For families planning an international trip, there are some serious things to consider before booking your tickets, especially when kids are involved.  While we love and encourage seeing as much of the world with your children, putting family safety first is always a must.

Before we’ve traveled abroad, I’ve even researched crime rates to ensure all of the cities we’re visiting are decent.

Here’s our list of considerations before booking international travel:

1.  Health Insurance.  Do you have it? Is it up to date?  Do you have the necessary paper work to take with you on the trip?  Make sure everyone in the family is covered.
2. Currency and exchange rate.  Always pick up some local currency before you leave and check the exchange rate. You’ll want to know what your money is worth when you’re on the road and you don’t want to arrive and be strapped for cash right away.
3. Immunizations.  Does the country your visiting require any specific shots?  Make sure your family is protected. In some cases, young children might not be able to get the required vaccinations (as was our case in planning a trip to Africa this past year) so you’ll want to know these things before you book your travel plans and end up losing money.
4. Plug and socket types.  Currently, there are 15 types of power outlets and sockets used around the world.  When planning a trip outside of your country, it’s important to double check socket type.  You’ll want to buy and pack some universal outlet adapters in order to charge your cameras, phones, beauty tools, bottle warmers, kids tech devices and so on. For a travelling family, one usually isn’t enough.
5. Copies of important documents.  Although this may seem like a ridiculous, overly-cautious tip, making copies of important documents (passport, ID, health insurance) before you leave could mean a world of a difference when abroad. If anything goes missing, it can take a while to get these documents from your home country in order to apply for replacements so making, bringing and keeping a copy in a safe place is something you should make routine for your family.
6. Register with your embassy.  Depending on where you’re travelling (some countries are safer than others), you’ll want to register your family.  If there’s a problem in the country (war, weather), it will be much easier for officials to find you and get you to safety.
7. Inform your credit card company.  Ensure they’re aware you’re traveling so you won’t encounter financial issues.
8. Check into a global phone plan option before you leave.  There’s nothing like getting home from a vacation only to see a $600 phone bill.  Many service providers have great travel plans to add to your phone so you can still keep in touch with your family while travelling.  We find that when travelling with our kids, we almost always use our phones.

We hope these aforementioned tips help you and your family prepare for your fun travels ahead.

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For detailed information on plugs and sockets check out the following:

Interpower

World Standards