Doc Holiday: Can I get travel insurance without a return flight?

There are plenty of travel insurers offering one-way insurance policies. Here’s how to find one.

Escape's Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

My daughter has booked a one-way ticket to Prague but is having trouble getting travel insurance. How can she get around this? She has yet to finalise her return date.

There are plenty of travel insurers – Fast Cover, World Nomads, Travel Insurance Direct and Cover-More among them – offering one-way insurance policies, but your daughter will need to read their Product Disclosure Statements carefully, as exclusions and limits can vary from general single-trip policies.

Some may offer cover for up to 12 months, and others up to 24 months, and should your daughter’s return date change (once she locks it in), extending it is usually as easy as contacting the insurer online.

Two things to watch out for. An exclusion specific to these policies is if your daughter is repatriated to Australia for any reason listed in the policy. In these cases, she may still have to shell out for an additional return economy ticket back home.

And most insurance providers also require travellers seeking one-way insurance to be an Australian citizen or resident, and have the trip originate from Australia.

You can apply for the UK’s ETA (its visa waiver program) easily online.

My sister and I (two elderly ladies) need a UK ETA for an upcoming cruise, but neither of us have the technical knowledge or equipment to access the app. What can we do?

No need to worry about the app. You can apply for the UK’s ETA (its visa waiver program) easily online. Towards the top of the screen under Contents, you’ll see a link for Apply for an ETA. It will keep encouraging you to apply via the app, but if you scroll to the bottom of the page, you’ll see a link that says “I cannot apply on the UK ETA app”. Press that, and then “Continue application online” and it will take you to the form. You’ll need to take a photo of the passport you’ll travel with, as well as a close-up photo of your face, so if you don’t have a phone with these capabilities, you may need to ask a family member, friend or neighbour for assistance. You’ll also need a credit or debit card to make the £16 (around $34) payment. Approval can take up to 72 hours and while it’s a nuisance, the UK ETA lasts for two years, or until your passport expires.

For those who have asked, paper applications for the UK ETA are not possible.

I’ve booked Qantas flights to Tokyo Narita airport but have read that the airline will change QF61 and QF62 to use Haneda airport later in 2025. When will this come into effect?

Great news. Although there was talk earlier in the year about Qantas shifting its Melbourne and Brisbane flights from Narita to Haneda, the airline has since confirmed there will be no changes to its Tokyo services, with the exception of the December 2025 start of its non-stop seasonal flights between Sydney and Sapporo. Qantas offers two daily flights from Sydney to Haneda, plus one daily flight from both Brisbane and Melbourne to Narita.

Qantas has confirmed there will be no changes to its Tokyo services.

Can you shed any light on compatible carry-on strollers for domestic flights? We want to know we’re buying the right one.

Yikes! It’s been a while since I’ve looked at baby and toddler gear and I’d forgotten just how expensive a stroller or pram can be (not to mention how quickly those costs stack up).

On domestic flights, our airlines will accept any wheels (securely packaged in a protective cover preferably) which can be collapsed to their carry-on baggage dimensions of 56cm x 23cm x 36cm. The pram or stroller can weigh up to 7kg. Anything larger or heavier will have to be checked in.

There are a couple of great options that won’t cost the earth. The Original Karion Travel Stroller and the Cybex Libelle Stroller are among some of the most compact and lightweight out there and both will fit neatly in domestic overhead compartments.

I’d forgotten just how expensive a stroller or pram can be.

You could also visit a store such as Baby Kingdom or Baby Bunting and ask staff to show you strollers that fit within those exact margins if you’d like a few more choices across various price points.

When my girls were little, I used a cheap umbrella stroller from Kmart for our travels. It wasn’t small enough to fold down for carry-on and had to be checked in, but I appreciated how light it was to lug around and best of all, no one ever tried to steal it from the baggage carousel. I always just figured that if it broke en route (it never did), I’d simply replace it.

Need help?

Doc Holiday is on duty to answer your travel questions. Email [e-mail]. Personal replies are unfortunately not possible.

Originally published as Doc Holiday: Can I get travel insurance without a return flight?