Family Travel Checklist

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.

Posted on: Apr 29, 2014

View all posts by Takara Moore