Going on holiday is an exciting time, but it's always important to remember to stay safe. If you're planning to travel outside the UK, you may need to be vaccinated against some of the serious diseases found in other parts of the world.

You can find out which vaccinations are necessary or recommended for the areas you'll be visiting on the NHS Fit for Travel website. 

FitForTravel is a free public access website providing up-to-date health information for the UK public on avoiding illness and staying healthy when travelling abroad.

• Country specific information on health risks, vaccine requirements and malaria risk are listed to enable the public to determine if they need to take additional measures to maintain health during travel.
• FitForTravel also provides a range of general travel health advice pages to enable the public to maintain health.
• FitForTravel is continually updated with relevant travel health news and information regarding outbreaks of disease. Outbreaks are posted on the basis of relevance for the UK travelling public and are not exhaustive in terms of all outbreaks that occur across the world.

NHS Lothian has set up the first NHS travel clinic, based at the Regional Infectious Diseases Unit at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. Over time additional clinics will be opened across Lothian. This is expected to happen later in 2022 / early in 2023.

The following travel vaccines are available free on the NHS for the purpose of travel:

• Revaxis (Diphtheria, tetanus and polio)
• Typhoid
• Hepatitis A
• Cholera

Please note that patients from other NHS health boards will be charged for these vaccines. All other vaccines, medications and services are also chargeable.

To enquire about travel vaccinations, please find your local NHS Lothian travel clinic for contact information here.

If possible contact a travel clinic at least 8 weeks before you're due to travel.

Some vaccines need to be given well in advance to allow your body to develop immunity, and some vaccines involve a number of doses spread over several weeks or months.

You may be more at risk of some diseases, for example, if you're:

• travelling in rural areas
• backpacking
• staying in hostels or camping
• on a long trip rather than a package holiday

If you have a pre-existing health problem, this may make you more at risk of infection or complications from a travel-related illness.