Travel health

If you are travelling abroad, you may need vaccinations or other health advice before you go. Some vaccines need to be given over several weeks, and a few need more than one dose, so contact us as early as you can.

How to arrange your travel vaccinations

1. Send us an online request at least 8 weeks before you travel, or call us.
2. We will send you a travel risk assessment form to complete and return. It asks where you are going and helps us work out what you need.
3. A practice nurse reviews your form and, where vaccines or advice are needed, arranges an appointment to give you advice and any vaccinations.

What we need to know

It helps to have these ready when you complete your form:

• the countries and regions you are visiting, including any stopovers
• your travel dates and how long you are going for
• what you will be doing, for example backpacking, working, a safari, or visiting family
• any vaccinations you have had before
• your health, any long-term conditions, and whether you are pregnant.

What is free on the NHS and what you pay for

Some travel vaccines are free on the NHS:

• the combined diphtheria, tetanus and polio booster
• hepatitis A
• typhoid
• cholera

Other travel vaccines are not available on the NHS, such as hepatitis B, rabies, Japanese encephalitis, tick-borne encephalitis and meningitis vaccines for travel. For these you would need a private travel clinic or pharmacy.

The yellow fever vaccine is only given at registered yellow fever centres. If you need it, the nurse will let you know where to go.

Malaria

There is no travel vaccine against malaria. If there is a malaria risk where you are going, antimalarial tablets help protect you, alongside avoiding mosquito bites. Malaria tablets are not free on the NHS. You can buy some from a pharmacy without a prescription, or get them from a private travel clinic. The nurse will advise you on the risk for your destination and which tablets are suitable.

Check what you need for your destination

You can look up the recommended vaccinations and health advice for the countries you are visiting on TravelHealthPro. This also covers malaria risk and any current health alerts.

This page was last updated in June 2026.