Travel doesn’t need a reason to pack bags. It may be an urge to discover a beachy or hilly destination, a celebration of a new addition to the family, winning a hefty business contract, or catching up with distant relatives.

Going on a vacation is a natural feeling. But a safe and sound trip needs more attentiveness to escape any eventualities. Here are some precautionary steps to enjoy a hassle-free trip, particularly when you are with kids or the elderly.

1. Buy A Travel Insurance Policy

No matter how well-planned a vacation trip is, there is always the fear of an untoward incident while trekking the mountains or diving into a sea. A travel insurance policy gets you the financial coverage for such events. Moreover, the insurance final expense covers the bills that a family will face after the death of the insurer.

In a situation where you have to cut short the trip due to an illness or injury, your travel insurance service provider can refund you the money you spent.

2. Carry Essential Documentation

Travel comes with the baggage of documents like photo ID, visa, passport, tickets. Keeping them safe and secure is more challenging than reaching the destination. Use modern storage devices like pen drive, external storage devices, or else use digital locations like email, cloud storage for tamper-free document access.

Taking two printed copies of relevant documents like airline tickets, driver’s license, etc. is also a sensible approach. Carrying complete documentation with you makes you a wise traveler.

3. Buy Travel Calling Cards

Keeping a mobile phone is now as elementary as a wallet. Make sure each traveling family member has a smartphone to keep a tab of the cabs, landmarks and convenience zones in a foreign location.

Having international roaming on foreign visits can be expensive. Buy a local SIM card or a calling card found aplenty at an overseas gadget market.

4. Look For Safe Accommodation

Quality accommodation may be out of reach for budget travelers. But nothing can be more comforting than getting safe accommodation for yourself and your kids.

Take the help of modern ways to get good family accommodation for children and infant care and kid amenities. Check out hotel reviews before booking a room. Ask the hotel reception for safety measures they must take when you are out for exploration.

5. Take Along A Medical Kit

An adventure vacation can disturb your holiday fever with cuts and bruises as you climb the hills or venture into dense forests. A doctor may be many miles away from the spot where you picked up a wound.

This propels the need for carrying a medication kit for the safety of your family. The box should have essentials such as bandages, band-aids, pain killers, antiseptics. Customize your medication box to the destination you are traveling to for the best relief.

6. Keep Track Of Your Kids

Children have their ways of playing hide-and-seek. But their whereabouts can turn worrisome for the parents and caregivers. Use the power of technology to trace them. GPS Trackers and Wearables is a tracking mechanism that ensures the kids’ complete safety when they are at school or a leisure camp. Now you can take your child to busy theme parks and adventure destinations without the worry of losing them in the mad rush.

The GPS devices come in fancy colors, designs, protection capabilities, and gaming options so that your growing child can make the most of playtime and activity with location accuracy benefit.

7.   Do Weather & Health Alert Check

Before booking a trip for solo or for the family, do a thorough web scan of travel and wellbeing updates posted by the government and health advisories.

Look for travel warnings posted on the internet by the government at the time of public unrest, community clashes, terrorist attack, disease outbreak. Read the warnings and alerts published on broadcast media with a microscopic eye and practice the principle of “better safe than sorry”. Children are prone to airborne diseases so it is best to avoid taking them along if the place you are visiting is under a warning or alert level.

8. Maintain A Record Of Essential Emergency Numbers

An emergency situation can crop up when you are busy celebrating a vacation. For safety reasons, it is a must to carry a diary with you that has essential numbers of a nearby police station, hospital, embassy, or a consulate.

It is important to know about the locals in a vacation location. Talk to them and bond with them during your stay so that you can get timely help in case of an emergency.

9. Carry Cash Safely

While currency is a major part of your travel baggage and essentials, its safety is not fool-proof. Follow essential tips on monetary protection to keep your financial belongings safe. Carry fewer currency notes and safeguard your credit and debit cards in a hidden trouser pocket.

Wear a money pouch under your clothes to give your money extra security. Keep your travel handbag zipped at all times and close to your body.

10. Learn Self-Defense

Self-protection is a technique a traveler must know under all circumstances. There is no dire need to know martial arts or a black belt. Join self-defense classes to know street-effective techniques such as Israeli Krav Maga or Thai boxing.

Avoid a physical confrontation with a stranger at all costs. In case it fails, then attacks the stranger to escape. Try and neutralize a threat as much as possible. If the attacker in a vacation spot wants your mobile or cash, give it and run for life. Use your mental calculation to escape a dangerous attack. Keep your head alert and stay aware of your surroundings.

Extra Tips On Safety

Follow these instructions to enhance your safety and that of your family when vacationing:

  • Do not look worried or lost finding a place or thinking of something. Such signals can attract the wrong people and mishaps.
  • Walk with a purpose. It helps define your travel goals.
  • Tell your bank the place you are traveling to. Let your bank know about your upcoming travels through online banking services.
  • Use your debit card at the airport ATM when you arrive at the vacation destination. It will help your bank know of your travel status.
  • Keep emergency cash for worst-case scenarios in uncommon places such as a secret pocket sewn into pants or inside a hidden compartment of a hairbrush or belt pouch. Keep a backup credit card hidden as well.
  • Watch food preparation. It will help you know the number of spices and oil put in your favorite dish. Go in for fully-cooked food. Drink filtered water and ask for a filtered water bottle when on the move.
  • Pack a first-aid kit complete with bandages, ointments, antihistamine tablets, pain pills, a pair of scissors, rehydration salts, petroleum jelly etc.

Conclusion

Family trips can be best enjoyed when there is nothing to worry about. Risk factors are always there, but you can avoid them with efficient management and handy tips.

Make sure to follow safety standards before, during, and post-travel for a seamless voyage and a variety of experiences. Happy vacationing!