Travelling with children means bringing a lot more things on holiday with you than you normally would, which also means a lot more things to forget about. InsuranceWith have created this family travel checklist to give you a helping hand:
- Research your location thoroughly – the destination and the place you are staying. Make sure it’s suitable for you and your family. For example, if there are 100 steps leading up to your hotel and you plan on leaving the hotel on a regular basis, it might not be ideal to carry pushchairs, buggies and bags up and down everyday.
- The key to family holiday organisation is to make lists – write an original one then update it every time you go away or think of something else, and keep it somewhere safe!
- Check the travel alerts from the FCDO of the country you intend on visiting. Follow @FCDOtravelGovUK on Twitter to get the latest travel updates and advice
- Find out where the nearest embassy will be
- Sort out travel insurance – insurancewith provide cover for customers with pre-existing medical conditions, allowing you to go on holiday without having to pay excessive premiums.
- If you’re travelling within the European Economic Area, from 1st January 2021 rules around travel to Europe have changed, visit the Government website for up to date information on passports, EHIC, healthcare and more. We’ll update this page with more information as and when the Government release it.
- Check with your doctor whether you or your family will need any vaccinations before you travel
- Make sure you’ve got the correct visas for the country you intend to visit
- Most importantly, check your and your family’s passport is valid at the time you intend to travel – it takes up to six weeks to apply for or renew a passport, so checking well in advance might save time later on. Please note: children are no longer included on their parent’s passports, so if necessary apply for a new individual one for your children.
- Tell friends and extended family where you’re travelling to and leave them your contact details, travel insurance policy details and your itinerary as this will make it easy for them in case of an emergency
- Make sure you have enough money to cover emergencies
- If you intend on driving abroad, make sure your licence is current and valid. Make sure you’re aware of the driving laws in the country you intend on visiting.
- Sort out your hand luggage – packing any toys, books, snacks and drinks to prevent the kids from being bored, hungry or fed up whilst you’re travelling can make it a lot easier.
- Check with your airline for flight delays
- Keep all tickets, visas, foreign exchange and passports safely in a travel belt or bag and keep these with you at all times.
- Check your house is safe before you leave – check all switches are off, water is turned off to prevent pipes from freezing, and securely lock all windows and doors.
Flights:
- Usually the later you book the more expensive the ticket. However, if you are flexible on where and when you travel, you may find a late booking bargain through a package holiday or Charter-flight company.
- The best time to book is roughly 8 weeks before flying. Guardian (UK)
- The best time of year to make your booking is either end of August/beginning of September or end of December/beginning of January. Time (US). This may not apply for flights within the Southern hemisphere where there may be different buying patterns and flying seasons.
- Mid-week flights tend to have the cheapest airfares.
- Airline tickets on less popular early morning/late night flights will often cost you less.
- Airport choice – you may find that it pays to choose a flight from/to a neighbouring airport.
Hotels:
Staying in a hotel can be a great way to feel looked after on your holiday. By having a break from your usual everyday routine, the moment you arrive at the hotel and things such as cooking, cleaning and tidying up is done for you, you automatically feel pampered.
Booking a hotel in advance
Booking a hotel way in advance has the obvious benefit of more options when it comes to available hotel rooms. It also offers peace of mind that you will have a room ready for you once you arrive at your destination, without having to see if one is available.
1.Be flexible with your arrival and departure dates. When you’re booking a hotel in advance, it is best to be as flexible as you can with your dates of arrival and departure, as hotel rates can vary greatly on different dates and days of the week.
2.Shop around for different rates. It is also very important to shop around when searching for hotel accommodations well in advance, as prices can also vary quite a bit on different sites, and of course from different hotels, as well.
Booking a hotel last minute
Booking a hotel at the last minute can definitely save you a lot of money, as hotels are keen to fill up their empty rooms. However, the fact that these left over rooms are the only ones left to fill means that your selection of available rooms will be a bit more limited, as some hotels may not have occupancy available at the time. If you’re not very picky on where you end up staying and are simply looking for an affordable rate, you may want to wait until the last minute to find a hotel to book for your stay.
1.Look for deals online. You can find huge discounts for booking a hotel the night of by searching on different hotel booking and comparison websites.
2.Search for a hotel upon your arrival. Another option for booking a hotel at the last minute is to search the area for hotels upon your arrival and check in with a few to see what their best rates are for checking in that night. However, this could be more hassle than you’re prepared for.
3.Try to negotiate. If you’ve waited until the last minute and aren’t shy to ask for a bargain, you may find that haggling with the hotel may get you an even better rate.
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1. Know the rules
- Take a note of the number of bags you can check-in at the airport. In most cases it’s one piece per passenger, but make sure you’re not over the weight allowance – on EasyJet you can check in up to eight pieces of luggage but their combined weight isn’t allowed to exceed 20kg (44lb) and if it does you’ll be asked to pay a hefty fine for the extra weight. Weigh your luggage on a scale before you leave home so you aren’t greeted by any unexpected costs.
- You’re allowed to take more than one piece of hand luggage with you on a plane, but size restrictions still apply. For British passengers, bags larger than 56cmx45cmx25cm are forbidden. For further information, please visit www.gov.uk
- If placed in your hand luggage, any gels, liquids, creams and pastes have to be in containers of no more than 100ml and placed in a transparent resealable plastic bag no larger than 20x20cm.
2. Buy the right suitcase
- Size is crucial. If the bag is too big, your case might not fit into the boot of the hire car or taxi; too small and you’ll have to sit on the lid to close it, which makes it more susceptible to breaks. An expandable case can help solve most space issues.
- A hard shell on a case can add up to 10lb of dead weight, but it does offer the contents of your luggage more protection from damage, thieves and sudden downpours. A soft-shelled case will look smarter for longer and is easier to manipulate in terms of storage space.
- 70% of suitcases on any given luggage carousel are black. Make yours stand out – but just to you. Don’t advertise your bags to thieves, but make your case easy to identify.
3. How to pack and unpack
- Whether you fold, roll or bundle or wrap in tissue or plastic, the key is not to over-pack. Squashed clothes are creased clothes and the same is true of clothes that are too loosely packed, as they crease from rolling around inside the case against one another.
- Don’t put wrapped gifts inside checked luggage. If your case is opened for inspection, wrapping will have to be removed.
4. Keep it safe
- A suitcase is easily parted from its luggage label. Always put on more than one with details of your flight and destination inside.
- If two or more people are travelling, split belonging between checked luggage so if one case goes missing, each of you will still have a change of clothes.
- If you’re late to check in, the chances are your luggage won’t make it onto the flight, even if you do.
- Always lock your checked bags – an unlocked suitcase could invalidate your insurance.
- If you are travelling to America, you must use cases fitted with Transport Security Administration-approved locks, or a TSA-approved padlock or strap. For further details, please visit www.tsa.gov
- There are loads of tracking services for luggage available, research some and see if they would suit you.
Remember, should the worst happen and you lose your luggage:
- 85% of all lost luggage is found within 48 hours
- If your case has not appeared by the time the carousel stops, check the tag of any unclaimed case similar to yours, someone may have mistaken your case for theirs.
- If your luggage is missing, even if you’ve been told it’s on the next flight, you have to fill out a Property Irregularity Report before you even leave the airport.
- Check your travel insurance to see if lost or delayed luggage is covered.
