International Travel

Keywords: checklists, international, travel

By Stacy DeBroff

Electronic hand held games saved us on the long cross-Atlantic flight. The most successful thing we did was to buy inexpensive cameras for our children to take pictures of whatever they wanted. Shouts of “quick, get me my camera” became the highlight of the trip. We also brought each child a journal to write a few notes in before dinner, and a sketch pad to draw whatever caught their imagination. We were amazed that once we got to Italy, the kids quickly picked up the essential words in Italian, and had much more intensified interest in the country and what they were seeing than they ever showed in all the advance reading we did with them before the trip. The cars were so different from what we were used to, the kids spent long hours being entertained driving in the car, choosing their favorites, and counting how many of those we could find. We avoided any early morning commitments to let the kids sleep in the mornings, especially given that the time zone change and how relatively late we were out in the evenings. When getting your kids’ passport at the post office, be sure to bring the original copies of their birth certificates. I didn’t realize that a copy would not suffice, and had to come back. Also be aware that they take the original from you, and mail it back to you with the issued passport. —Gabriela Romanow, mom of Jake, 8, and Max, 6

I traveled to Australia with a one- and four-year-old. For the long flight over, I bought dozens of little toys that I gift wrapped, and gave one out each half hour. When we got there I moved my kids immediately into the new time zone, saying, “Now it’s lunch time.” I found the return trip much tougher because the fun and excitement of the trip was over. —Anne Doyle, mom of Chris, 8, and Corey, 5

Be sure to check for any inoculations needed well in advance. I found out that the Hepatitis A vaccine is being recommended now for travel to lots of countries. When flying with infants under six months, request an infant cot that hooks onto the seat back in front of you. For kids under two, the extra room in the bulkhead can make all the difference in terms of floor space to play and use up excess energy. We created a trip book and collected every scrap of paper along the way from ticket stubs, postcards, to museum tickets. My husband helped my daughter write in her journal, and it proved great entertainment for the dull days of getting places. —Amy, mom of Sacha, 8, and Libby, 6

• Check with the country’s embassy or consulate for details and application materials.

• Check with your travel agent or airline for details about inoculations or immunizations needed.

• Schedule vaccinations with your pediatrician well in advance to ensure that your child does not experience side effects while traveling.

• Pack each family member’s immunization history if you are traveling somewhere out of the ordinary.

• You may want to wait to travel abroad until your child is at least eighteen months of age and has been immunized against major childhood diseases.

• If a member of your family does become ill or injured while abroad, contact the U.S. Embassy or consulate for help finding medical assistance, informing family and friends at home, and arranging payment for services.

• Bring a copy of your child’s birth certificate if your child’s last name differs from your own.

• Change some money ahead of time, so you do not have to search for a bank immediately or pay exorbitant rates at the airport.

PACKING FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

• Photocopy your passport and keep the copy with your luggage, along with a copy of your birth certificate, to make it easier to get a replacement if a passport is lost or stolen.

• Find out from a tourist office at your destination whether the baby formula you use is available where you’re headed. Otherwise you might need to pack your own for the entire length of your trip.

• When buying formula abroad, try to use the ready-mixed kind rather than using local water that may harbor bacteria your child is not used to.

• Pack your international driver’s license, international calling card, currency for the country where you’ll be landing, and traveler’s checks.

• Your ATM card or credit card with PIN will enable you to get money directly from banks or money machines abroad, avoid currency-changing hassles, and you often get a better exchange rate. Call the companies ahead of time to learn what fees and interest rates apply.

• If your child is a particularly picky eater and you are not sure whether you will always have access to familiar food you know he’ll eat, pack a few staples, like peanut butter, provided the food is something you are allowed to bring to another country.

• Pack spare batteries and plenty of film for your camera. Both could be difficult to find or much more expensive.

RESERVATIONS

• Most airlines offer bassinets for babies to sleep in during the flight. Ask about it when you reserve your flight.

• Ask about nonsmoking flights, as many airlines are smoke-free. If you book a flight that has a smoking section, make sure your seats are far away from it. It will do you no good to be in the last row of nonsmoking with the smoking section right behind you.

• Foreign car rentals are expensive. For much cheaper rates, reserve a standard shift and book your car with a multinational organization from the U.S. Check with your insurance company and the credit card company you use to reserve your rental for information on whether either card covers you for insurance purposes.

• If you rent a car, ask whether you can reserve a car seat or if you need to bring your own. Apply for an international driver’s permit if it’s required by the country to which you will be traveling.

• Train travel is often the cheapest and best way to go in some countries. Research family discounts and passes before you leave for vacation.

FLIGHTS

• Reconfirm your flight the day prior to departure.

• Check in at least two hours in advance.

• If you are traveling with a bottle-fed baby or toddler, find out whether you can bring milk products into the country you are visiting. The same holds true for fresh fruit snacks, which may be confiscated by customs officials.

LOGISTICS

• Your child needs a passport too, although some countries allow you to add your child to your own passport. You are better off having individual passports for each family member in case illness or emergency separates you.

• Some countries require a single parent traveling alone with a child to have written, notarized authorization from the other parent, regardless of who has custody.

• Give yourself at least ninety days to apply for a passport through the post office. Be sure to include your anticipated travel date so officials know your deadline. It usually takes between one and three months to issue a passport. There are more expensive ways to obtain a passport faster at a federal Passport Agency.

• Some countries insist that your passport be good for a minimum of six months after you enter the country.

• Some countries require a visa. Inquire with your airline or travel agent about whether you need to obtain one for each member of your family. A child traveling on his own passport must have his own visa. You need a passport prior to applying for a visa, so if you need a visa for the country your family is traveling to, make sure to apply for your passport early.

• Check for details about inoculations or immunizations needed.

• Schedule vaccinations with your pediatrician well in advance to ensure that your child does not experience side effects while traveling.

• You may want to wait to travel abroad until your child is at least eighteen months of age and has been immunized against major childhood diseases.

• Bring a copy of your child’s birth certificate if your child’s last name differs from your own.

• Photocopy your passport and keep the copy with your luggage, along with a copy of your birth certificate, to make it easier to get a replacement if a passport is lost or stolen.

• Find out from a tourist office at your destination whether the baby formula you use is available where you’re headed. Otherwise you might need to pack your own for the entire length of your trip. When buying formula abroad, try to use the ready-mixed kind rather than using local water that may harbor bacteria your child is not used to.

• If you are traveling with a bottle-fed baby or toddler, find out whether you can bring milk products into the country you are visiting. The same holds true for fresh fruit snacks, which may be confiscated by customs officials.

• If your child is a particularly picky eater and you are not sure whether you will always have access to familiar food you know he’ll eat, pack a few staples, like peanut butter, provided the food is something you are allowed to bring to another country.

Stacy, heralded as a “parenting guru” by the Wall Street Journal, authored four best-selling parenting books (Simon & Schuster) and launched Mom Central, Inc. (www.MomCentral.com), a company devoted to providing savvy advice to simplify and enrich the lives of busy Moms and their families. Stacy appears as a regular parenting expert on national TV show, including NBC’s Today Show, CNN, The View, Tyra Banks Show, CBS’ Early Show, The Daily Buzz, Mike And Juliet, Fox & Friends, and the Rachael Ray Show. Stacy also serves as a corporate spokesperson, trendspotting for the media on behalf of over 30 national brands.

In the 1990’s, Stacy founded and ran as an attorney the Public Interest Office at Harvard Law School. Stacy lives with her husband, Ron, and happily engages in imperfect parenting of their two teens, Kyle and Brooks, in Boston, Massachusetts.