Current travel news

ESTA Requirements.
News About Headwater Holidays
Legislation for drivers in France
Important information when travelling to Spain
Travel green this Summer... travel by Eurostar

International travellers who are seeking to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) are now subject to enhanced security requirements.

On August 1, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security began accepting voluntary registrations from qualified VWP travellers under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). From January 12, 2009, ESTA became mandatory for all qualified VWP travellers entering the United States. ESTA applies only to those VWP travellers entering the United States by air or sea. Travellers entering by land either from Canada or Mexico are not required to register before travelling.

Travel Authorisation is obtained through an online registration system known as ESTA. If your registration is successful, it will be valid for multiple applications for two years or until the date on which your passport expires, which ever comes first.

Before going on line to register, you should ensure that you are qualified to travel under the Visa Waiver Program otherwise your registration will be rejected. It also does not guarantee entry into the United States; that decision rests with the immigration official at the Port of Entry in the same way that travellers currently entering the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program or with a visa are subject to inspection.

ESTA requirements:

To register visit https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov. Passengers will log on and fill in the on-line application, in English. The following responses (normally within seconds) will apply:
• Authorisation Approved: Travel authorised.
• Travel NOT Authorised: Traveller must obtain a non-immigrant visa at a US Embassy or Consulate BEFORE travelling to the USA.
• Authorisation Pending: The passenger will need to check the ESTA web site for updates within 72 hours to receive a final response. An approved travel authorisation via ESTA is:
• Required for all VWP passengers prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Programme.
• Valid for up to two years, or until the passenger's passport expires, hichever comes first.
• Valid for multiple entries to the U.S. However passengers will be encouraged to amend certain data, for example date of travel and address whilst in the U.S. (In effect a re-application for each journey).
• Issue of ESTA does not guarantee admissibility to the United States at the Port of Entry. ESTA is only part of the travel approval process.


Restrictions on travel:

• From 12th January 2009, passengers who have not applied for and receive travel authorisation via ESTA prior to travel will be denied boarding, experience delayed processing or be denied admission at a U.S. Port of entry.
• Where a passenger is travelling on a non immigrant or work visa, they do not need to apply for ESTA. However if the passenger is travelling for a purpose other than for which a Visa is issued, they will require ESTA.
• Some passport holders are not eligible for travel under the VWP, in those circumstances ESTA would not be approved and a normal Visa would need to be applied for.

For full details of any travel restrictions, entry and stay requirements, visa and travel advice to your particular destination, visit the foreign office website at www.fco.gov.uk travel or call them on 0207 008 1500 or 0845 850 2829. You can visit the passport office website at www.ukpa.gov.uk for passport information. Another useful point of reference for visa requirements is www.travcour.com. If you lose your passport, or it is stolen while you are travelling, you should contact the nearest British Consulate (or the Consulate of the country where your passport was issued) to find out how you can get a replacement.

Please note a change in our legal entity that came into force on 1 October 2008. When Headwater has transferred from 'Headwater, a trading division of TUI Travel PLC' to 'Headwater, a trading name of Headwater Holidays Ltd and a member of the TUI PLC Group of Companies'. Our ATOL number has changed from 2423 to 9957. Our company registration number is now 4484400. There are no changes to our ABTA or IATA memberships. Our VAT number remains unchanged.

As of the 1st July 2008 it is now compulsory to carry a High Visibility jacket and a warning triangle in case of a breakdown, in all vehicles. This is following the example of a number of other European countries who have already adopted this measure.

The objective is to increase the safety of road users in emergency situations: as the driver would be more visible when he gets out of his vehicle and when working on the broken-down vehicle.

High Visibility Jacket

This High Visibility jacket, (which must conform to EU Regulations) must be carried within the interior of the vehicle (and not in the boot). Once having put on the warning indicators the driver must put on the jacket before exiting the broken-down vehicle on or off the road.

Warning Triangle

The Warning triangle must be carried in the vehicle (it can be in the boot). The driver is required to position it on the road 30 meters behind the vehicle or the obstacle to be indicated in order to be seen by other road users approaching the broken-down vehicle, immediately upon exiting the vehicle.

If you are stopped by the police or gendarmes and the vehicle is not equipped with these items then the driver can face a penalty of 90 euros per missing object and 180 euros if both are missing.

Click here for further details

For some time now we have requested your passport details when booking any of our holidays. This is because many airlines have required full passport details prior to travel.

Until now you have been able to provide this information at airport check in, if you hadn't already given it to us.

As quoted in the OBSERVER:
'Ryanair is warning travellers heading to Spain from 1st June that their tickets will be cancelled unless they comply with new procedures regarding passport information. Since last year the Spanish authorities have required passengers to provide their passport number and date of birth before departure, but travellers were permitted to provide this at the airport. Now Ryanair insists all passengers enter it into the Ryanair website at least four hours before departure, or their booking will be cancelled'.

To avoid any problems, please ensure you provide us with full passport details at booking stage.

Please note: This information is only compulsory for flights to Spain, however Headwater will continue to request passport details for ALL holidays.

In April 2007 Eurostar found that flying between London, Paris and Brussels generated ten times more emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than travelling by Eurostar. So as part of there 'tread light campaign' they are committed to reducing its CO2 even more, they hope to reduce this by 25% in 2012.

On top of this, from November 2007 all Eurostar journeys were made Carbon neutral at no extra cost to you (the travellers), resulting in greener travel between the UK and France.

With Eurostar now 20 minutes faster than in previous years and, with up to 20 trains a day to Paris, the flexibility is excellent. The average journey time to Paris from St Pancras is just 2 hours 15 minutes and from Ashford just 2 hours.

Headwater can offer Eurostar travel from *£38.00 per person 2nd class, and *£86.00 per person 1st class. These supplements are for return travel and are on top of the Air-Rail price in our brochure.

Benefits of first class travel include: Spacious reclining seats, 3 course meal served at your table, complimentary champagne aperitifs, and wine with meals, as well as a selection of complimentary drinks available throughout the journey and onboard magazine and complimentary newspapers. Headwater are also pleased to offer free Eurostar for children aged 4-11!

*The above supplements are based on holidays where we offer travel in to Paris, for all other holidays we are still able to offer a very competitive supplement, please call for details.