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* Top Tips for Safe Travel
Travel Advice
# Top Tips for Safe Travel
## Tag
Travel Safety
## Author
Sara B
## Published
July 18, 2019
## Last Updated
January 23, 2025
## Share
Travel is unpredictable, even at the best of times. We encourage travelers to consider unexpected scenarios and take the necessary steps ahead of time to protect themselves. Whether you are traveling across your state or around the world, we have outlined the best travel safety tips.
## Get Creative with Cash
One unfortunate event – such as mugging, baggage loss, or theft – can ruin your trip. Consider diversifying the type of currency you have on hand between cash, travelers’ checks and  to avoid having “all of your eggs in one basket.” When leaving money or important documents in your room, ensure they are in a secure place, whether in be a hotel safe or hidden in an unexpected location. Pickpockets are common in some popular tourist destinations, so keeping your wallet close in your front pocks or in a cross-body bag with secure closures is recommended.
## Make Hard & Digital Copies of All Travel Documents
If you lose your , like a visa or a passport, while you are traveling, you are going to need proof that you did obtain the proper documents before leaving the country. Make hard copies of all these important documents and keep them in your hotel safe. Also, make digital copies and send them to a close relative that is staying behind.
## Buy Travel Insurance
While travel insurance is a reactive benefit, not proactive, it is vital for staying safe while traveling. Not only will the 24-hour hotline help you out of stressful situations, but you will be able to file claims when you return home to reimburse you for any extra money you weren’t expecting to spend. This could be for emergency medical bills, extra hotel stays due to travel delays or cancellations or even help to return home early.
## Be Wary of Street Vendors & Panhandlers
The moment you publicly display where your money is kept, you open yourself to being mugged and allows people to see how much cash you are carrying. It is not uncommon for the homeless or a street vendor to see the money still in your wallet and beg for more. Sometimes, these vendors can get aggressive. Your best bet – just politely and confidently say no and move on.
## Research Local Laws & Customs
We travel to experience the unknown and make memories that last a lifetime. By researching , you can avoid leaving your trip with embarrassments or pending charges. Don’t get caught in a social faux paux or, worse, jail. Less severe, but still dangerous, if you are driving in a different state or country, make yourself a little familiar with the rules of the road. Also, if you are traveling to an area that is known for upheaval at times, keep an ear out for local news reports that may indicate a change in peaceful tides.
## Enroll in STEP – Smart Traveler Enrollment Program
One of our favorite travel safety tips is STEP.  is a free service to allow U.S. citizens and nationals traveling abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Why is this important? If while you are traveling there is a natural disaster or a civil or political concern that could endanger you, the U.S. government will know where you are. The program will send you travel warnings and alerts to keep you informed of situations in your destination. This can keep you one step ahead of any dangerous situation to get you home safely.
## Prioritize Healthy Travel
The  has had a significant impact on travel. When you are ready to travel, consider these important tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to  from COVID-19 –
Before leaving, be sure to . You will also want to  1-3 days before departing. Keep a copy of your negative test results with you in case you are asked to show them. Do not travel if you test positive. If you are eligible, the CDC recommends getting fully . Travelers are encouraged to wait 2 weeks after getting your second vaccine dose before traveling.
While traveling, be sure to  covering your nose and mouth when in public settings.  on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations. You will also want to avoid crowds,  from anyone who did not travel with you, and  often or use hand sanitizer (with at least 60% alcohol). It is also good practice to carry extra supplies, such as masks, hand sanitizer, or disinfectant wipes, avoid direct contact with anyone who is sick, and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
The CDC recommends travelers get tested again 3-5 days after returning home. Even if the test is negative, self-quarantine for a full 7 days is recommended. If you choose not to get tested, stay home and self-quarantine for 10 days after travel.
## Get Appropriate Vaccinations
The COVID-19 vaccine is not the only vaccine travelers should consider. Of fact, some destinations will require specific . It could not only save you from a rare illness, but it could keep you from spreading the illness to your home country when you return. In some cases, you will need to show proof from a physician that you have been administered the vaccine to obtain a travel visa.
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* Best Educational Trips for Kids
# Best Educational Trips for Kids
Family Travel
May 25, 2021
January 24, 2025
## Educational Vacations Let Kids Learn & Have Fun
Vacations may be the way grown-ups most often find a way to kick back and relax, but taking the kids along often means being a little more active with the daily doings. Solution? Keep ’em busy by learning! Below we’ve compiled the best educational trips for kids where adults can have fun too.
Educational vacations provide an exciting, hands-on way to experience the rest of the world with your little ones. Quality time spent together while learning means children can feel secure while exploring new places and experiences – and parents can better understand how their children learn as well as what gets them excited.
There’s also the bonus of having some child-free hours so you can kick back and relax. So whether you’re getting in with the kids and helping them learn or sending them off to a specialized camp where they can get one-on-one with the experts, you can feel good about your vacation. Here are five of the best educational trips for kids that let your children get the most out of their vacations…while you wave down your next banana daiquiri.
## Cooks@Play – Atlantis, 
Aspiring chefs can learn how a kitchen works from the masters behind the scenes on Paradise Island as part of . Guests aged 3 to 12 have all kinds of options to choose their adventures (possibilities range from interactive electronic art to theater), but one of the most popular is the Cooks@Play program. Children don chef hats and aprons and get hands-on experience with rolling, measuring, whisking, kneading and even airbrushing on chocolate. They’ll prepare their own recipe and, of course, get to dive into the best part – tasting – afterward.
## My First Job – Belmond Napasai Koh Samui Hotel, 
Get those kids to work! Of course, they won’t feel like it’s work. To them, the . As with Atlantis, there are a variety of hands-on options for budding 9-to-5ers, who can learn how to give mani-pedis at the Napasai spa; arrange flowers with the hotel’s florist (the area is bursting with possible blooms); discover how to mix (non-alcoholic) drinks by blending fruit juices, try out traditional Thai dancing; follow an engineer to find how the team maintains the hotel; or take over in the garden where you get to feed the hotel’s farm animals and plant trees. Kids will come back exhausted, but exhilarated.
## Trainer for a Day – Discovery Cove, SeaWorld, 
Rather than wander the park, send the kids to get up close and personal experience with some of SeaWorld’s great sea creatures. Kids must be at least 6, and any under age 13 will have to be with an adult. But the packages the resort has set up will have adults rushing to sign up, too: They include deep-water interaction with dolphins, a behind-the-scenes tour, , feeding tropical fish, meeting the land-based animals like tropical birds, and of course unlimited admission to the water park itself.
## Space Camp – Huntsville, Alabama
Launched in 1982,  is designed to foster a love of aerospace and space travel in young people, and has attendees ranging from 9 to 18 learning to train like fighter pilots or astronauts, design and build air, land and sea robots, attend robotics academy and simulate parachute landings. (Not all ages may participate in all activities.) Scholarships are available, and there’s also room for adults and school groups. Since inception, Space Camp has “trained” over 600,000 attendees. As a result, you can be sure it’s one of the best educational trips for kids.
## Camp Broadway – Nationwide
Got a kid who’s just gotta dance…and sing…and act?  might be just the place to send your aspiring drama king or queen. The company has given over 20,000 children around the world berths at its summer camps, which are stationed all around the country (though perhaps unsurprisingly the New York City-based one tends to be a bit more popular than the rest). Children 6-17 can hang out for a week at a time with other aspiring stars and take place in programs ranging from developing a script for an age-appropriate show, create choreography, participate in a Broadway rehearsal and, for older kids, help them with specialized musical theater classes.
## Educational Trips for Kids & Travel Insurance
No matter where your kids go for an educational vacation, you’ll want to consider insuring their trip to protect against the unexpected. , but some may restrictions apply so it’s important to read language of any policy carefully. The fastest way to compare coverage for your family vacation is to enter your trip details into our quote form. From there, travelers can compare different plans, pricing, and coverages. Still have questions? Don’t hesitate to call our Customer Care representatives for guidance and recommendations.
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* Christmas Traditions Around the World
# Christmas Traditions Around the World
September 13, 2021
December 17, 2024
Traveling during the holiday season is a joy for many people, but not everyone is able to get away during the holidays. With family commitments and increased traffic, many travelers are unable to pack their bags. To help bring the joy and excitement of holiday travel to your home, the team at InsureMyTrip has collected some of our favorite holiday traditions from around the world. We invite you to try something new this holiday season and experience these unique traditions from around the world – without even leaving home!
## South Africa: Deep-Fried Caterpillar
In , the locals have a feast like no other. They deep-fry the caterpillar of the Emperor Moth as part of their Christmas feast. While this particular tradition may be best attempted by the more adventurous eaters in your family, you may consider an imitation version as part of your holiday feast.
## Germany: The Christmas Pickle (Weihnachtsgurke)
In  it is a tradition for parents to hide a pickle somewhere on their evergreen Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. The first child to find the pickle gets a special gift on Christmas Day. The question is…dill or gerkin?
## New Zealand: Decorating the Potuhukawa Tree
Are you tired of the traditional fir Christmas tree? Perhaps you should celebrate this year like the people of  – they decorate a Potuhukawa tree, which is a coastal evergreen tree in the myrtle family that produces a brilliant display of red flowers.
## Ukraine: Legend of the Christmas Spider
If the traditions we have shared so far are a little too tame for you and you really want to try something different this year, grab your Halloween decorations from the attic. In the Ukraine the citizens traditionally decorate their trees with an artificial spider and its web. The folktale surrounds an impoverished widow’s children who discover a pine cone on the dirt floor of their home during the summer. The children cared for the budding sapling in hopes of growing a Christmas Tree come winter. The tree grew successfully but the family was unable to afford any decorations on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning they awoke to discover a spider has decorated the tree for them with its beautiful webs, which glistened with gold and silver in the rising sunlight. The family was overjoyed and no longer lives in poverty. With such a positive association, it’s not surprising that spider web decorations are considered good luck and frequently adorn holiday trees in the region.
## Czech Republic: The Foretelling Shoe
In , they practice a tradition in which an unmarried woman stands at an open door and throws a shoe over her shoulder. If the shoe is pointing toward the door when it lands, the belief is that she will get married in the next year. Who needs to wait until wedding season to catch the bouquet?
## Iceland: The 13 Days of Christmas (Shoes)
 has an interesting twist on the Twelve Days of Christmas. The Icelandic children leave their shoes on a windowsill for the 13 days before Christmas. Every night, a “Yule lad” travels down from the mountains to leave gifts and sweets in them for the good children. If the child is bad, the Yule lad leaves a raw potato instead.
## Slovakia: Christmas Food Fight
There is nothing better – or most unexpected for many American – than a good ol’ fashioned holiday food fight. In Slovakia, this idea is taken to new heights – literally. In this tradition, the most senior male of the household throws a wooden spoonful of loksa pudding (similar to a bread pudding) at the ceiling. The more that sticks, the better the luck for the family will have in the coming year.
## Great Britain: Old-Fashioned Christmas Pudding
In , they are more reserved with their Christmas pudding. The tradition says that each member of the family must stir the Christmas pudding in a clockwise motion, prior to it being cooked, while making a wish.
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