Solo Mom Travel Tips

Passports

Do you have a valid passport for you and your children now? Most people don’t realize that the expiration date on the passports must be at least 6 months beyond the last date of your travel in the destination country. Check the passport expiration and trip start and end dates of your travel.  Do you need to renew?  Renewals are usually pretty quick, ours took about 2 weeks from the date of submission at the post office and it arrived to us by mail. Remember minor’s passports must be applied for and renewed in person. Follow the directions at the US Department of State website, for children under 16, it will tell you all the forms and documents you need to bring with you and costs too.

Health

Research all immunization requirements for the country you’ll be visiting. If you prepare for health risks with information and action, you’ll have the best chance or remaining healthy and you’ll also feel confident about how best to deal with any illness abroad. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continuously updates worldwide health and travel recommendations. It’s a good idea to discuss health related travel recommendations with your care provider and schedule any necessary immunizations at the appropriate times.

Insurance

The earlier you review your travel coverage and feel secure about your insurance coverage abroad, the sooner you can relax and enjoy the anticipation of your trip, as opposed to worrying about what might happen. Check your current health insurance and plan and find out where it covers you. There is Travel Insurance (E.g., lost bags or trip cancellation) and then there is Travel Health Insurance (E.g., needing to see a doctor while traveling or emergency medical care in your home country), some insurances are packaged together in one plan. These days it’s also common for some credit cards to include Travel Insurance, so check your credit card details. I’m listing below (not endorsing) several commonly used travel insurance providers; many companies provide quick, free quotes available from their websites. To determine what you might need to budget for your insurance, compare providers today by entering your trip dates and traveling information. IMG Global, World Nomads, HTH, American Express, Geo Blue

Group Travel

Traveling in a group tour or meeting friends who know the area are great ideas for moms new to international travel. Here are three reasons group travel was a great fit for me and my kiddo: 1) I have so many things to think of, and there are many unknowns in a new location, that having people around or friends to meet at our destination keeps me sane and feeling like I am challenging myself without overstretching. 2) Having built-in friends and community in a new location is a godsend–it becomes a lovely ritual of reunion (and connecting with others in my native language), coupled with new sights and experiences – truly the best of all worlds. 3) Meeting and/or making friends on a trip means that my kid has other people besides me to connect with. I love Uno and I Spy as much as the next person, but it’s great to get a break sometimes too!

Staying Connected

My cell phone. It’s still surprises me how much I rely on it whenever I travel. I use it for everything from communicating with family and friends back home to language translation, currency conversion, and booking our next hotel. I know it’s possible to do it without, but these days I would not want to. While WI-FI access is increasing around the world its not everywhere or with the same speed and consistency that I’ve grown to depend on in the US. Before leaving you’ll want to make sure to check your cell phone company’s international use plan (data/calls and texting) or consider getting a local SIM card when you arrive in the new country and swap it with your US one during the travels. SIM cards can often be found in the airport when you arrive or in your destination’s central tourism area.

Important Documents

Share important travel documents with someone you trust back home. I do this via Google docs but have also used Dropbox or emailed documents as well. It makes the documents easily accessible to me from anywhere in the world I can get online. It’s easy to snap a clear photo of your main passport pages and save them in case they are lost. Here are some documents to consider including in your secure folder or shared with a family member or friend: Passport ID page, travel itinerary, a local contact or tour company contact, airline flight information, driver’s license or second ID, credit cards (front and back) and travel authorization from non-traveling parent.

Backups

I like the idea of having a back up. I once left my only credit card in a machine at the airport on my way to the UK. I ended up spending a good deal of my holiday with friends waiting on the new card to arrive. As a solo traveling mom this is not something I can risk and I really never want to experience that crippling feeling again. These days I carry multiple credit cards in at least two different places. In my usual purse I have my local money, an ATM card (I can use anywhere) and two different credit cards (some places don’t take Mastercard or American Express). In a money belt I carry another ATM card, credit card and some US currency.

Travel Notice

I put travel notices on any ATM or credit cards I intend to use while traveling. Some banks will block their use if you use them outside your normal locale. Check the back of the card and call the eight hundred number or go through your online account as most travel notices can be posted there as well.

Information Ready

Help everyone feel more prepared by starting to learn about your upcoming destination. Start with books for the kids or some travel books/magazines. Learning about the new place will get their wheels turning and spur discussions about everything from what to pack to how other cultures live differently yet the same in their region.