Travel insurance for the Camino Frances

[basildonbond]

hi guys im doing the camino in march or april 2011 im coming from australia to do the walk i also hold a full british passport is it wise to take out injury insurance before i do the camino its got me puzzled also is it reasonably safe to take the creditcard dont want to get mugged

[Covey]

If you are coming from Aus then you should take out a full travel insurance policy which covers you for all the medical bits, baggage cover and repatriation in event of a major medical problem.

Make sure the policy covers you for the full time you are away, because most of the standard "off the shelf" policies only give cover for a single trip duration of 28/30 days. Walking the Camino is not classed as a "hazardous sport" so a normal policy covering Western Europe should be fine.

On the money front, the Camino is a cash society in that almost nowhere we spend money will take a credit card. The Albergues never take cards and neither do the bars which is where we eat most of the time. There are lots of Banks in Spain so you will find an ATM in almost every place we pass through. The basic plan is to carry €200 in cash when you start, and top it up every 4/5 days when you see an ATM.

The general rule is that it is cheaper to withdraw cash from an ATM using a Debit Card as there are usually lower fees. Most, but not all Spanish banks are on the worldwide Visa system so getting cash is easy.

Tell your bank and credit card company that you are going to Europe and when. The card companies have automated software that checks spending patterns, and if your card suddenly pops up in an ATM in rural Spain asking for cash, the card might be refused if the card company does not know you are in Europe!!!

[Gazza]

Basildonbond

I am in Sydney & we did the walk last year. Used a Visa Travel card from the ANZ bank which allows you to buy Euro on any given day at that rate, so you have no concerns about varying Exchange rates. Use the card to get cash out as you go from towns that have ATM's in them.
Worked fantastically for us

[Covey]

We have Visa Travel Cards in the UK but normally you use them to buy all your Euro's before you go, and then you can draw down your Euro stash at any Visa ATM along the Way.

It is really a pre-pay credit type card, but the UK version did not have Chip n Pin so some shops are reluctant to accept them.

[Gazza]

Our cards in Oz have chip & PIN so you can use them either ATM or shops or even pre-book stuff over the Ph. Just like credit card but using yr own doe.

[Leslie]

My travel insurance is covered by my private medical cover, something that is very common in Ireland. This keeps my travel insurance for the year very cheap, it is an additional payment but only something like €70 for the year and it covers both of us. So if you have private med cover it is worth checking out.

[Covey]

I pay around £50 per annum for a worldwide "multi trip" policy with a single trip not longer than 50 days. One neat thing the insurance company does is issues me with a credit card sized plastic card with my policy details and all the contact numbers for the Rapid Response Medical Company who sort out all the details if you need medical help abroad.

The policy also covers loss of baggage, money, cameras, delayed flights etc and I don't even have to remember to renew cos that is done automatically.