- Carry a basic first-aid kit stocked with bandages, pain reliever, antibiotic ointment, and insect bite ointment. This way, you can avoid the doctor’s office or an emergency trip to the pharmacy for common mishaps.
- Make a list of emergency contacts, including health insurance information, guardians, and the child’s doctor’s contact information can help in an emergency if you are unable to provide that information. Keep the list in your wallet or mobile device labeled ‘In case of emergency’.
- Have each child wear identification with their name, your name, cell number, where you are staying, emergency contacts, and other pertinent details like allergies. This can be typed up and put in their shoe or pocket or worn as a bracelet. This way, if you and your child are separated, the authorities can reunite you more easily.
- Check to be sure your child’s immunizations are up to date. Several recent incidents of children picking up whooping cough while traveling have made parents nervous. Your child’s doctor can provide information about necessary immunizations depending on your destination.
- Talk with your children about what getting lost means and what they should do in the event they are separated from you. Teaching your child to find another mother and ask for help is proven your best bet. Teach your child to remain still and wait for you to find them. This way they don’t race around looking for you, which can separate you even further.
- Take a photo of each child each day so you have a current picture and you know what they were wearing that day. This is so much easier these days with your cell phone camera.
Top 5 places where germs hide in wait
What are the germiest things you can touch when you step outside your door?
- Airplane lavatories. Microbes found on the surfaces from faucets to doorknobs have been found to be contaminated with E. coli. Recent studies found you’re 100 times more likely to catch a cold if you’re airborne, so protect yourself by wiping surfaces down before you touch them.
- Restroom door handles. After you wash your hands, take an extra paper towel and use it to open the door, then ball it up and toss it from the doorway (excellent chance to improve your jump shot). Sure, others may think you’re a germ-a-phobe, but who cares?
- Restaurant menus. A recent study reported that cold and flu viruses can life up to 18 hours on hard surfaces. A menu in a popular restaurant can touch hundreds of people in a day. Never let the menu touch your plate or silverware and wash your hands after you place your order.
- Grocery cart handles. In 2007, the University of Arizona conducted a study and found that over two thirds of grocery cart handles are contaminated with fecal bacteria. Use the antibacterial wipes provided at most grocery stores or carry your own (especially if you have a little one who will ride in the seat and hold that handle).
- Lemon wedges. This one surprised us too, but when researchers for the Journal of Environmental Health were sent to order drinks at 21 different restaurants, they found 25 different microorganisms lingering in the fruit, including E.coili and other fecal bacteria. Order your drinks without the fruit.
10 things every world traveler should know by now, circa 2011
Just a gentle reminder – 10 things every world travelers should know:
- Dress appropriately. If the locals aren’t in swimsuits at the bar, then you shouldn’t be either. Keep your shirt on when you’re not on a beach or by the swimming pool. The locals appreciate and may even expect it.
- Don’t look like a tourist. You’ll be taken more seriously and you’ll melt into the crowd. Remember how frustrated you get when you encounter tourists in your home town? Make an effort to blend in.
- Don’t act like a tourist either. Every country has had it’s share of drunken, loud-mouth, and rude tourists. You’re in another state or another country – be considerate and remember that a smile goes a long way.
- Follow healthy eating and drinking protocols. You know these rules, especially in third world countries – boil it, peel it, cook it, or step away from it.
- Getting lost isn’t the worst thing that can happen. In fact, it’s often the quickest way to a load of local fun, so go with it. You don’t have to see everything, but you really should enjoy the heck out of your travel experience.
- Learn how to pack like a professional. You are not always going to land somewhere that has on duty bellhops to cater to your every whim. If you can’t carry it yourself, don’t pack it. Besides, aren’t you sick of paying the airline baggage fees yet?
- Pay attention to immunization requirements, travel warnings, and health alerts. Have a little stroll through our Tips and Advice for planning advice, health advice, and security concerns while traveling.
- Learn how to use chopsticks. You’d be surprised how many folks are impressed when you display any skill with these unique eating utensils. Of course, those same people will look on with pity if you ask for cutlery.
- Learn a little of the local language and lingo. It’s a great ice-breaker and always appreciate even if it’s done badly, but with good intent. There are a number of mobile apps that can help with translations and reliable travel books will have a useful list.
- Get a little travel insurance, please? Well, you’ve heard a number of horror stories and you are simply mad to risk your financial security, your health, or your luck.
Let 2011 be the safest summer for boating
Here are some more statistics from the Coast Guard’s 2010 Recreational Boating Statistics report:
- Alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in fatal boating accident and the leading factor in 19% of boating deaths.
- 8 out of every 10 boaters who drowned were using boats less than 21 feet in length.
- 21 children under age 13 lost their lives while boating in 2010 – 42% dies from drowning.
- The most common types of vessels involved in accidents were open motorboats (46%), personal watercraft (20%), and cabin motorboats (14%).
So, to make sure we all have a safe boating season, let’s take a moment to reflect on some common and necessary boat safety precautions from the Boating Safety Resource Center:
- Have a cell phone and/or a marine VHF radio and know how to use it. The cell phone is the easiest – if you have a signal – but a marine radio can be used to communicate with rescue services and local officials. The frequency range is 156 to 174 MHz. The Coast Guard monitors Channel 16 at 156.8 MHz and it’s reserved for emergencies.
- Insist on life jackets for every person in the boat and ensure that each is properly sized for the wearer (no adult-sized life jacket will help a squirming two year old). Note this fact: three fourths of the fatal boating accidents drown and 88 percent of those were reported as not waring a life jackets. Life jackets are the equivalent of your vehicle’s safety belt, and you wouldn’t drive without everyone safely buckled up, would you?
- Never operate a boat while drinking. The effect of the boat’s movement, excess sun and wind, can further impair your ability to safely operate a boat while drinking. It’s as serious as driving while under the influence (DUI) and has a similar moniker – BUI, or boating while under the influence. The consequences of BUI are similarly severe and may include sever fines along with loss of license.
What is a ‘ticket protector’ plan and who offers them?
One example of this type of plan is Flight Guard from Travel Guard, which offers flight accident AD&D of $100,000 – $500,000.
That being said, many travel insurance providers throw in a number of other benefits which can make a flight or ticket protection plan look a lot like a post-departure travel insurance plan.
Some of the reasons why fight protector plans are popular include:
- Premiums are cheap, like life insurance is for many people
- Your beneficiaries receive the benefit as tax-free money
- You can get this insurance right up until the day your flight leaves
- You can’t be turned down for your health or your age
Here is a quick benefit listing for one flight protection plan that includes some extra benefits with the expected term life and AD&D – the Flight Insure Plus plan from Travelex:
You’ve probably seen the airport kiosks selling similar flight risk plans and touting peace of mind as you travel and peace of mind if you’re gone. We hope you’ll avoid those situations and work with one of the travel insurance providers we review here. At least you’ll know what you’re getting that way.
Are we Sick of the Staycation Yet?
The recession and the bad economy have generated a new word – staycation – and if you’re like most Americans, you’ve spent the last few summers staying home using up your vacation time and keeping costs under control.
This summer, as the price for a gallon of gas continues to be high (hovering around $4 in most parts of the country), Americans are finally deciding to take a summer vacation. After all, a ‘staycation’ isn’t really a vacation after all. That being said, most families are still facing restricted budgets and a new appreciation for getting and remaining debt-free, so everyone is hunting for bargains.
The all-time favorite – the summer roadtrip
Some Americans are turning again to that all-American of summertime trips – the family road trip. In The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Best Family Destinations (available in paperback), the author, Kyle McCarthy of the FamilyTravelForum.com outlines the top 200 destinations for family travelers in five U.S. regions, Canada, and Mexico – all driving destinations. You can read a full review here.
Budget Travel recently published the Secret Beaches of North America – nine spots from coast to coast where couples and families can have the sand and the sea nearly to themselves.
How travel insurance helps in a crisis
Of course, when you’re considering a trip like a road trip, remember that travel insurance isn’t just for long, expensive trips abroad or cruises. Travel insurance plans provide protection for all kinds of trips – even road trips- and the cancellation, delay, medical and evacuation protections still apply.
Plus, if you choose to rent a car for your summer road trip, consider insuring that car with car rental collision coverage so that your own automobile coverage isn’t affected. Travel insurance can also include benefits such as roadside assistance services that you may not need on a regular basis, but will find super-handy if you’re stuck outside Yellowstone National Park with a flat tire and van full of hungry kids.
Lost Baggage ‘fun’ Facts
Last year, more than 29 million pieces of luggage were delayed, damaged, or lost at the world’s airports. The 2011 Air Transport Industry (ATI) Baggage Report found an average of 80,657 pieces of luggage were globally mishandled in 2010 – an 18 percent increase over 2009 numbers.
Some of the mishandling in 2010 may well be due to the travel problems that resulted from a number of natural disasters, including the eruption of an Icelandic volcano and the resulting ash clouds that grounded planes and stranded many travelers. Unfortunately, some of the mishandling is simply endemic to the travel industry.
In fact, we tracked down a few interesting facts about lost luggage:
- 51% of mishandled luggage is due to transfers – that’s when you change plans in Atlanta, but your bags continue on or get on the wrong plane
- 14% of mishandled luggage simply fails to get loaded – that’s when you get on the plane, but your bag stays tucked in a corner in the baggage handling area
- 1.2 bags are mishandled for every 100 travelers
Where does lost luggage go?
The Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama is considered one of that state’s largest tourist attractions. This is where unclaimed luggage and the items inside are auctioned off. Their website offers a peek inside the bag to know what real people purchased and how much they paid for unclaimed items. According to the staff at the Unclaimed Baggage Center, some of the more unusual items they have found include: a live rattlesnake, Egyptian artifacts, and a full set of armor (wonder if the owner had to pay overweight fees for that bag?).
What can travelers do?
It’s important for travelers to understand that the airlines provide only limited compensation for delayed baggage and they can take as many days as they like to locate your bag. When you need the items in your bag for a meeting, a special event, or simply enjoy your vacation, the airline compensation is not likely to be helpful.
This is where baggage delay coverage with your travel insurance plan comes in handy.
Planning to run with the bulls? Jump off cliffs? Check your coverage
The running of the bulls, cliff diving, and other risky, albeit classic, adventures travelers can participate in around the world prompted us to review some travel insurance policies to discover what might be covered and what definitely isn’t.
The running of the bulls isn’t an unlawful or illegal act, which are exclusions in all travel insurance policies, so that didn’t exclude resulting injuries from coverage. Intoxication is absolutely excluded, so if the insured is intoxicated, then resulting injuries would not be covered.
This year’s running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain resulted in several injuries – one Australian runner was gored in the leg – and as far as an insurance definition, that falls under ‘bodily injury’. In reviewing several policies to discover whether this type of injury would be covered or not, we found these definitions:
In the Worldwide Trip Protector Gold plan from Travel Insured:
“Bodily Injury” means identifiable physical injury which: (a) is caused by an Accident, and (b) solely and independently of any other cause, … â€
Under the general exclusions in the Travel Guard Gold plan, we found:
“This plan does not cover any loss caused by or resulting from: (a) intentionally self-inflicted Injury …â€
In short, risky behaviors that the insured intentionally participates in are not likely to be covered expenses, which makes sense when you think about it. A homeowner’s insurance plan doesn’t provide payout when a person intentionally sets their house on fire, so why would a travel insurance company be expected to cover a person who intentionally participates in activities that are known to be dangerous?