travel tip - Pitstops for Kids

Travel tip: Fighting germs on vacation

August 10, 2020 By Amy Hagstrom

I don’t like to think too much about it, but there are a lot of icky germs out there, friends. Sure, there are a lot of benign ones, too, and I don’t obsess over it, but none of us want to get sick when traveling. This is why I up my germ-fighting game substantially when we’re on the go.

Fighting germs on vacation:

At home, I have my tried-and-true Mrs. Meyers house cleaning supplies and everyone has soap in their bathrooms. When we travel, I always have a small bottle of hand sanitizer and some wet wipes, but to be honest, that’s about it. I put more energy into cold-fighting products like the ones in this post on natural remedies to pack on your next trip.

However, I want to do better in the prevention-department. On Squix.com, parents can find just about every sanitizing and germ-fighting product you could need, all in one place. It’s like Amazon for sanitizer. Squix has a subscription box, which will introduce you to a sampling of products every month, but even more useful (I think): it has a full marketplace. Their travel kit is only $24, and includes an antimicrobial pouch to carry it all in. In fact, the pouch is large enough that I can fit my first aid supplies in there too.

Here’s what you get in the travel kit:

– Wet Ones Travel Pack
– SQUIX Hand Sanitizer
– Lysol To Go Disinfecting Spray
– Wireless Wipes (12 count)
– Travel Size Mouthwash
– Apera Fit Pocket Arctic Blue
– Mouth Watchers Travel Toothbrush

As you can see, Squix is procuring the best brands for the kit, not re-inventing the wheel. Could you put this all together yourself for less? I did a little research, and my answer is…maybe. Certainly you could buy the wipes, spray, and sanitizer for less, but the wireless wipes are a bit hard to find, and the true value is in the Apera pocket (pouch). Of course, you also get the convenience of not having to shop for it all yourself.

We tried out the whole system on our spring break road trip, using the tooth products separately as needed. Even though my kids are teens, we still went through all the wet wipes. I added my first aid stuff to the pouch, and when everyone piled in and out of the car, they paused to use the sanitizer or wipes. It worked quite well.

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Safe travel tip: How to use the Allianz TravelSmart app

July 13, 2018 By Amy Hagstrom

If you’ve traveled a fair amount, you know that sometimes, things go sideways. Usually, these things are small things: maybe you need to pick up a prescription from a pharmacy and need directions, or maybe your flight got delayed, leaving you rescheduling your airport transfer. These problems are always pesky–who to call? Where to go? Sometimes, of course, the problems are bigger and more consuming: you need serious medical care or you have to deal with a theft.

Murphy’s Law dictates that you’ll never have to deal with any of the above (yeah right!) if you think ahead and buy travel insurance, which is why we always travel with our travel insurance annual plan. Here’s why, if you’re wondering whether travel insurance is right for you.

As we’ve stated in the past, we use Allianz Travel for our personal family travel and highly recommend them, but, even if you opt to use a different insurer, you can now use Allianz’ TravelSmart app to help you navigate any rocky moments on your next trip. The TravelSmart app is FREE for anyone to download, and helps you organize a lot of necessary emergency information and tools in one place.

Note:

Allianz has recently upgraded their annual policies in light of the recent pandemic. Their newly filed policies now include permanent accommodations for epidemics, not only the current COVID-19 but others that may form in the years ahead. This benefit is now offered beyond single trip products and I am sure it will help many travelers.

Learn more about the Epidemic Endorsement Product (EEP) benefits here:

Here’s what the TravelSmart app can do, in a nutshell:

Provide emergency numbers: Once you’ve enabled location services on the app, it can provide access to local emergency numbers for the police, medical care, and fire with one-touch calling. We always recommend storing numbers for the US embassy in your phone for each country you visit, but this app goes a step further, because honestly, how likely are you to write down ALL of these emergency services numbers?

Access a map to emergency services: The TravelSmart app will bring up a map for you of nearby services, like hospitals and pharmacies. Right on your screen, you can find addresses and phone numbers.

Translate: Once, I spent a good five minutes in a Peruvian pharmacy trying to pantomime high altitude sickness. If I’d had the TravelSmart app, I could have turned on the emergency translator and had the right medical jargon at my fingertips. There’s also a medical dictionary, and the ability to convert dosages and measurements in various systems.

Track flights: You can track your flights, any delays, and departure times from the app, once you’ve input your flight information. If you’re an Allianz customer, you’ll want your flight numbers in there anyway, just in case you need to file a claim (fingers crossed you won’t!).

Tip: If you’re already an Allianz Travel customer, you can also track any claims in the app, and pull up your current plan and coverage at any time.

There’s much that families can do to avoid most travel difficulties: map things out ahead of time, get to know the neighborhoods and culture you’ll be experiencing, and keep track of your important documents, phone numbers and WiFi options. A little planning goes a long way! But we all know the unexpected can happen, and when it does, I guarantee you’ll be glad you took a few extra minutes to download this travel app and have it set up to help lend a hand. I’d call this one of the most practical travel apps out there–with a veritable Swiss army knife of features–whether we used Allianz or not.

Download TravelSmart on the Apple AppStore or Google Play Store.

Disclosure: This post was written in partnership with Allianz Travel, in order to make our readers aware of this free service. All opinions remain my own.

Apple Watch travel tips

March 1, 2017 By Amy Hagstrom

I bought my Apple Watch for heath and GPS exercise tracking. I regarded its travel uses with skepticism. After all, I have a phone, which already accompanies me on trips, and saw no need to carry two devices for the same purpose. However, after using the Apple Watch for a few months, I’ve found it to be an extremely useful travel tool. It’s not great for everything, but it’s helpful enough that I no longer travel without it. Ready for some Apple Watch travel tips?

Apple Watch travel tips:

For me, the prime benefit of traveling with my Apple Watch Series 2 is the ability to keep my hands free and my phone stashed away. Using the apps on my watch means I can keep my backpack or tote bag closed, my eyes up, and my distractions to a minimum. Here are the uses I’ve found for my watch on travel days:

Boarding passes in Passbook:

When I check into my flight online, I use the appropriate airline app on my phone. Then I save my mobile boarding pass to Passbook. When I open Passbook on my watch, my boarding pass is right there. I can scan it at the gate and at security and never have to dig my phone out of my bag. I also keep the airline apps I use on my watch, because they will alert me of any changes to my flight right on my wrist.

Note: the TripIt app is now available for Apple Watch too, and I find it very helpful to get their alerts.

Directions on my wrist:

I have no sense of direction, so when I travel, I rely heavily on my Maps app. When I use Maps with my phone, I’m distracted, looking down at my screen while I walk unfamiliar streets, or worse, glancing too often at my phone while driving in unfamiliar cities. When I set up mapping directions on my phone before I depart, they sync to my watch, which gives me point-by-point directions as I go. I wasn’t sure if I’d like haptic touch (where the watch buzzes and vibrates to indicate which way to go), but I find I love it. I can drive and be confident about when to turn without taking my eyes off the road.

News bites in real time:

I have the CNN and New York Times apps on my watch, and appreciate how I can stay up-to-date on news as I travel. Yes, I could see updates on my phone, but how often, on a busy day, do I actually take the time to open a news app and read? With CNN and NYT on my wrist, short, one-line news bites are delivered to me, helping me be more aware as I travel.

Note: there are many other great news sources; for my watch, I chose CNN and NYT because their app headlines are particularly succinct and digestible…good for the small screen of my watch.

Apple pay on the go:

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve approached the register at an airport newsstand store or dining venue and had to dig around in my bag for my wallet or phone to pay. It’s time consuming, and can be unsafe to open everything up…important things could easily fall out of my bag. I use Apple Pay on my watch, and I’d say it works easily 70% of the time. The other 30%, it’s a big pain in the butt because it doesn’t work for some reason and I have to dig my wallet out after all. So there are negatives to using Apple Pay, but still worth trying.

GPS tracking for safety:

Some people don’t like to track their GPS, and I get that, but when I’m in a new city, I still like to run outdoors when it’s possible. I appreciate the fact that with just my watch, I can track my route, so I can easily find my hotel again. Also, in the case of anything going wrong, my route is tracked on my phone (which is back at the hotel room), so my family can more easily find me. It’s just a precaution, but one I appreciate.

A few of my favorite Apple Watch apps (not mentioned above):

TripIt: great to plan travel and get live updates on your travel plans
Timer: fun to time waits in line (so you can prove to kids that they haven’t been ‘waiting forever!’)
Breathe: a nice relaxation tool on travel days
Uber: I’ve found it to be pretty seamless as long as your account is up-to-date on your phone
1Password: for when I’ve forgotten a password that I need to enter on my phone and my computer isn’t handy
Music: I pair with bluetooth headphones and listen to music on the go

What I never use Apple Watch for:

Email: heck no! Way too small a screen
Photos/video: though I know people who like the remote camera app
Banking/Paypal: no real reason other than the small screen
Social media: I like to see Instagram, Facebook and more on a bigger screen

Do you have an Apple Watch? Do you use it for travel?

Long haul flight tips: Keeping kids entertained

April 20, 2011 By Amy Hagstrom

This guest post written by freelance writer Ross Fraser.

Traveling with children on a flight particularly if it’s a long-haul flight, can be somewhat tiresome especially if the child or children you are taking are quite young. While easily entertained in a larger space, the restricted space and length of time involved can prove to be quite a challenge.

Long haul flight tips:

To help you meet this challenge and make the journey as relaxed and smooth as possible for you, the kids, and everyone else, a little forward planning can help enormously. If you can, choose a night flight as this will encourage your children to sleep for at least some of the journey. Remember a space that you have to sit in may well be enough for a smaller child to curl up in if provided with a blanket and pillow so they can make their own cozy nest.

Check out what the various airlines flying to your required destination offer in terms of child provision in advance. Do they provide sky-cots, pre-allocated seating, special meals, children’s entertainment on personal screens, dedicated flight attendants etc.? All these things can help you a lot in maintaining a stress-free journey with your child.

Pick your airline carefully: flying Alaska Airlines for the domestic leg of our flight is our top choice, as they have great international partners to get us the rest of the way, and are the most accommodating in customer service that we’ve found.

If possible, splurge on flight itineraries that require as few legs and layovers as possible, and leave strollers at home; most international airports rent these to arriving parents.

Pre-flight planning on your part can help too. Make sure you carry lots of supplies in your hand luggage, not just for the flight itself, but also enough for any delays that might occur. Things to include are diapers, wipes, a spare change of clothing, snacks, pacifiers, and comforters. All these should be very easily accessible on the flight so that you can remain comfortable while providing for your little one. Think about what you could take that they enjoy doing seated–coloring books, puzzles, small toys, and reading books are all good options. For older kids, hand-held consoles, books, and music players are a great idea but do make sure to include plenty of batteries and headphones too!

Initially on a flight, especially a first flight, the excitement of just being on a plane and looking at everything that’s going on can be interesting enough to amuse kids, so don’t be too quick off the mark to start the entertainment process. When this starts to wear off, it’s time to bring out your arsenal of tricks to keep them occupied, or if the airline provides a children’s entertainment pack, this would be the time to ask your flight attendant for this.

Noise cancelling headphones or over-ear headphones can help kids feel more relaxed and ready for sleep, even if these items are uncomfortable when they actually trying settle in. Neck pillows can also be a good idea, as well as ensuring everying is drinking plenty of water.

A few other tips that can help are to bring candies to suck on, or a drink they can suck through a straw as this can help a small child’s ears to pop after take off. Decongestants can be useful to help younger children with sleep as the dry atmosphere on a plane can make this worse than normal for many people. Your doctor can recommend the best brands and dose for your child. Small snacks like dried fruit, chocolate raisins and other easy to eat nibbles often go down well and help pass the time; they’re also quite good if you do need to resort to bribery too.

Worried about jet lag in kids? Get our top tips on combatting jet lag.

Hopefully a bit of clever planning in advance will make your journey as pleasant and smooth as possible for you and your children, so you’ll arrive at your destination feeling fresh and ready for anything.