We’re in business class too – why not when we are getting a rebate of 30,000 miles!

Tomorrow, I will resume my series on Belize, thank you for your patience!

Travel Tips For Dual Citizens

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After our last trip where I had to use both my passports (USA & Australian), I thought that some people may appreciate some tips for how to handle traveling with 2 passports.

Our trip originated in Australia, with transits through Thailand, Korea, Canada & the USA to Belize.  Then we visited Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama before flying back to the USA for 10 days after which we returned to Australia via Korea and Thailand.  My husband used his Australian passport with an ESTA to enter the USA.  I had to bring both USA & Australian passports with me.

The Australian gov’t requires its citizens to enter and exit Australia using their Australian passports.  The USA gov’t has the same requirement.  So how do you know which passport to show at different stages of travel?

CHECKING IN AT THE AIRPORT

Airlines may be fined if they transport someone to a country where they don’t have a visa or other permission to enter so they want to be sure you have the correct documents.  When we checked in with Thai at Brisbane airport, they wanted to know that we had permission to transit the USA since you can’t do this airside as with most countries.  They also wanted to know we could enter Belize, the final destination of the journey.  Star Alliance  provides a tool to look up this information.  Delta used to have one but it seems to have been taken down.

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The resulting screen is too long to copy here but in a nutshell it says that Australians need an ESTA to transit (or visit) the USA which my husband had.  We had a printout of it but they could see it on his passport somehow.  They also wanted to see my US passport as proof that I could transit the USA enroute to Belize.

Australians may enter Belize for up to a month without a visa.  They could see we had return tickets to Australia, albeit from Honolulu but I did have printouts of our Central American airline tickets if they had asked.  We actually took a shuttle van from Belize to Tikal in Guatemala.

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EXITING THE ORIGINATING COUNTRY

Simple:  if you are a citizen of that country, you use their passport.  If you are not a citizen, you can use any valid passport.  We both used our Australian passports to exit Australia.

VISITING COUNTRIES ENROUTE WHERE YOU ARE NOT A CITIZEN BUT DON’T REQUIRE A VISA

We could have chosen to exit the airport in Thailand, Korea and Canada.  We only exercised this option in Canada to make a quick trip into Vancouver.  Since Australians and Americans can enter these countries, I had a choice of passports.  I used my Australian passport since my husband was also using his Australian passport for simplicity.  In this case, you can use either passport which suits your convenience.

VISITING COUNTRIES WHERE ONE OF YOUR PASSPORTS REQUIRES A VISA AND ONE DOESN’T

I’ll use an example of a friend who has both UK and USA citizenship visiting Brazil.  If he flies from London to Miami to Rio de Janiero; he must show his UK passport when exiting the UK, US passport to transit the USA and the UK passport to enter Brazil since citizens of the UK don’t need a visa to enter Brazil for 90 days.  If he used his US passport, he would have to obtain a visa in advance for $160!  Always check both your passports against a country’s visa requirements and use the one which gets you into the country cheaper!

Save & Share Your Memories With A Shutterfly Photobook

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Even though your precious travel memories are most commonly shared on Facebook or in blogs like this one, most people like to have a photo album to relive their experiences and share with their friends.  I personally have big bulky photo albums going back to the 80’s of some of my trips.  Many of the photos are fading and the plastic pockets they are in are peeling.  These albums also weigh a ton!

For the past 2 years, I have been using Shutterfly to create coffee table style photobooks of our trips.  I first started using them from a promo that awarded a free small photobook and some Hilton HHonors points.  I was so happy with the results, I have been using them ever since!

This is the album I created using photos from our trip to Indonesia in March 2013.

 

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a wide range of artful designs and embellishments to choose from.
***Please note that I do not have an affiliate relationship with Shutterfly as of this date.
What I like about Shutterfly is the ability to choose all kinds of layouts, some with large photo slots and some with smaller ones so I can squeeze everything in.  You can have up to 1000 photos in one book.  In most cases the book and first 20 pages cost around $40, then you add pages for $1 each.  Once you are a member of Shutterfly, they email you codes for up to 50% off.  This photobook would have cost me $123 but I got it down to $53 after applying discounts and codes.  I also clicked through Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall which gives 4 points extra per $.
Here’s an example of current discount codes, you are allowed only one per order.
They have tutorial videos to show you how to make a photobook.  Unfortunately I can’t embed them here but you can see them on their website.  I use the custom page option and do my own layouts, dragging the photos from the strip as you see this lady doing in the video.
Shutterfly ships internationally and you save on the US sales tax if you take this option.  Otherwise you can sometimes get free shipping with a code within the USA.  In my experience, it takes 4-6 weeks for the photobook to arrive in Australia once it’s ordered.

Ecocamp Patagonia Tops Trip Advisor’s “10 Incredibly Unique Hotels”

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The actual list is varied and eclectic and has “incredibly unique hotels” from all over the world.  I was really happy to see an eco-lodge topping the list!  Ecocamp Patagonia’s website shows even more stunning photos of this place and makes me really want to go there!

EcoCamp is situated in the very heart of Torres del Paine National Park and provides the region’s first fully sustainable accommodation, complete with green technology. You enjoy guided treks and wildlife excursions by day and share evening meals with new friends, before falling asleep gazing up at the star-filled sky through your dome ceiling. Wake up in the middle of the Patagonian wilderness in a cozy geodesic dome, with a panoramic view of the majestic Torres del Paine, ready to pick up the hiking trail!

 

If you’re curious, here’s what the entire list looks like, click over to Trip Advisor to read the reviews of each hotel.

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Getting to Chile with airline miles is easy.  Chile is in the Southern South America zone for most frequent flyer programs and I have details on how many miles you need here.

 

 

Sleeping In Airports – Casual & Free Options

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It’s not something that most people would look forward to but sometimes you just don’t have a choice.  Maybe your flight was delayed, you don’t have a visa for the transited airport or your connection is in the middle of the night.  If you arrive after 10pm and your flight out is early in the morning, it may not be worth it.

  • Go through customs
  • Find a hotel you can afford
  • Pay for transport (shuttles may not run at night)
  • Get checked in
  • Attempt to get a few hours sleep
  • Check out and pay your bill
  • Get transport back to airport
  • Check in and go through security
  • Get back to your gate

The one thing you can count on is that this option won’t be comfortable.  The best you can hope for is to at least be safe and secure and maybe catch a few winks.  The website Sleeping in Airports has a list of the top 12 airports that meet their criteria for being the best airports to spend a night in.

Comfort: Seats (and lots of them) without armrests and non-metallic.
Conveniences: FREE WiFi, 24-hour food, showers, and activities to do in transit.
Cleanliness: Bathrooms that don’t make us want to gag when we enter and clean floors for those of us who have to sit on the floor due to limited seating.
Customer Service: A smile and friendly attitudes go a long way. We thank the kind airport workers who give us blankets and pillows when we’re stranded and share their tips about the best sleeping spots.

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Over the years, I have personally slept in Singapore Changi Airport, the old Bangkok Airport, Dubai Airport, Papeete Airport (not waiting for a flight, it was just too expensive to get a taxi and a hotel for a few hours), Auckland and more recently Santarem, Brazil.  Eco-travelers are likely to find themselves in this situation as we travel long distances to far-off exotic lands and we have to be flexible when using miles to get an award flight.

Like I said, it’s not the best solution in the world but in a pinch you sometimes have to make the best of it.  The better airports will have seats that aren’t divided so you can stretch out across them.  I try to push a bank of seats against the wall, use my backpack for a pillow and use a sarong to cover up.

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If you aren’t lucky, the seats will be divided so you can’t stretch out.  In this case, you’re stuck with the floor.  Once again, put your backpack against the wall, use it as a pillow and try to cover up as much as possible with a sarong.

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One small consolation is that you probably won’t be alone!

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In the morning, you will probably be woken up early by the cleaning crew.  If you are lucky, there will be free public showers in the bathrooms.  If you aren’t lucky, you can do your best trying to wash up in the sink. Sleeping in an airport won’t be a pleasant experience but if you do get stuck, make the best of it and focus on the trip ahead.  Maybe even treat yourself to a massage at the destination!

Airports With Free Wifi

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Getting to those exotic destinations may require long layovers and connecting flights, especially if you are using miles for a free flight and have limited options.  Sometimes your layover is too short to go out and explore the city and long enough that you  get bored after a quick walk-through the Duty Free.  Free Wifi is your best friend.  You can surf the net, read blogs and forums, catch up on emails and check the weather at your destination.   You can watch YouTube, Hulu or the online versions of tv channels.  If you have elite status or membership in a lounge club you will always find free Wifi in the business and first class lounges.  If you can’t access the lounges, you are not necessarily out of luck.

There are several options to find out if an airport has free Wifi.

Wifi Free Spot

FoxNomad (very creative options)

Check the airport’s website.  Here’s an example:  Vancouver (YVR).  Simply do a search on “free wifi”.

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There’s your answer!

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Knowing which airports have free Wifi in advance can be very useful if you have only a couple lounge passes from a credit card and you need to decide which airport to use them in.

 

Shopping For Bird Art In India

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There’s no shortage of handicraft and antique shops in India and the good news for bird lovers is that many works of art feature birds!  Some of these are for sale (the ones in shops), others I saw in hotels and restaurants and they were not for sale.  I bought that saree!  I don’t get to wear it often but it sure is beautiful!  Here’s a few examples of bird art found in India.

IMG_1033 IMG_1514 IMG_1515 IMG_1708 IMG_0985 Parrots in folk art Parrots in folk art2

I was hoping to find a video of how these are made as they are pretty cool!  Although this video shows a close up of a “pregnant” elephant, I bought one of a “pregnant” parrot  from the shop in the 2nd photo.

 

$1000 Anti-Pickpocket Guarantee

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Seems incredible doesn’t it?  Yet Scottevest has come up with a $1000 Anti-Pickpocket Guarantee!  Based on my own use of this product, I can confirm that it would be very difficult for anyone to access the inner pockets by stealth though they could still threaten you with a weapon or drug you so you should still be careful when walking in strange areas and don’t accept food or drink from strangers.  Always check with locals about how safe an area is before you go there.

Of course there are T&Cs which one would expect to go along with this offer.

SeV will reimburse you up to $1000 US for any valuables pickpocketed out of your SCOTTEVEST while traveling. The following restrictions apply:

Register Your SCOTTEVEST Product Here

It is not an everyday guarantee. It is not something that you will hear from other companies. But, this is exactly how confident we are in our product. If you are pickpocketed while wearing your SCOTTEVEST, we will reimburse you any losses up to $1,000.Unfortunately, anytime you wave around $1,000, it brings out the scam artists and conmen. So our lawyers made us put in some fine print….but even with the details below, we promise you that if you are truly pickpocketed while wearing your SeV, we will cover your losses. Now for the boring (but important!) part:

  • Your SCOTTEVEST must have been purchased on or after June 1, 2013, and you must be able to provide proof of purchase (invoice, order number, account email address, “bill to” name, etc.)
  • Your SCOTTEVEST must have been purchased from us or an authorized reseller. Authorized resellers include stores that sell SCOTTEVEST. Excluded resellers include private sales, eBay and online sites other than www.SCOTTEVEST.com.
  • The Pickpocket Guarantee only applies to the following items: Travel Vest for Men, Travel Vest for Women, Classic Vest for Men, Classic Vest for Women, Tropiformer Jacket, Fleece 5.0, Fleece 7.0, Transformer Jacket, SeV Men’s Trench, SeV Women’s Trench, Penny Coat, SeV Standard Jacket, Revolution Jacket, Revolution Plus Jacket.
  • You must provide an official police report describing the incident and an itemized list of stolen items and values. The police report must mention by name that you were wearing the SCOTTEVEST in question at the time of the pickpocketing. You must report the crime to the police immediately and get the police report to us within 10 days of the incident. The guarantee applies only to pickpocketing, not mugging/robbery/assault/threatening, which is an altogether separate crime. SCOTTEVESTs are not bulletproof.
  • You must provide a signed, sworn statement that your valuables were pickpocketed from an interior pocket, that it was zippered at the time of the incident, and that it they were not stolen by someone known to you.
  • The guarantee applies only to any items stolen from zippered, interior pockets.
  • If you have other insurance already – e.g. travel insurance – you much first make a claim to them, and SeV will pay anything up to $1000 not covered by your insurance and any relevant deductibles. Stolen items that are later recovered are not eligible for claim under this guarantee.
  • We reserve right to get additional information, and judge the facts presented before accepting or denying your claim.
  • If there are more than 2 claims made in 12 months by same person, we reserve right to cancel your coverage.
  • If your SCOTTEVEST was not purchased from us, e.g. through one of our authorized resellers, we may require you to complete a registration form within 60 days of purchase of your SeV before coverage is available.

Send your claims to sales@scottevest.com.  Claims will be reviewed within one week and you will be contacted for more details as needed.  Please note that reimbursements are calculated based on the face value of cash and retail value of goods.  Sentimental value and time to replace items cannot be calculated into the reimbursement. A check will be sent by us within 45 days of application acceptance.

*Disclaimer – the hyperlinks contain my affiliate link.  Thank you for your support if you choose to use my link for your purchases.

Bus Travel Between Mato Grosso & The Amazon

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Although flights on major routes can now be bought online at reasonable prices, there are times you will need to use the bus when moving from one eco-tourism hotspot to another.  Let’s have a look at BR-163, the only route between Mato Grosso (Pantanal, Alta Floresta for Cristalino) and Itaituba (jumping off point for Amazonia National Park).  I have highlighted in yellow these cities on the map below.  The “A” shows the location of Guarantã do Norte which is the boarding point for the bus headed north to Itaituba or where you will change buses if heading in the opposite direction.

Mato Grosso to Itaituba

This route is operated by a bus company –  Verde Transportes.  Their website is only in Portuguese so I will walk you through how to use it to get information and possibly even book a ticket online.  The online booking wasn’t open to foreigners last year when we were there so we bought all our tickets at their kiosk in the Cuiaba terminal.  We took several buses:  Cuiaba-Alta Floresta, Alta Floresta-Novo Sta Helena, Novo Sta Helena-Guarantã do Norte and finally the 20 hour bus trip to Itaituba.  They take credit cards at the kiosk and can book all your tickets and issue them right there.

Somente Ida is “One way”.

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You will be redirected to Net Viagem.  You can see there is only one bus on the date I asked for that leaves at 20:00 (8pm) and it costs Brazilian Reis R$ 143.90 which is about $70 USD.  Tick the radio button below “selecione” and hit “comprar”.

Net Viagem

You will see which seats are available.  If they are accepting foreign credit cards, at this point choose a seat and hit “comprar”.

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You won’t have an account so click the radio button with the red arrow, put your real email and make up a number for the CEP.  Then hit “Prosseguir”.

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It won’t like your fake CEP and you will see this screen.  Hit “Fechar” to get rid of it.

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Hit the “Foreign” radio button and you will get rid of the Brazilian fields and have more international fields to fill in.  I made up some info for the screenshot, you would be putting in real info.

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You will have 2 blue buttons to hit on the following screens and then you get a purchase screen.

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Hit “sim” on this screen.

This is the final screen.  Theoretically you should be able to pay with a Visa or Mastercard.  I would suggest calling your bank to warn them to expect an online transaction from Brazil so they don’t think it’s fraud.

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Hopefully you will have an e-ticket to print out and bring on the bus.  Otherwise you will have to do as I did and buy the ticket there.  I think you will have to do each leg of a multi-segment trip individually.  Make sure there is availability on each leg before buying anything.

Here are some photos of our 3 leg journey from Alta Floresta to Itaituba.  These are not the deluxe executive buses you see on the bigger routes but they are OK.  At the time of our trip, the road wasn’t paved after Novo Progresso but this may change by the time you do your trip.  The bus doesn’t have a toilet but will stop every few hours at a road side cafe where you can get food and use the facilities.  None of the buses we took were full so we were able to grab a set of 2 seats each and spread out a bit.  We managed to get a bit of sleep and arrived in Itaituba around 4pm.  Actually the bus will drop you at the river (Miritaituba) and you take a ferry across which is free.

G02 G04 G05 G07 G08 G09 G10 G11 G12 G13 G14 G16 G18

 

 

 

Don’t Leave Home Without Travel Insurance

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We’ve all heard the horror stories.  People who travel overseas and experience some mishap such as a broken leg, stolen luggage, cancelled flights or even death of a traveling companion.  This is why it is important to make sure you have the correct travel insurance for your situation.  Eco-tourists are even more vulnerable as we tend to go to remote areas where there won’t be any qualified doctors let alone hospitals and you may need to be evacuated.

Most people will be deciding between travel insurance provided by a credit card or travel insurance you pay for yourself.  If you are relying on a credit card, check to make sure you have fulfilled whatever requirements they have to activate the insurance.  This could include paying for the airline tickets, cruise, hotels or whatever on the credit card.  Are you covered if you use frequent flier miles?   If you used more than one credit card, see which one (if any) would cover you.  Also find out who runs their travel assistance hotline-the number you call if you need them.

TYPICAL TRAVEL INSURANCE COVERAGE

1.  Medical, Hospitalization, Evacuation to suitable facility if treatment is not available.  Don’t skimp on this one, especially if you are traveling to remote areas or very expensive countries.  Most policies will have an option for unlimited coverage.

2.  Trip interruption or cancellation.  If you have non-refundable prepaid travel expenses, you will probably want this.  Check to see what events are covered.  Common ones will be strikes, natural disasters, weather delays, cancelled flights, late flight casuing you to miss your connection.  Check what coverage they offer if you booked your flight with miles and points.

3.  Baggage and Personal Effects.  You will want this if you have expensive cameras or electronic gear.  If you are not bringing anything valuable, you may not need it.

4.  Cash and Travel Documents.  This covers replacement of your lost or stolen cash and the cost of replacing your passport and other documents.

5.  Personal Liability.  This covers you if someone sues you for some injury or loss.  It may not include liability for car accidents so check the policy documents.

6.  Rental Car Excess.  This is not the same as collision damage waiver, you will still need to have that covered by a credit card or the car company’s CDW.  Excess is the amount excluded from the CDW.  In many countries, the CDW will cover damage over a specified amount like $2000 or $3000, more for luxury cars or SUVs.  You are responsible for the first $2000 or $3000, this is known as “excess” or “deductable”.

7.  Dangerous Sports.  You usually need to add this on to a normal travel insurance policy and would cover sports such as skiing, scuba diving, mountain climbing, parasailing, etc.

COMMON TRAVEL INSURANCE POLICY EXCLUSIONS

1.  Pre-existing Conditions.  This is the biggie.  Whatever you do, don’t lie when you are purchasing your policy and say you don’t have any if you do.  Insurance companies will gladly use this as an excuse to deny your claim.  Most pre-existing conditions can be covered with an extra payment, some non-threatening conditions such as gout, high-cholesterol, asthma, etc.  Each company will have different conditions they automatically cover.  For example my husband has gout.  Gout is included in some polices but not all, especially not the ones underwritten by Allianz.  If we didn’t disclose it or get it pre-authorized and he had some accident that could be tied back to gout (maybe falling down a staircase), a claim would probably be denied.  If he was sitting in a bus that got into an accident and was taken to the hospital, then this would not be caused by the gout so he would be covered.  You also need to be aware that pre-existing conditions of your traveling companions or relatives at home can affect you if you need to cancel your trip or come home early.

2.  Traveling to a country that is on your home country’s “Do Not Travel List”.  See below for links.

3.  Engaging in illegal activities.  Gambling, prostitution, fighting, taking drugs, smuggling to name a few.  It could also include getting kicked out of a country for not having the correct visa.

4.  Participating in dangerous sports or activities.  Check your policy to see what they consider dangerous.  The most common ones are skiing, scuba diving, mountain climbing, sky diving, parasailing, sometimes white water rafting.

5.  Injuries that occur as a result of you being intoxicated or taking non-prescription medications.  Not just drinking and driving, it could also include you getting into a fight, injuring someone and being sued or not taking care of you possessions and they get stolen.

6.  Acts of Terrorism.

7.  Traveling to a country engaged in war, invasion or civil war, whether declared or not.

8.  Losses that occur as a result of a travel provider going bankrupt and shutting down.  People on package tours are especially vulnerable here.

9.  Losses that occur as a result of your negligence.  Examples of this would be leaving your bag unattended or with someone you don’t know like the person sitting next to you at the airport while you go to the restroom or someone you meet in a bar.  Or it could be asking a stranger to take a photo of you posing in front of something.  There is a reason my husband and I rarely get photos together, I am very fussy who I trust with my camera!

The above are only a few of the more common exclusions that may affect eco-travelers.  Every policy will have different ones so you need to read those Product Disclosure Statements even if they are insanely long.

 HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT TRAVEL INSURANCE POLICY FOR YOU

1.  Recommendations from friends and family…………..if they have ever had to claim and have first hand knowledge of how the company handles claims.  Was the company easy to deal with and pay the claim promptly?

2.  Review and Consumer Websites.  Once again, make sure you read reviews from people who have made claims.  Ignore good ratings from people who simply bought a policy and were happy with how easy and cheap it was.  Also make sure the person isn’t just angry because they lost the claim for something that was their fault.  You will see a lot of reviews like this from people who didn’t disclose a pre-existing condition and got sick.  The insurance company will check with your family doctor at home so you won’t be able to hide them.

3.  The Insurance Company’s Travel Assistance Line.  I like to give them a call and run through some “what if” scenarios with them to see how they would handle a situation.  How do they handle it if you are unconscious in hospital and the doctor/staff calls them for payment?  Do they pay the hospital direct or make you pay and get reimbursed?  How would they handle a situation if your flight is delayed and you miss your connection?  Ask about recent events, like how did they handle the volcano eruptions in Chile, earthquake in Japan, strikes in Spain, etc.  Is the call centre worker empowered to handle any situation or do they have to get a supervisor.

4.  Insurance Comparison Websites.  These are mostly good for comparing prices and estimates of basic coverages.  You will still need to read the individual policies to see what is covered, what isn’t and who handles their travel assistance lines.

RESOURCES AND HELPFUL WEBSITES

AUSTRALIA

Canstar – for star ratings of all the main travel insurance companies in Australia.

Product Review – Consumer reviews of travel insurance companies.

Choice – Professional reviews of travel insurance companies. You have to pay for this one.

Compare Insurance – Instantly get quotes for many different companies.

Smart Traveler – Find out which countries are on the “Do Not Travel” list for Australia.

USA

Top Ten Reviews – Professional reviews of travel insurance companies.

Travel Insurance Reviews – Both professional and consumer reviews.

Trip Advisor – Basic advice.

Insure My Trip – Compare travel insurance from major providers and get quotes.

US State Dept Travel Advisories – Which countries are you advised to avoid?

UK

Money Supermarket – General Advice.

Money Supermarket Quotes – Get quotes from major insurance providers.

Which? – Rates travel insurance companies.

Review Centre – Consumer reviews of travel insurance companies.

Foreign Travel Advice – Countries on “Do not travel” list.

 

If anyone has any other helpful links please put them in the comments and I will add them to the text.  I have never had to claim on travel insurance so I can’t recommend any companies from personal experience.  I would love to hear your stories and recommendations!