Safe eating and drinking on holiday

I’ve just been reading about an incident last year in Turkey that affected a small group of holidaymakers in the Gumbet region of the country. They claim that the water in the hotel was discoloured and it was this that made them all ill. What strikes me is – if the water is funny colours… why drink it!? It prompted me to write this entry and just give some basic advice on staying safe when travelling. First of foremost, you should always be looking to only drink bottled water. Generally, you should be safe to do other things such as clean teeth with local water – so long as you don’t swallow any. Our bodies are not accustomed to the water quality of many other countries, which means we are much more likely to become ill by drinking it. Tea, coffee and other drinks which involved boiled water don’t usually bring you any harm, but never drink these from establishments which seem unhygienic. One of the other major mistakes people make on holiday is having ice in their drinks. The water used for ice is often exactly the same as comes out of taps (though increasingly bars are being requested to only used bagged ice). When it comes to food, there is a lot of different fresh produce you can choose from. Although tempting, it’s probably best to avoid eating local meats, in particular in poorer regions. It’s especially important not to eat speciality meats unless you absolutely sure they have been cooked and prepared properly. A good hotel won’t serve you bad food, but if you are ever unsure or are unfamiliar with the company (i.e. a local bed & breakfast) then it may be best to travel self-catered and eat away from the hotel. Should the worst happen, you’re going to want to make a claim for holiday compensation – so for goodness sake please remember to take out insurance! You wouldn’t believe the number of times I have to remind my friends to sort it out!

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This article was compiled by holiday complaints experts. With the help of the right legal team, like Holiday Claims, you can recoup treatment costs, lost earnings, and even loss of future earnings where applicable.