Stress-free travel with kids is all about being prepared and planning ahead; basically, doing all the “boring” stuff before you leave the house and head to the airport so you can thoroughly enjoy the travel adventure.
While it’s easy to get excited about getting new outfits, plotting the perfect sightseeing day, and making dinner reservations at a cliffside restaurant famous for its views and cocktails, it’s not hard to see why many people unintentionally forget about planning for when things don’t go quite as planned.
With a small amount of prep-work you can prepare yourself to handle anything you might encounter while on your travels to keep your family safe while making lifelong memories.
1. Check the State Department Website for “Travel Advisories” and Enroll in STEP
The US State Department website is a great reference for determining passport and visa requirements for US citizens. But guess what else? It’s also chock-full of helpful information for you to peruse before your trip.
If you’re wondering about general information, the safety or health requirements of a country, or if there are any areas you should avoid, you’ll find all the info neatly organized on the website under Travel Advisories by typing in the country where you intend to travel. You can read about any crime you should be concerned about, and also check for any recent safety warnings for your destination.
The State Department has assigned each county in the world a rating of 1-4, 1 being the safest, and 4 being the most dangerous and travel is not recommended. Here is what each of the numbers means:
1 – Exercise normal precautions
2 – Exercise increased caution
3 – Reconsider travel
4 – Do not travel
If you’re heading to a country you’re not very familiar with, also be sure to read (and map out if necessary to see how close they are to where you’re headed) any areas the State Department recommends to avoid in the country. As a parent, you want to be sure not to inadvertently bring your family into an area known to be turbulent and unsafe.
While you’re on the State Department website, it’s also prudent to take a few moments to register your travel plans with the Safe Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). While I’m not normally a proponent of “big brother” and I like to maintain our privacy as much as possible, in this situation, I make an exception.
What is STEP? It’s a program that allows you to share your travel plans with the US government. “Why on earth would I want to do that?” you ask? Well, the answer is simple; if there is any sort of emergency while you are in the country, like a terrorist attack or major earthquake, the government knows where you are and to go looking for you, and can communicate with you how to get help should you need it. Without enrolling in STEP all they really know is that you’re in the country somewhere.
When you enroll in STEP they will also send you notifications if they anticipate any civil unrest or destructive weather phenomenon (for instance we got a typhoon warning when we were in Vietnam) or anything that may compromise your safety or impact your travel plans so you can avoid those areas or seek shelter.
Another benefit of STEP, is if there has been some sort of emergency with your family back home or someone needs to urgently get ahold of you, the embassy can contact you and let you know.
2. Know How to Call Emergency Services or Download TripWhistle
Let me take a minute to tell you a story about why it’s important to know how to call emergency services while traveling. “Picture it, Sicily, 1923…” any Golden Girls fans out there? Just kidding, but I shouldn’t joke, because this is serious…but picture it, Switzerland, driving through the winding roads in the alps on a breathtakingly beautiful day. Suddenly, we round a corner to find a crashed motorcycle, so recently downed the wheels were still spinning. I slammed on the brakes, slightly in shock and trying to process what I was looking at.
Instantaneously, everyone in the car said “call 911”. We were all well-seasoned travelers having been to dozens of countries, and in all our journeys had never had to call emergency services abroad; and we all simultaneously realized it at that exact moment. I had it written down in our daughter’s emergency kit for her food allergy in case I had to use her Epi Pen, rationalizing that if I had to use her Epi Pen the paper with the emergency information was wrapped around the pen, but I hadn’t ever committed the number to memory.
If you’re thinking, “well why didn’t you just do a quick internet search at that moment to find the number?” My mom did immediately try to Google it, only to find she had limited cell service, enough to make a call but not enough to use the internet.
Ultimately, my dad won the nomination for “person to get out of the car to go attempt to render assistance”. As he began to exit the van, fortunately an off-duty police officer had arrived from the other direction just 30 seconds after we did and ran out to render assistance.
But that was the moment, the moment I swore I would never be caught not knowing how to call in the event of an emergency again. It only takes a few minutes; before departing for your destination, do an internet search on how to contact emergency services, or better yet, download an app like TripWhistle or EchoSOS that can assist with calling emergency services in 196 different countries.
3. Keep Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Off and Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
I’m not much of a paranoid or tin-foil hat person, and don’t live my life like Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State. I believe in taking reasonable precautions, especially while traveling, but accept that not everything can ever be 100% secure, whether it’s using my debit card or logging on to the local internet. But this one thing is so easy to do to protect your personal information, it doesn’t make sense not to. What is it? Keep your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned off on your devices unless you’re actively using them.
Now, I’m sure you’ve all seen the news about people Air Dropping people inappropriate pictures; I’ve even had a few people try and send them to me. So yes, that is a real thing. Aside from that though, criminals and other nefarious folks can actually hack into your devices via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and can gain access to all your personal information. Computers, phones, and tablets are all susceptible, so unless you’re actively using it, it’s best to keep it off.
If you choose to connect through public Wi-Fi, make sure you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). For those of you that aren’t familiar with it, VPN is a service that creates a secure “tunnel” through which you can connect to the internet and encrypts your data, so someone on the same network can’t use the internet as a free-pass into all the personal information living in your phone or computer or being sent through the air.
Forbes Advisor recommends four difference VPN companies; NordVPN, Surfshark, Private Internet Access, and Express VPN. Prices start at just a few dollars a month and can give you real peace of mind when staying connected, by staying encrypted.
4. Travel With a Smoke/CO2 Detector
This one is either something you already do religiously, or if not, you’re reading this thinking…really? Well hear me out. According to data maintained by the Jenkins Foundation, there have been 2,505 injuries and 166 deaths from carbon monoxide in US hotels and motels since they started tracking data in 1967. The saddest part? All of those deaths could have been prevented had a functioning detector been installed.
Regulations regarding not only carbon monoxide detectors but also smoke detectors vary throughout the world. If you frequent a home rental site like Airbnb, start noticing the carbon monoxide and smoke detector sections; you’ll be surprised at how many don’t have one or either.
Another problem is, if you’re renting a home, you really have no assurances that the homeowners are actually complying with the regulations and if the detectors are properly installed or maintained.
A combination smoke and carbon monoxide detector is small and weighs nothing, so toss one in your suitcase and add it to your list of travel essentials. Pro tip: remove the batteries before putting it in your suitcase.
5. Carry a Basic First Aid Kit and Medicine
As anyone with kids can attest, kids get hurt, and some kids even seem to have an extra gravity forcefield around them causing them to constantly fall or crash. If our youngest was around during the time of Sir Isaac Newton, his laws may have been written differently to account for her unexplained gravitational pull or inability to “remain at rest”.
Even if your kids aren’t accident prone, it’s always good to carry a small first aid kit in your day pack and/or a larger first aid kit in the car. Now, you don’t need a kit so substantial you could perform minor surgery; if something requires stitches or a splint, it’s time to head to a medical facility instead of trying to play medical MacGyver with three band aids and some Afterbite.
Basic bandages, antibacterial ointment, maybe some tweezes, antiseptic numbing spray are all good to have on hand. You should be able to treat cuts, scrapes, aches, stings and bites. Along with, or in the bag if it’s big enough, you should also carry a small medicine box. This box should have a few of whatever you have in your medicine cabinet at home that your family uses regularly. Think aspirin, ibuprofen, anti-diarrheal, Dramamine, laxative (this is the one you won’t think to carry until you desperately need it and can’t find it wherever you are), antihistamine and Benadryl. Kids versions of all of those are ideal. Again, it doesn’t need to look like you are some sort of CVS over-the-counter household drug dealer in Time Square with 100 different items sewn into the lining of a flashy vest, but you should have the basics to keep everyone comfortable.
6. Share Your Location
Letting someone who’s not on the trip with you know your itinerary is a good way to protect yourself in case you should encounter anything unexpected. You can do this by sharing your location via your phone or by sharing a copy of your itinerary. Sharing both with someone ensures someone knows where you are, and also knows where you’re supposed to be, and can be a good first indicator if something seems amiss.
If you’re an iPhone user, and especially if traveling alone with kids, it’s always a good idea to share your location with at least one person, so someone knows where you are. If you’re unfamiliar with how to do this, simply go to “Find My” in your phone settings, and turn on “Share My Location”. Under Contacts, select the person you want to share your location with and at the bottom of their info click “Share Location”. You can choose how long you would like to share it for.
If you’re an Android user, you can share your location through Google Maps (also works for iOS). Sign in to Google Maps, tap your profile picture/initial, select “Location Sharing” and select “New Share”. You can then choose the duration and select the people you would like to share it with.
If you aren’t comfortable sharing your location on your phone, as an alternative you can share a paper or digital copy of your itinerary with someone. This is an especially good idea if part of your trip involves a drive or a hike with no cell services; it’s always good to let someone know where you plan to be in case you don’t show up when expected.
My husband and I are both pilots, and we use the aviation term, and call it “filing a flight plan”; letting someone know what you are doing and roughly when to be expected back. When you arrive safely, just send them a quick text to “close your flight plan”. For instance, let’s say you’re driving along a remote forested area in Macedonia with your kids and there’s no cell service and your car breaks down; if someone knows your plan and you don’t let them know you’ve arrived in a reasonable amount of time, they can let someone know to go search your intended route to see if you need help. If you’re sharing your location with them, they can let someone know where to find you.
My last recommendation is really only for the extra adventurous travelers…
Carry a Satellite Phone
As the sentence above states, this one I would only recommend for people who frequently travel to remote destinations with their kids, or people who take parent vacations where they may be out of touch without their kiddos (think rural trekking).
For example, we climbed Kilimanjaro for my 40th birthday and went 9 days with no cell service or without being able to talk to our girls. While it wasn’t a huge deal and definitely echoes of “first world problems”, it would have been nice to be able to check-in periodically with my parents to make sure everything was going well for my own peace of mind.
Along that same line, if you enjoy off-grid camping with your brood, a satellite phone can come in handy if you have any sort of emergency, and either need to get medical help or if you need assistance for any reason. We took our sat phone to Japan last winter and several times were very glad to have it when we were driving through some remote mountains with no cell service and it was dumping snow. We felt a little better knowing if we got stuck, we could call and have someone come pull us out.
There are two basic types of satellite phones: Inmarsat and Iridium. Both work via satellites; the Inmarsat uses the Geosynchronous (GEO) network of satellites, while Iridium uses a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) network. Inmarsat works up to roughly the 60th parallel, while the Iridium covers 100% of the globe. Inmarsat struggles a little more if you are in a really narrow rock canyon or at the base of a mountain. Generally speaking, the Inmarsat is more affordable and works fine for most adventurers.
Most sat phones are sold with a solar panel charger so you don’t have to worry about charging the phone or keeping it charged. They aren’t cheap though; the average is around $1000, and the calling plans vary. Most have you buy a block of minutes for the year, and “if you don’t use them, you lose them”. While the price tag can be a little intimidating, if journeying to the far-reaches of the globe, a satellite phone can help you stay in touch with loved ones or call for emergency services should you need them, in locations where normal cell coverage is non-existent.