When you start planning your holiday abroad, probably the last thing you will want to think about is the possibility of something going wrong. You pick an exotic destination, like Somaliland on the eastern coast of Africa, a beautiful hotel and an airline to get you there quickly and comfortably. Then you start reading about all the wonderful things there are to do and see when you get there. You make a budget and start saving for the entire trip but what you might forget is to take the necessary precautions to guarantee that your dream vacation is protected from start to finish. That could be a huge oversight with disastrous consequences. While no tourist areas are really any more dangerous than others, picture yourself climbing the spectacular Naaso Hablood Mountains on the outskirts of Hargeisa, or hiking the incredible Sheikh Mountains in Somaliland. You lose your concentration for a second, make a wrong step and accidentally twist your ankle.

Your companions get you back to the nearest town where you need emergency transport to the Edna Hospital in the city of Hargeisa. There the x-rays reveal that you have fractured the bone in your leg. You decide it would make more sense to fly home for medical attention which means changing your flight, incurring a service charge. All of these things can end up costing you more money than the original holiday package, so the logical thing for all of us is to make sure we have cheap travel insurance from a reputable company before we leave home. In preparation for the holiday, you have bought new clothes, new sunglasses, stylish luggage and maybe some new CDs. You have paid for the round trip airfare, the hotels, ground transport and budgeted for meals, activities and night time entertainment. Without also including the costs for insurance you are asking for trouble and the potential to lose the entire cost of the holiday for which you have saved for so long.

There are just too many negative possibilities to ignore the need for being ready just in case. There might be a natural disaster expected like a hurricane where you are going so you need to go somewhere else and do it quickly. There can be strikes on airlines or in hotels that may require additional transportation for you to get somewhere else where you can stay and enjoy yourself safely. You could lose your passport, your luggage or your glasses and need to get them replaced immediately. Without having the proper coverage your holiday becomes a nightmare even in an incredibly beautiful and exotic locale like Somaliland. It is as important as sun block or good walking shoes, and should never be neglected for any reason regardless of how safe and peaceful your vacation destination seems to be. You need always remember that you are traveling in a foreign country so need to be extra careful in making sure your vacation becomes the wonderful memory you have hoped it will be.