Planning A Safe Family Vacation
With winter behind us, many of us are now planning a family vacation. According to the U.S. Travel Association, the top leisure travel activities for U.S. domestic travelers are: (1) visiting relatives, (2) shopping, (3) visiting friends, (4) fine dining, and (5) visiting beaches. Ticket mishaps, delays, schedule changes, auto accidents, and more can cause your vacation to be ruined.
Vacation Pre-Planning
A little work in advance can help reduce the likelihood of bad things happening on your vacation. Here are some things to consider before you leave home:
- Make sure all your personal insurance is paid and up to date. Having your auto insurance lapse due to nonpayment would not be a good thing while you are driving to Disneyworld.
- Do not take all your credit cards with you. Take only the ones you will need.
- Create an itinerary of where you are planning to be and on what date. Give this to a neighbor or relative.
- Make copies of passports if traveling out of the country. Give a copy to a relative or friend.
- Never wear anything that projects affluence (i.e. gold chains, expensive watches, rings, luggage, or other paraphernalia). It is best to leave your expensive jewelry at home.
- Never put your home address on your luggage tags. Write your phone number instead.
- Wait until you get home to post your vacation pictures on social media. Facebook is a gold mine for burglars.
- Always lock your car, and never leave anything of value inside.
- Do not use wireless networks in cafes or coffee shops.
- Be aware of animals. In some foreign countries people will place a monkey on you and you have to pay to get it off!
- You will need special auto insurance if you plan to drive into Mexico.
- Separate your money so your spouse has a portion and you keep a portion.
- Do you really want your first motorcycle ride to be in Mexico? Do not rent equipment or vehicles with which you are not familiar.