Traveling with children, parents, or siblings—or the whole crew—is one of life’s great joys. For a week or two, everyone hits pause on normal life and refocuses on being together. A well-planned trip leaves you refreshed, renewed, and reconnected. We have a few tips to help make your next family trip a success.

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Does travel insurance cover family members?

A travel insurance plan is designed to protect just the insured travelers—that is, the people who are named in the plan documents. However, your plan may be able to address certain situations involving a family member who’s not an insured traveler.

• Some plans can help if something happens to a family member who is traveling with you. For example, if your traveling companion has to cancel the trip for illness or another a covered reason, your trip cancellation benefits can reimburse your lost, nonrefundable trip costs.
• Some plans can also help if something happens to a family member who’s not traveling with you. For example, if a family member back home is hospitalized for a serious illness, injury, or medical condition, your trip interruption benefits can reimburse you (up to your plan’s limits) for your last-minute flight home. Your plan could also reimburse you for the nonrefundable, prepaid trip expenses you lose by cutting your trip short.

To protect your entire family on a trip, you’ll need to buy a family travel insurance plan. We recommend OneTrip Prime Plan or OneTrip Premier Plan. Both of these plans can cover children 17 and under for free when they’re traveling with a parent or grandparent (one child per insured adult; not available on policies issued to Pennsylvania residents).

Traveling with more than one child per parent or grandparent? You can purchase a separate plan for that child.

Or, if you’re planning two or more family trips, consider AllTrips Premier. This plan can cover your entire household for all the trips you take within a 365-day span.

Make sure you always read your plan documents carefully, so you understand what’s covered and what’s excluded.

Read more: How Travel Insurance Covers Family Members

How does travel insurance protect family vacations?

Whether you’re renting a beach house with your sisters for a week or going on a cruise with all your kids and grandkids, travel insurance is a must. But it’s important to understand what your travel insurance plan actually does. Look for a plan that protects:

• Your trip costs: Maybe you’re splitting the cost of a vacation rental. Maybe you’re generously covering the cost of the entire trip. Either way, travel insurance can reimburse your pre-paid, nonrefundable trip costs if you have to cancel the trip (or cut it short) for a covered reason.
• Your well-being: On an international family vacation, travel insurance with emergency medical benefits can save the day when someone gets sick or injured. U.S. health insurance isn’t typically accepted overseas (or on cruise ships). Without travel insurance, you may have to pay thousands of dollars up front for emergency care.
• Your peace of mind: Travel insurance relieves the stress of traveling with family by protecting you against a lot of what-ifs. What if the airline loses your stroller? What if your flight home is delayed until tomorrow? What if you forget an essential prescription? With trip delay benefits, baggage benefits, and 24-hour assistance, you don’t have to solve all these problems on your own.

Read more: 7 Reasons You Need Family Travel Insurance

Should you buy annual travel insurance for your family?

If you’re taking two or more family vacations in a year, an annual travel insurance plan can be a great choice to protect everyone. The AllTrips Premier plan can cover your entire household on all the trips you take within a 365-day span. That includes U.S. and international trips, road trips (100+ miles away from home), cruises, vacation rentals, etc.

AllTrips Premier lets you choose how much trip cancellation/interruption coverage you need: $2,000, $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 per policy, per year. It also includes protection for covered medical emergencies and emergency transportation; lost, stolen, damaged or delayed baggage; travel delays; travel accident coverage; concierge and 24-hour assistance services; and rental car damage and theft coverage (available to residents of most states.)

Read more: Why Annual Travel Insurance Is a Must-Have for Families

What is the best age to take a baby abroad?

Even a one-hour flight with a crying, cranky baby can be an ordeal. Flying overseas with an infant might sound impossible—but it might not be as bad as you think. If possible, plan your trip for when your little one is between six and nine months old. Pediatricians recommend waiting to fly until your baby is at least three months old, after they’ve had one round of vaccinations and their immune system is getting stronger.¹ And experienced parents will tell you that once your baby starts walking, they become much more difficult to wrangle on a flight.

Read more: 9 Tips For International Travel with an Infant

What should you pack when flying with a baby?

The most important things to bring (besides diapers) are documents. A passport is required if you're flying overseas with an infant. And if you’re traveling solo with your baby—or with your grandchild, or a baby that is not biologically yours—you’ll want to bring proof of the child’s identity, such as a birth certificate, and written consent from the child’s biological parent(s). For international travel, check your destination’s requirements and the U.S. Department of State’s guidelines for travel with minors.

Wondering what else you may need in your carryon? Use our baby packing checklist to make sure you don’t forget anything.

Read more: Packing Checklist for Flying With an Infant

What should you pack when traveling with a toddler?

They scream. They squirm. They run away. Taking a toddler on a long trip is no picnic—but having the right gear makes it so much easier. Use this toddler packing checklist to make sure you have all the essentials to keep your child clean, comfortable, well-fed, healthy, and entertained.

A few of our favorite tips for traveling with a toddler: Pack an inflatable bathtub when staying somewhere (like a cruise ship) that only has a shower. Travel-sized packets of laundry detergent are always good to have. And a nightlight can help your little one settle down to sleep in an unfamiliar place.

Read more: Packing Checklist for Traveling With Toddlers

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