Backpackers urged to plan ahead

British backpackers heading off to distant shores this summer must leave plenty of time to get a full health check-up beforehand, according to one expert.

Heather Edgington, manager of Atlas Travel Clinic, warned that a third of patients tend to leave too short a period of time between seeing a travel doctor and setting off abroad.

She added that it is recommended that backpackers travelling for several months should consult a doctor six weeks before leaving in order to ensure that any travel vaccines are given at properly spaced intervals.

"In order to be prepared I would say a good six weeks. If you are just a business traveller, some do them very last minute, but I would always say as a minimum leave two weeks before you go to prepare," she commented.

A recent survey by HostelBookers.com revealed that increasing numbers of backpackers are travelling to long-haul destinations such as China and south-east Asia in order to open up their career options by soaking up different cultures and languages.

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