3 Smart Travel Preparation Tips for the Family

If you're heading off on your annual holiday and have already purchased your travel insurance for family groups, half the battle is won when it comes to preparation. However, there's more to be considered and any trip that involves your loved ones should be conducted with mindfulness and extra dedication to safety. That will start with how you organise yourself beforehand.

Be ready for any emergency

When you travel with the whole family, the ting you want to to consider the worst-case scenario. But this cannot be avoided; in fact, it is absolutely vital to be prepared for the worst. As the saying goes – prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Start by purchasing good travel insurance for family groups, then move on to researching all the important aspects of your chosen destination. Usually, embassies or consulates can provide such information, so check out their websites or call their hotline. You should also keep up the lines of communication with close friends or neighbours at home, and ask for their cooperation should an emergency occur. Leave your contact numbers or the contact information of your relatives or next-of-kin, as well as the address and contacts at your destination. You should also instruct them to contact the appropriate government authorities (the State Department or the concerned consular agency) in case something out of the ordinary happens.

Make sure to bring all your travel documents

The most basic travel document that is required of anyone these days is your passport: it is recognised internationally and provides the proper authorities a solid basis to verify your identity and citizenship. In most countries, you cannot enter or leave without a valid passport. You'll need to check the passport requirements of your country of destination; there are some that require travellers’ passports to be valid at least six months beyond the trip’s dates. If you’re on the verge of that, renew your passport before you leave.

If you have purchased travel insurance for family holidays, you'll need to have your insurance papers on hand. Moreover, if you’re traveling with children, you may also need to bring documentary proof of the relationship; this is needed to prevent child abductions and human trafficking. Finally, do not keep all your eggs in one basket; keep your important documents in a safe place but, if possible, keep a copy of them in another place. (And always leave a copy of everything at home.)

Pack Smart

By ‘packing smart’, we mean you should always be a few steps ahead of any potential thief or potential problems. Try to pack as lightly as possible - you do not want to be bogged down with heavy luggage, especially if you’re travelling with children. Many companies that offer travel insurance for family groups offer helpful guidance on these aspects of your trip, so check their website or get in touch with a representative. Do not bring valuables with you - seriously, do you really need to deck yourself out with your expensive bling on holiday? Lastly, often the smallest things can be the most helpful, such as using covered luggage tags so that no one can casually observe your identity and nationality and use that to take advantage of you.

Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Insuremore. We provide low cost travel insurance and offer a range of policies including travel insurance for family groups, annual, multi-trip and single-trip insurance. For all your travel cover needs, Insuremore can help you in the quickest and most cost-efficient way.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.