Backpacking insurance conundrum

youluckypanda

So my bf and I are going to be leaving for a 6 week trip across Nepal and India in two weeks time. We've been trying to get our heads around all of the travel insurance options and are just plain stuck!

We're going to be backpacking, so have looked at backpacking insurance but from what I can see none of them cover you for very much when it comes to valuables.

We're going to be taking an expensive laptop, camera, 2 kindles and an iPhone, so really want to make sure that we get the right policy just incase!

Has anyone got any experience of policies that would cover this kind of thing? Or should we get a separate policy to cover all our electricals!?

Thanks for any help in advance!

PeteDoff

youluckypanda wrote: »

We're going to be taking an expensive laptop, camera, 2 kindles and an iPhone,

Best advice is don't.

A pair of £20 quid refurb tablets (with Kindle reading apps) a cheap mobile plus your camera firmly around your neck. Total cost about £50, your insurance
excess would be more than that if you could find cover.

I've travelled in these areas many times and would never dream of backpacking with that lot of fancy tech stuff, you'll spend all your time watching your luggage.

I take a £20 refurb tablet a £10 mobile, a camera strapped to my body and don't worry about them.

For some reason I suspect you'll ignore me but you'll find out!!!!

fufu_banterwaite

PeteDoff wrote: »

Best advice is don't.

Completely agree. One of the reasons I went travelling was to get away from all of that. At a push take the camera and none of the others.

PompeyPete

Where are you visiting in Nepal?
I was there in March/April this year for 5 weeks.

agrinnall

I can only echo what PeteDoff and fufu have said, taking loads of expensive kit backpacking is a recipe for disaster. I'd think twice about it even if I was being chauffeur driven and staying in 5 star hotels, but travelling on buses, which you will probably do, inevitably means your backpacks are out of your sight some of the time (not to mention them getting full of dust), and security in hostels and guest houses is rudimentary at best.

youluckypanda

Thanks for the advice, we had thought about not taking these things, but one of us travelled quite a bit with laptop etc and had no problems.. we're just looking to see what the best insurance options are at the moment. Obviously it is easier to say just don't take things, but we will be using it all everyday, we both work freelance and need our technology! Especially for sorting through raw photos and storing them.

PompeyPete - we're starting in Kathmandu, then planning on having a look around there before moving onto Chitwan, Pokhara and Lumbini before we cross the border. Is there anything you would recommend?

agrinnall

youluckypanda wrote: »

... we both work freelance and need our technology! Especially for sorting through raw photos and storing them.

If you're working while travelling it's unlikely that backpacker insurance would cover your gear anyway (and may not cover your person either). And if you are in fact on holiday then you're supposed to be doing it to get away from work!

And sorting photos is a job for the dark winter evenings when you get home.

PeteDoff

Just don't let the Indians know you're working (in any shape or form) if you're on an Indian Tourist visa, they'll say you need a work/business visa.

PompeyPete

youluckypanda wrote: »

PompeyPete - we're starting in Kathmandu, then planning on having a look around there before moving onto Chitwan, Pokhara and Lumbini before we cross the border. Is there anything you would recommend?

Difficult to answer the question without knowing what you already know, and what parts of your trip are already set in stone. Eg. have you booked any accommodation yet? If so, then there's not much point giving you any tips.

It's the end of the Nepal monsoon season when you go. The road between KTM - Chitwan - Pokhara could be in a right mess, so you'll always need a Plan B, ie fly. It took us nearly 11 hours at the end of March to travel by bus from KTM to Pokhara due to a landslide. It's only 200 Kms, and the road was awash with buses, lorries, and blokes having a pee in the fields. Mrs PP wasn't amused!

Don't spent too long in KTM, it's got a well earned reputation in the top 10 most polluted cities in the world.