New This Month
 FamilyTripster.com's Tipster List
Last Updated: March 2008
by Lisa Bergren


General Tips

• Don’t try and pack too much into a day when you’re doing a tour—you get brain-maxed and stressed, and the kids reach max in half the time you do. Remember, this is a vacation! We’ve learned the hard way to resist the urge to see too much in too little time. The kids hated it when we were rushing them from one site to the next.
    • When you’re moving from one city to the next or from region to region, don’t try to squeeze in another tour that same day. Just moving will be enough trauma, and if you have enough time to relax, you can find interesting things to do/see in the time you have.

• STROLLERS: If you’re traveling with a child 5 and under, invest in a jog stroller (we like the Baby Jogger City stroller with three small wheels—get one with a rotating front wheel, that collapses—you'll need to carry it up stairs, etc.). The two strollers in our Tripstore are great in that they handle heavier children and are easy to tote and pack up.

A jog stroller is important because you might be going over rough concrete, gravel, cobblestones—and this vehicle will get you and your child through. We say 5 and under because even five-year-olds get tired and grumpy after walking for a mile or two, and you walk a lot in a lot of cities. It might get you faster access through airport security checks (gatecheck so you can let them ride through big airports—then you’re not worried about losing child in a crowd, or have to carry a 40 pound sleeping child). It also allows them a space to fall asleep if you’re having dinner at 9pm and they’re wiped.
Passports
• Hotels often ask for passports upon your arrival, and might keep them until the end of your stay. Make sure they’re kept in a lock box.
• Take a copy of the info page of your passports and leave the copies with a friend at home. Copy down pertinent #s (without names attached, just initials), so you take to the embassy, should you lose your passport, and keep with your hotel and car rental documentation. It’s also a good idea to take extra passport photos with you, in case you need to replace.
• Visas must be requested and received before you leave. Check out http://travel.state.gov to see if the country/countries you are visiting require a special Visa



Are Passport Cards the Way to Go?

The US government has just issued its first US passport cards, an alternative to the more expensive, full traditional passports and good for land/sea travel to/from the Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean. They have microchip data in them, which allows Customs to read them from twenty feet away, and helps expedite your crossing. They’re of additional interest to FamilyTripsters because they’re cheaper--$35 vs. $85 for a traditional passport—for children under 16. If you’re not planning to take your kids anywhere beyond those places listed above (plus Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) in the next five years, and you don’t plan to fly outside the U.S., it probably makes sense to go with the cards. The downside? No cool passport stamps.
[For more info, see travel.state.gov]
Money
• Call your bank/credit card companies and tell them you’ll be traveling out of the country. Credit card companies have frozen accounts when undocumented transactions take place. It can take 48-72 hours to get them to release the hold!
• Pay the cards off before you leave and double check on limits
• Take two or three different credit cards/debit cards and carry different ones from others in your group.
• Be aware that you will encounter many occasions where you cannot use a Mastercard, Visa or American Express (even at gas stations!). Always carry enough of the local currency to cover you for a day or two. You can get your first round of cash at the foreign currency counter at your local international airport.
• Banks/ATMs in the country you are visiting often provide the best exchange rate/lowest fee. Try and take out local currency during normal business hours/daylight.
• Carry your cash/credit cards in a secure bag on your person and have back-up. Remember, you want to travel with the thought that you could be pick-pocketed at any moment—if that happens, will you be okay? Consider a money belt or neck wallet worn under your shirt. You don’t want a loss to ruin your whole vacation.
• Ask a parent or friend if they’d be willing to wire you money in case something really goes wrong. If necessary, give them a check for $500 in case they need to deposit it when they wire money to cover the transaction.



Have a General Tip you’d care to share? Please email it to Tips@FamilyTripster.com and put “General Tip” in subject line. Thanks!