Which Travel Vaccines Are Free on the NHS? A Pharmacist Explains the Full List

Which travel vaccines are actually free on the NHS?

According to NHS guidance, you can get the following vaccinations free on the NHS, after completing a risk assessment form, at a GP surgery:

• Cholera
• Polio, given as part of the combined tetanus, diphtheria and polio (Td/IPV) booster
• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid fever

That's the full list. If a vaccine isn't on it, it isn't NHS-funded, no matter where in the country you ask.

Dosing for the free list varies too. Cholera is a two-dose oral course, hepatitis A and typhoid are usually a single dose, and the polio element is one combined booster alongside tetanus and diphtheria. Ask your GP surgery about their specific risk-assessment process, appointment systems and lead times differ between practices.

Which travel vaccines do I have to pay for?

NHS guidance is equally clear on this side of the list. Vaccines not routinely available on the NHS, meaning you pay for them wherever you have them, are:

• Hepatitis B
• Japanese encephalitis
• Rabies
• Tick-borne encephalitis
• Yellow fever, only available to book at registered Yellow Fever Vaccination Centres, see our yellow fever vaccine guide.

None of this covers malaria prevention. There's no travel vaccine for malaria available to UK travellers, so antimalarial tablets don't appear on either list above. They're a prescription medicine, always chargeable wherever you get them, with the type and cost depending on your destination and how long you're travelling. See our malaria prevention page for more, and ask us about the right regimen for your specific trip.

Why "free at the GP" doesn't always mean free in practice

A traveller came in two days before flying to Kenya, needing typhoid cover. She'd tried her GP the week before and been told the earliest travel risk-assessment slot was five weeks away, well past her flight. The vaccine itself would have been free, but the appointment wasn't available in time. That's a common story, particularly for people who book their trip health needs later than the usual four-to-six-week guideline, or whose GP surgery has limited travel clinic capacity. I fitted her in the same day instead, gave her the typhoid vaccine privately, and she made her flight with time to spare.

It's also worth knowing that most journeys need more than one vaccine. If your itinerary calls for, say, typhoid (free) and rabies (paid), you may end up coordinating two separate appointments at two different providers, on top of getting the timing and spacing between doses right yourself.

This isn't unique to England either. NHS Scotland guidance confirms the same core list, cholera, polio, hepatitis A and typhoid, is free after assessment, so the pattern of limited GP capacity for travel appointments applies UK-wide, not just locally.

Can a pharmacy give me the free NHS ones too?

No, not under the current NHS arrangement, the free route runs through GP surgeries specifically. At Medway Pharmacy, we provide the full range of travel vaccines, including the ones that are free elsewhere on the NHS, privately. What you're paying for is speed and convenience: same-day appointments, seven days a week, and your whole itinerary sorted in one visit rather than several. See our full list of travel vaccines and prices.

Which vaccines does Medway Pharmacy stock, and what do they cost?

We keep the full range travellers typically need under one roof: yellow fever (£70, including your certificate), hepatitis A and hepatitis B (£55 per dose), typhoid (£55), a combined tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis booster (£55), meningitis ACWY (£80, often needed for Hajj and Umrah), rabies pre-exposure (£85 per dose, three doses required), Japanese encephalitis (£95 per dose), and cholera (£45). Whether your itinerary needs something from the NHS free list, the paid list, or both, we can usually sort everything in a single appointment rather than sending you elsewhere for part of your course.

So which route makes sense for you?

• Plenty of notice, and you only need vaccines from the free list: your GP surgery is worth trying first, if they offer travel risk assessments and can see you in time.
• Short notice, or you need anything from the paid list: a pharmacy travel clinic can usually see you faster and cover everything, free-list and paid-list vaccines alike, in a single appointment. We can also advise on antimalarial tablets or other non-vaccine travel medicines at the same visit.
• Need a Yellow Fever certificate: you must use a registered Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre regardless of cost, this vaccine is never NHS-funded and not every provider is authorised to issue the certificate.

If you already know you'll need a mix of free-list and paid-list vaccines, it's often simplest to have everything assessed together rather than splitting your appointments. We'll flag which ones are NHS-fundable elsewhere so you can make an informed choice, but most people travelling soon choose to have the full course here in one visit.

There's no wrong choice here, cost, timing and convenience simply pull in different directions depending on your trip. If in doubt, get in touch and we'll talk through what's realistic for your specific dates and destination.

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