Every year thousands of people think about taking an extended holiday.

School leavers and recent graduates make up the majority of people taking extended holidays, but many professionals also consider taking a career break to explore the world.

Only the most seasoned travellers realise the many potential problems they may encounter on such an adventure and take out a suitable travel insurance policy. Recent research has shown that as many as 25% of gap year travellers jet off without adequate insurance protection!

Many younger, less experienced travellers are likely to embark on an expedition without realising the potential problems that may occur or without taking suitable precautions to protect themselves against them.

If you are planning to travel abroad, you need insurance, but it is not something you should be sorting at the last minute as not all policies are the same and you should always read the small print. For example, is cash and indeed any of your valuables are covered? This is often not the case on very cheap policies.  Also how much excess will you need to pay in the event of a claim? Economy type policies are fine for the important health aspect, but don't expect to have your £500 camera covered without additional payment.

More people are taking holidays abroad than ever and most of them who live in UK have no problem finding excellent Travel Insurance cover at quite low premiums. But it’s not so easy for the millions of people who have left UK to live in other parts of Europe.

Brits living in Spain, Portugal, Greece and France find it almost impossible to arrange cover with a local insurer at a reasonable price and those living in other EU countries find it almost as difficult.

Austria is known as a year-round holiday destination, with plenty of winter sports in the Alps, some of the most impressive architecture in Europe and a great musical tradition.

The cities attract great deal of visitors. Vienna is the capital, the center of the country's musical life and littered with beautiful buildings. Music, art and architecture reach baroque perfection in Salzburg, Mozart's birthplace.

There are so may different places and things which are worth seeing around the world and it is not enough for us to see them on TV or post cards, we want to see them ourselves.  Besides it is a great pleasure to travel and to discover new countries and cultures.  But the first thing travelers should take into consideration that there are no identical counties and cultured. All of them have both advantages and disadvantages and we should be ready for them. It is impossible to find out everything about the country you are going to, besides you never know what unexpected situations you can get into. The weather is unforeseeable and many countries all over the world suffer from natural cataclysms.