Travel Health Advice & Guides

Yes, most travellers to The Gambia need more than their routine jabs. The yellow fever vaccine is recommended for everyone aged 9 months and over and should be given at least 10 days before you fly.

Every autumn the same question comes up at our counters in Colwall and Bewdley: “Can I have my flu and Covid jabs, and do I have to pay?” This year the answer has changed for a lot of people.

Whether you’ve started Mounjaro, Wegovy or Saxenda with us, or you’re managing your weight through diet and lifestyle changes on your own, one thing stays true either way: the medication or the plan is only ever half the picture.

Most people organising gap year travel health reach the same point and feel the same quiet relief. They have looked up every country on the itinerary, cross-referenced the NHS pages, noted down which vaccines are required, and which are recommended, and compiled a tidy list.

You have just realised your trip to Southeast Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa might need more preparation than a packed suitcase

When you book a luxury Kenya safari, the excitement of planning your once-in-a-lifetime trip can quickly turn to confusion when you start researching travel health requirements.

It sounds counterintuitive. You spent three years in Lagos, eighteen months in Accra, or a posting across several West African countries.

In 2025, a senior management consultant missed a last-minute project in Angola. She had received her yellow fever vaccine years earlier and was fully protected.

You have a valid yellow fever certificate. The vaccinations are booked. The itinerary is printed and pinned to the fridge. You have done the research, and you feel confident everything is covered.

Here is the short answer: probably not. Finding out you need travel jabs four weeks before your flight feels like a crisis, but for the vast majority of popular holiday destinations, four weeks is a workable window.

You booked the Thailand holiday last week. Flights confirmed, hotel sorted, two weeks of guaranteed sunshine on the horizon.