Travel Vaccinations From the UK: What to Check Before Your Summer Holiday
By Dr Daniel Gordon • 27, Jun 2026
Planning a holiday usually means booking flights, choosing hotels and deciding what to pack. Health is often left until the last minute.
Every summer, I see patients who are about to travel and suddenly realise they may need travel vaccinations, malaria tablets or advice about taking their regular medication abroad. Sometimes there is still enough time to prepare properly. Sometimes the holiday is only a few days away.
The good news is that a little planning can prevent many travel-related health problems.
When should you arrange travel vaccinations?
Ideally, you should seek travel health advice at least 4 to 6 weeks before you travel.
Some vaccines need more than one dose, while others take time to provide full protection. Leaving everything until the week before you fly may limit your options and mean that you are not fully protected in time for your travels.
Even if you're travelling at short notice, it is still worth getting advice. You may still benefit from certain vaccines, malaria medication or practical advice specific to your destination.
Do you need travel vaccinations?
Not everyone needs the same vaccinations.
The advice depends on:
Where you're travelling
How long you'll be away
Whether you'll be staying in cities or rural areas
The type of holiday you're taking
Your age and general health
Your vaccination history
For example, a week in Spain is very different from backpacking through Southeast Asia or spending several weeks visiting family in Africa.
Your travel plans matter just as much as your destination.
Common travel vaccinations
Depending on where you're going, you may be advised to have vaccines such as:
Hepatitis A
Typhoid
Hepatitis B
Yellow fever
Rabies
Japanese encephalitis
Cholera
Tick-borne encephalitis
Many travellers will only need a small number of these, and some won't need any specialist travel vaccines at all.
Current recommendations should always be checked for the countries you're visiting.
Don't forget your routine UK vaccinations
Travel is also a good opportunity to make sure your routine vaccinations are up to date.
This includes protection against diseases such as:
Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
Tetanus
Diphtheria
Polio
Measles outbreaks continue to occur in many parts of the world, including Europe. Many adults assume they received all of their childhood vaccinations, but that is not always the case.
Checking before you travel is worthwhile.
Do you need malaria tablets?
Malaria is a serious illness spread by mosquitoes in some parts of the world.
There is no routine malaria vaccine for most travellers, so prevention usually relies on mosquito bite protection and, in some destinations, malaria tablets.
The right medication depends on:
Where you're travelling
How long you'll stay
Your medical history
Other medicines you take
Whether you're pregnant
Different tablets are started at different times before travel and continued for different periods after you return home.
This is another reason not to leave travel advice until the last minute.
What medicines should you take abroad?
If you take regular medication, make sure you have enough for your whole trip, plus a few extra days in case your return is delayed.
Keep medicines in their original packaging and carry essential medication in your hand luggage.
It's also sensible to take:
Pain relief
Oral rehydration sachets
Antihistamines if appropriate
Insect repellent
Sunscreen
A small first aid kit
Some countries have restrictions on certain medicines, including strong painkillers and controlled drugs. Check before you travel if you are unsure.
Staying safe from food poisoning
Food poisoning is one of the most common travel illnesses.
Simple precautions can reduce your risk:
Drink safe bottled or treated water where recommended.
Eat freshly cooked food while it's still hot.
Avoid undercooked meat and seafood.
Wash or peel fruit yourself.
Wash your hands regularly.
Most cases improve within a few days, but dehydration can become serious, particularly in young children and older adults.
Protect yourself from mosquito bites
Mosquitoes do more than cause itchy bites.
In different parts of the world they can spread illnesses including malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and Zika virus.
Simple measures include:
Using an effective insect repellent
Wearing long sleeves and trousers in the evening
Sleeping under a mosquito net where advised
Staying in screened or air-conditioned accommodation where possible
Even if you're taking malaria tablets, avoiding bites is still essential.
Travelling with a long-term medical condition
If you have asthma, diabetes, heart disease or another long-term condition, think ahead before you travel.
Make sure you have:
Enough medication
Copies of your prescriptions if needed
A list of your medical conditions
Appropriate travel insurance
Any medical equipment you regularly use
Heat, different foods, long flights and changes to your routine can all affect existing medical conditions.
Good preparation makes travelling much easier.
What if you're travelling while pregnant?
Pregnancy does not stop you travelling, but it can affect which vaccines and medicines are suitable.
Some travel vaccines are safe during pregnancy, while others are usually avoided.
If you're pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding, mention this during your travel health assessment so the advice can be tailored to you.
There are some destinations which may be considered high risk enough that visiting them whilst pregnant is not advisable. This always requires a detailed conversation with a professional who is extremely experienced in travel health.
Don't leave travel health until the last minute
One of the biggest mistakes I see is assuming travel health is simply about having one injection before you fly.
In reality, it is about understanding the health risks for your destination and preparing properly.
For some people that means a vaccine. For others it means malaria tablets, advice about food and water, protecting themselves from mosquito bites or making sure they have enough medication for their trip.
The earlier you start planning, the more options you have.
The key takeaway
Most holidays pass without any health problems.
Taking a little time before you travel to check whether you need vaccinations, review your medication and understand the health risks at your destination can make a significant difference.
Travel health is not about worrying about everything that could happen. It's about making sensible preparations so you can enjoy your holiday with confidence.
Disclaimer
This blog post provides general information only. It is not intended to provide instruction and you should not rely on this information to determine a diagnosis, prognosis or course of treatment. It should not be used in place of a professional consultation with a doctor.
The medical information is the personal opinion of the stated author(s). It is based on available evidence or, where no published evidence is available, on current medical opinion and practice.
Every effort is taken to ensure that the information contained in this website is accurate and complete. However, accuracy cannot be guaranteed – rapid advances in medicine may cause information contained here to become outdated, invalid or subject to debate.
The author(s) is/are not responsible for the results of your decisions resulting from the use of the information, including, but not limited to, your choosing to seek or not to seek professional medical care, or from choosing or not choosing specific treatment based on the information.
You should not disregard the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider because of any information you read on this website. If you have any health care questions, please consult a relevant medical practitioner.
