Hi
I read a very interesting article at the weekend which I thought might be of interest to other JY travellers. When booking an excursion as part of a holiday through a UK based travel company, you are potentially covered by the government's package travel regulations. But if you book the excursion whilst on the holiday, the U.K. Tour operator may not be liable, even if you buy the excursion through the Tour Manager. This means if you are unfortunately injured whilst on the excursion, as a result of negligence, then you may be required to make a claim through the courts of the country in which the accident occurred. In short if you book before you leave the UK then you have greater protection should the worst happen.
I have done a few JY holidays and fortunately I have never known anyone be injured, and I must add one of the reasons I use JY is because I have always felt safe on their holidays. But accidents do happen and whilst everyone should also have travel insurance, I never realised that booking excursions whilst on the tour would be viewed differently than if it was booked whilst in the UK.
Taffy