Planning to travel with children? Materialise that wish and make that family holiday a reality!
Here are my holiday preparation tips and some smart saving hacks to stretch that dollar further!
Preparation Tips and Saving Hacks
Ensure your passports are not expiring
Now that the queues at the Immigrations & Checkpoint Authorities (ICA) have eased, renewing our passports, or applying for a new one is no longer a dreadful wait. Check that your passports are valid for at least 6 months before the date of departure. Depending on your travel destination, some countries may not require the 6 months validity, but it is always better to play safe and avoid any unforeseen discrepancies in a foreign land.
Singaporean baby benefits: Did you know that babies born on and after 1 January 2020 are entitled to a free passport? So, if you’re travelling with your baby, you get to enjoy the waiver of application fee for the little one!
Search for air ticket deals and hotel promos to enjoy savings
Air tickets are getting more expensive as the travel date draws nearer. First, it always helps to plan ahead and book flights or accommodations early to lock down the early bird prices. The downside: there may be an extra surcharge to opt for a flexi/open date that allows booking changes, should you and your family have to postpone or cancel the trip due to unexpected circumstances e.g. diagnosed with COVID-19.
Besides checking on the direct websites for plane tickets and hotels, I look out for promotions or package deals on Expedia, Klook and Agoda to compare prices. That way, I know that I can get the best possible deals for our family holiday.
Credit card miles bring extra smiles
For credit cards that I own, I prefer mine to collect miles. As I’ve been spending on the same Citi PremierMiles card for the last 7 years, my miles can now be used to redeem for Business Class tickets for my upcoming trip to Iceland with Gideon. Best of all, these miles don’t expire! Now that flight tickets are expensive, it helps to be savvy with credit card perks like using my points to convert to miles.
Shop for discounted winter wear
Winter apparel can be expensive, and it does not seem to make sense to splurge when we will not be visiting wintry countries frequently. We started shopping for winter clothing, hoping to grab some good bargains for our Iceland holiday. Besides checking out Decathlon and Uniqlo, we snagged some deals from Winter Time’s expo sale and value-for-money winter wear via Taobao too! You may be pleasantly surprised with the good quality items at pocket-friendly prices. The helpful customer reviews are key to shopping at Taobao.
Get travel vaccinations to minimise risk of sickness
Holidays are moments of enjoyment, but did you know that travelling overseas can unknowingly be a potential health risk for some? Besides bringing along medicines, there are also travel vaccinations that you can take to protect against common illnesses such as dengue fever, flu and Hepatitis A and B.
COVID-19 vaccination tips: Children 6 months and above are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine for kids now. If you’re thinking of getting your kids vaccinated, do plan the vaccine doses to be completed before your departure date to avoid a lapse in completing the protection.
Plan for a comfortable flight experience with kids
It will be my first time going on a long-haul flight with Gideon, and like most parents, I’m worried about his sleep. We will be taking the Business Class so the spacious seats will be comfortable enough for him to lie down completely. If you’re planning to travel long-haul via Economy Class, I think airplane seat extenders are a pretty helpful invention! Planning to get it for future overseas trips since I wouldn’t have enough miles to fly Business Class for our next holiday. I’ll also be packing along his favourite snacks in my hand-carry, so that he can enjoy them while watching movies in the sky.
Preparing for a trip with kids can seem daunting but it need not have to be so! I hope my holiday preparation tips will help make planning for your next family holiday easier too. With the new traveller requirements, some countries have implemented the need for insurance with a certain amount of coverage and/or travel insurance with COVID-19 coverage. Get in touch with me to find out what type of insurance plans you need before heading overseas with your family!
