What to bring
All essential activity and safety equipment is provided, but your child will need to bring:
• Personal clothing
(clearly name tagged, casual and easily washable clothes are recommended) and footwear
• Wash kit and toiletries
• If the holiday involves watersports, or the centre has a swimming pool, bring a swimsuit and extra towels.
All property must be clearly named.
Pocket money, travel tickets and passports may be handed in to Groupies or Couriers for safe keeping on arrival at the centre. We will send you a detailed list of what to bring when we confirm your holiday booking.
What not to bring
• Mobile phones. We will make provision for guests to make phone calls using the centres facilities. At some centres it is possible for children to send e-mails home (a small charge may apply).
• Valuable watches and jewellery
• MP3 players, personal stereos, PSPs, DS's, Gameboys and any other electrical items of value.
We cannot take any responsibility for the above should you choose to bring them.
Personal details
We must be advised in advance if your child is currently or has recently experienced any major illness, disabilities, behavioural or social problems that may affect him/her or our other guests. At PGL we are continually working to enable as many children as possible to enjoy our holidays. To help us achieve this, please provide full details at the time of booking or in a covering letter addressed to our Reservations Manager. We then may request written confirmation from your GP confirming the suitability of the holiday for your child. We will naturally treat any personal information sensitively and respect confidentiality. Very occasionally we may not be able to provide the service required and will refund any deposit paid.
Medical and emergency details
We need to know in advance about any congenital complaints and/or standard child illnesses (e.g. asthma, allergies, epilepsy) and whether your child has been in hospital for any reason within the 6 months prior to booking. Please provide full details at the time of booking.
You will also be asked to complete a Medical and Emergency Contact Form, which will be sent with your Final Information Pack, including a telephone number where we can always contact you in the event of an emergency during the holiday. Please keep this form handy, as it must be handed in on arrival at the centre or to the Travel Courier. Where appropriate, please provide all relevant information concerning medical conditions and any medication or drugs currently being administered. Any pills or medication must be handed in to reception on arrival, together with details of daily dosage and administration.
Of course, children can sometimes feel unwell whilst they are on holiday and accidents can occasionally happen – but because of our safety precautions they are no more prevalent than with any children at play, probably less.
We have staff with first aid qualifications and have pre-established links with local doctors, dentists and hospitals in case of emergency. On every centre, in case of minor accidents, each activity base is equipped with a first aid kit. Full records of treatment are kept and parents are always alerted in a real emergency. For some small accidents (e.g. bumps, scratches and grazes) we will not normally contact parents unless deemed necessary.
Lost Property
Help us to help you! PGL staff will do their best to return named lost property to owners, however, if lost clothing is not clearly marked, it is unlikely that we will be able to trace it. We strongly recommend woven type name tapes, which should be firmly stitched into an obvious place in each garment. We reserve the right to charge postage and packing for those items returned after your holiday.
Swimming
Please clearly indicate swimming ability at the time of booking. Lifejackets or buoyancy aids are always worn for watersports, except for body boarding, surfing and snorkelling sessions - where if participants are able to swim 50 metres or more, they are not required to wear them. For all water based activities, participants must be water confident in a life jacket or Buoyancy aid.
Water confidence is defined as:
- Ability to duck head underwater.
- Confidently swim 15 metres in a life jacket or Buoyancy without signs of panic.
Alternative activities are arranged for non-swimmers at most centres.
Pocket money
All PGL holidays in the UK are fully inclusive and there is little need to bring large sums of money. However, there are sometimes excursion days and all centres feature a tuck shop selling sweets and small souvenirs. Some centres for older children also have a pool table in the chill out room at a cost of around 50p per game and 13-16 year olds may have the opportunity to take part in evening activities off site such as bowling. A small charge will be made for these to cover transport and entrance fees. There is no obligation for any guest to take part in these optional extras and a free alternative activity will always be available on centre.
The amount of pocket money required obviously varies with the age of the child.
On our UK holidays we recommend pocket money (on a sliding scale) from an average of £2.00 per day for 7 year olds; £2.50 - £3 per day for 12 year olds and £3.50 - £4 per day for older teenagers for purchasing drinks, sweets and ice creams, plus between £5 and £20 to purchase gifts which will only be on sale on the last day of the holiday. We operate a secure system for holding and issuing pocket money in accordance with parents’ wishes.
Birthdays
If your child has a birthday during their PGL holiday, please advise us prior to travel and we will endeavour to make their day one to remember! In the UK this may include a birthday cake with our compliments to share with their friends.
Passports and documentation
For overseas holidays, please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that your child has his/her own passport and (if necessary) visa documentation. Holders of non-UK passports should check with their embassy whether a visa will be required. All UK citizens travelling abroad need to be in possession of a valid passport - for more information please see www.ukpa.gov.uk , please allow plenty of time for the application process as we are unable to allow guests to travel without a valid passport.
For further information on the country to be visited, please check the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas or visit ABTA's website www.abta.com .
For holidays within Europe, it is essential to obtain a European Health Insurance Card for your child. You can obtain an EHIC on line at www.ehic.org.uk, by calling 0845 605 0707 or from your local Post Office. Should medical attention be needed whilst within the European Community, an EHIC can save both time and money, avoiding the need to pay a minimum £10 excess charge for any medical treatment claimed from our insurers.
PGL e-Pals
Many of our guests travel on their own, however if you feel that it would reassure your child to correspond with another single child booked on the same holiday week, why not take advantage of our PGL E-Pals service?
Just give our reservations staff your e-mail address at the time of booking and we will try to arrange an E-Pal introduction. We will try to match your child with another guest on the same holiday, at the same time. Once a match has been made we will forward the email address to each guest, advising them accordingly.
Please bear in mind that it takes us time to build up a ‘pool’ of names before we’re able to connect you with an E-Pal. We can only make one introduction per person and ages will never be more than 2 years apart. If we cannot find a pal for your child, we’ll contact you in due course to advise, but don’t worry, about half of our guests arrive on their own and they all leave with lots of new friends.