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Have a safe and healthy trip!
The idea of spontaneously packing a bag and heading off on a fabulous trip
to some exotic location has occurred to pretty well all of us at one time or
another. In reality, however, there are many things to consider and plan for
before leaving home-particularly if the destination is exotic or if you're traveling
with children.
When planning a trip anywhere, it's always worth checking out Health Canada's
excellent Travel Medicine
Program, a website that includes travel
advisories, a list of travel
medicine clinics across Canada plus links to all the other information travellers
might need-necessary visas, papers and vaccinations, who to call in the event
of an emergency, tips for travel with children and so on.
5 steps to a healthy journey
- Health Canada recommends that each person
buy the very best health insurance they can afford, even if they are only
leaving the country for a weekend. The fee for insurance is small compared
to the thousands of dollars in medical bills you might have to pay if uninsured.
Make sure to read the policy and what it covers before you leave.
- Routine
immunizations should always be up to date before you leave the country.
If you are travelling abroad, additional
vaccinations may be necessary. It's worth it to check a few months before
departure as certain vaccinations or medications may have to be started several
weeks before the trip.
- Check with your doctor about whether you will need to take any prescription
medicine, such as antibiotics, with you. If you have regular prescriptions,
it's best to carry them in their original bottles, take extra in case you
are delayed getting home or you lose a bottle, and, to be safe, take along
a note from your doctor or the original prescription.
- Bring your own first-aid kit for minor emergencies. Some things
to consider include a thermometer, bandages, an antiseptic cream or lotion,
sunscreen, condoms, water purification tablets and motion sickness medication
(if necessary), antihistamines.
- If you do get sick, contact someone who works at a hotel. Most hotels
will have on-call physicians; if not, they are a good source of information
about where to go or who to see.
Family travel tips
- It's important to find out what identification or papers
you and your family will need well before you go. Some places will require
a birth certificate, most places will require passport for entry; others passport
and visa. If you and your children don't have up-to-date passports, leave
plenty of time before your trip for renewal;
- If you are travelling with a child or children without
their other parent, you should take a letter or document signed by the other
parent (with their contact information) indicating his or her consent;
- You may not find baby and toddler equipment-strollers,
cribs, car seats, high chairs-up to Canadian standards in other countries.
It's best to take what you absolutely need (despite the inconvenience) and
have a back-up plan for the rest. And when in doubt about availability of
necessities at the other end, pack your own.
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This article was prepared by Nora Underwood for 
