It would not take much of a medical emergency when on an out of country vacation to spoil everything.   The costs that could accumulate could be enough to spoil travel or any other plans for a long time to come.  This is why we always look for a good Travel Insurance Cover policy before we embark on a trip.   We travel comfortably knowing that if we possibly end up in hospital or even with emergency work that our insurance will cover all or most of the costs no matter where we happen to be.  The cost is small compared to the comfort of feeling secure.