10 Travel Tips for March Break

Last year at this time I posted this information.  Thought it would be worth reposting again this year.

March Break is just around the corner and many families will be heading for a well-deserved break down south. And if you’re one of them, here are a few tips.


1) If you’ll be the only parent traveling with your kids, depending on your destination, you may need a notarized consent form from your spouse. This is the case for the US, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic: for other countries ask your travel consultant who booked your trip.

2) Important items for your hand luggage: everyone’s I.D., prescription drugs, immunization records, and valuables including jewelry. If your child is prone to colds or allergies, bring some of your preferred medicine as you’ll be familiar with the brand and more comfortable giving it to your child.

3) If you’ll be getting to your hotel/resort before 3:00 pm, which is typical check-in time, take a change of clothes and perhaps a bathing suit in your carry on luggage so you can instantly start your holiday!

4) Airport food can be expensive and selection can be poor, so pack some snacks from home. Remember that airlines have stopped serving peanuts in flight and are doing their best to make their aircraft “peanut-free”, so please don’t bring any as snacks.

5) Leave extra time at the airport. Parking lots, check-in services and even the coffee shops will be operating at maximum capacity.

6) How to avoid in-flight boredom? Be prepared with “are we there yet” type activity books. Dollar stores are an excellent place to pack a bag full of activities and the children can have this bag as their own carry on.

7) Before leaving home, consider buying “one use” cameras for your kids. Be sure to look for the ones with a built in flash. Virtually indestructible, they give even little kids the chance to record their own impressions of the holiday. You may be surprised at the quality of the results!

8) When traveling, always have a recent photo of your kids in your wallet, just in case someone strays. In big resorts, it’s easy to get separated, so take a minute and have a family discussion as to where to go if that happens. Stay put, go to the lobby, go to the room, etc. Make it simple to remember but keep reminding everyone. If the kids have their own room at the resort, come up with a password you’ll use when knocking on their door so they don’t open it to strangers.

9) Why not give each child a day or a half-day to call the shots and decide what the whole family will do. Everyone gets treated fairly, it prevents arguments, and the “I'm bored!” syndrome is not so likely to set in.

10) Encourage each child to make a trip diary to include not only impressions but also autographs of memorable people (a tour guide, your waiter), coins, drawings and so on. In a country where English is not the main language, try to learn a new word every day and add it to the diary.

Enjoy your vacation………..you all deserve it!