Health & Insurance

Staying Healthy

As a rule, no health documents or vaccinations are required to enter Ireland or Northern Ireland from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, or most other countries. If, however, you have visited areas in the previous 14 days where a contagious disease is prevalent, proof of immunization may be required, and this could change if a pandemic, such as swine flu, spreads around the time of your journey. Check for any changes to the rules before you travel.

General Availability of Healthcare -- Healthcare in Ireland is comparable to that in the U.S., and it is a similar system in which private doctors and hospitals provide care and patients purchase healthcare insurance.

Contact the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT) (tel. 716/754-4883, or 416/652-0137 in Canada; www.iamat.org) for tips on travel and health concerns in Ireland, and for lists of English-speaking doctors. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (tel. 800/311-3435; www.cdc.gov) provides up-to-date information on health hazards by region or country and offers tips on food safety. The website www.tripprep.com, sponsored by a consortium of travel medicine practitioners, may also offer helpful advice on traveling abroad. You can find listings of reliable clinics overseas at the International Society of Travel Medicine (www.istm.org).

What to Do If You Get Sick away form Home -- If you require the services of a physician, dentist, or other health professional during your stay in Ireland, your accommodations host may be in the best position to recommend someone local. Otherwise, contact the embassy or consulate of your home country or the Irish Medical Council, Lynn House, Portobello Court, Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6 (tel. 01/498-3100), for a referral.

Depending on the severity of your illness, you may need to be treated at the emergency room of a local hospital. If your problem is less severe, some hospitals also have walk-in clinics for cases that are not life-threatening.

If you suffer from a chronic illness, consult your doctor before your departure. Pack prescription medications in your carry-on luggage, and carry them in their original containers, with pharmacy labels -- otherwise they won't make it through airport security. Carry the generic name of prescription medicines, in case a pharmacist is unfamiliar with the brand name.

For travel abroad, you may have to pay all medical costs upfront and be reimbursed later.

Worrisome Water Supply -- In 2005, the water supply in Ennis in County Clare was found to be tainted with Cryptosporidium, a parasite that causes intestinal illness. For the next three years, everybody who lived in or visited the town was advised to boil water for cooking and to drink bottled water until new water treatment facilities could be constructed. While the problem has ostensibly been resolved with the opening of new temporary water treatment facilities, many of those in vulnerable groups are still boiling drinking water as a precaution. Worryingly, a 2007 report by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency revealed that carcinogens had been discovered in the water supplies of several Irish towns -- including Dingle, Killarney, and Spiddal -- at unacceptable levels. While people in those towns are not being advised to drink only bottled water, you may want to err on the side of caution throughout Ireland, particularly when it comes to young children, the elderly, and those vulnerable to infection. For more information visit www.epa.ie/whatwedo/enforce/pa/drink.

Safety

By U.S. standards, Ireland is very safe, but, particularly in the cities, it's not safe enough to warrant carelessness. Travelers should take normal precautions to protect their belongings from theft and themselves from harm.

In the countryside, you're unlikely to encounter any problems with crime. In Dublin and Belfast, you'll need to be wary of the usual tourists' plague: pickpockets, purse snatchers, and car thieves. Also, in recent years, some of Dublin's busiest thoroughfares have been the scenes of brutal attacks at night. To alert visitors to potential dangers, the Dublin Police (called the Garda) publish a small leaflet, A Short Guide to Tourist Security, which is available at tourist offices and other public places. The booklet advises you not to carry large amounts of money or important documents like your passport or airline tickets when strolling around.

Most advice is standard for travel anywhere: Do not leave cars unlocked or cameras, binoculars, or other expensive equipment unattended. Be alert and aware of your surroundings, and do not wander alone in isolated areas.

Take special care if you'll be out in Dublin late at night when the pubs and nightclubs close. Ask at your hotel which areas are safe and which are not. Take a taxi back to your hotel if you're out after about 11pm.

In Northern Ireland, safety has tended to be a somewhat greater concern because of the political unrest that has prevailed there for the past 30 years, but violence has diminished since the Good Friday Agreement.

Occasionally, though, flare-ups do happen, and that occurred in 2009 when several sectarian murders occurred, most involving soldiers or members of extremist organizations. Outbreaks of violence often occur during the Orange marching season in the late summer. Still, visitors rarely, if ever, have problems with sectarian strife, since they are simply not the target of it.

Note for U.S. travelers: These are tense times in the world politically, and while few Americans encounter hostility or anti-Americanism when visiting Ireland, it can happen. According to the U.S. State Department: "Several Americans have reported incidents of verbal abuse, and one reported a physical assault apparently in reaction to U.S. policy on the war on terrorism. As elsewhere in Europe, there have been public protests, which for the most part are peaceful and well policed. Americans are advised, nonetheless, to avoid public demonstrations in general and to monitor local media when protests occur."

If you have any questions or concerns, contact the U.S. State Department to obtain the latest safety recommendations (tel. 202/647-5225; http://travel.state.gov).

Insurance

Medical Insurance -- For travel overseas, most U.S. health plans (including Medicare and Medicaid) do not provide coverage, and the ones that do often require you to pay for services upfront and reimburse you only after you return home.

As a safety net, you may want to buy travel medical insurance, particularly if you're traveling to a remote or high-risk area where emergency evacuation might be necessary. If you require additional medical insurance, try MEDEX Assistance (tel. 410/453-6300; www.medexassist.com) or Travel Assistance International (tel. 800/821-2828; www.travelassistance.com; for general information on services, call the company's Worldwide Assistance Services, Inc., at tel. 800/777-8710).

Canadians should check with their provincial health plan offices or call Health Canada (tel. 866/225-0709; www.hc-sc.gc.ca) to find out the extent of their coverage and what documentation and receipts they must take home in case they are treated overseas.

Travelers from the U.K. should carry their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which replaced the E111 form as proof of entitlement to free/reduced cost medical treatment abroad (tel. 0845/606-2030; www.ehic.org.uk). Note, however, that the EHIC only covers "necessary medical treatment," and for repatriation costs, lost money, baggage, or cancellation, travel insurance from a reputable company should always be sought (www.travelinsuranceweb.com).

Travel Insurance -- The cost of travel insurance varies widely, depending on the destination, the cost and length of your trip, your age and health, and the type of trip you're taking, but expect to pay between 5% and 8% of the vacation itself. You can get estimates from various providers through InsureMyTrip.com. Enter your trip cost and dates, your age, and other information, for prices from more than a dozen companies.

U.K. citizens and their families who make more than one trip abroad per year may find an annual travel insurance policy works out cheaper. Check www.moneysupermarket.com, which compares prices across a wide range of providers for single- and multitrip policies.

Most big travel agents offer their own insurance and will probably try to sell you their package when you book a holiday. Think before you sign. Britain's Consumers' Association recommends that you insist on seeing the policy and reading the fine print before buying travel insurance. The Association of British Insurers (tel. 020/7600-3333; www.abi.org.uk) gives advice by phone and publishes "Holiday Insurance," a free guide to policy provisions and prices. You might also shop around for better deals: Try Columbus Direct (tel. 0870/033-9988; www.columbusdirect.net).

Trip-Cancellation Insurance -- Trip-cancellation insurance will help retrieve your money if you have to back out of a trip or depart early, or if your travel supplier goes bankrupt. Trip cancellation traditionally covers such events as sickness, natural disasters, and State Department advisories. The latest news in trip-cancellation insurance is the availability of expanded hurricane coverage and the "any-reason" cancellation coverage -- which costs more but covers cancellations made for any reason. You won't get back 100% of your prepaid trip cost, but you'll be refunded a substantial portion. TravelSafe (tel. 888/885-7233; www.travelsafe.com) offers both types of coverage. Expedia also offers any-reason cancellation coverage for its air-hotel packages. For details, you can also contact one of the following recommended insurers: Access America (tel. 866/807-3982; www.accessamerica.com); Travel Guard International (tel. 800/826-4919; www.travelguard.com); Travel Insured International (tel. 800/243-3174; www.travelinsured.com); and Travelex Insurance Services (tel. 888/457-4602; www.travelex-insurance.com).