Family travel advice - AVI International

Traveling around the world with children - Our advice to help you prepare this journey. Nothing is more beautiful than a family world tour to spend time and share experiences with your children, open them to other cultures and discover the world a little differently, but safely ! To help you prepare this journey, we listed the key questions you will have to answer before leaving.

Health and family travel insurance

The most vital information nowadays when choosing a travel insurance policy : is the COVID included in the insurance policy ?

YES : All AVI travel insurance policies cover the medical and hospitalization expenses in case of COVID.

Before departure, make an appointment with the pediatrician to see if the vaccines of your child are up to date. Sooner the appointment, better he will be able to anticipate the different periods of time possibly needed between injections.

Of course, do not travel without family travel insurance when you travel with your child. Even in Europe, Social Security does not reimburse all health expenses. In fact, refunds are based on its scale, that is, most of the time, not adapted to the health costs of the hospital worldwide.

AVI International, specialist in the long journey Insurance, offers special insurance for families. This word is to be taken in the broadest sense: "A family is composed of one adult or two spouses of law or fact or other persons bound by a PACS, and their unmarried children under the age of 25 living under the same roof and financially dependent. Moreover, are also considered beneficiaries of the Family option, children of divorced couples that are financially dependent on the other parent. "

For trips under eight weeks, AVI International offers, in partnership with Le Guide du Routard, a special family trip formula that includes luggage insurance and covers 4 to 7 members of the same family.

For longer trips, AVI International offers a long-term Marco Polo family travel insurance contract. It also includes the luggage insurance.

The Routard international insurance and Marco Polo travel insurance allows you to be refunded up to € 300,000 for all your medical expenses worldwide. You also get liability insurance (if you or your children are causing an accident), a cover for optical expenses, dental emergency expenses, disability, etc.

Similarly, if have been hospitalized for more than five days, AVI pays the travel and accommodation of a relative that can come to your bedside. Your repatriation is covered in case of personal problem or sometimes of a serious problem for someone in your family (sisters, brothers, etc.) in France.

If you plan to dive or practice risky sport during your trip, an option is available. You don't have to take it for the total duration of the trip: it is possible to activate it only for a month for example. Similarly, it is not necessary to take it for your children ... they should not practice dangerous sports.

Tips for air travel with children

- If you are traveling alone with a child, consider taking your family record book:

Even for a domestic flight, a company may deny boarding if you cannot prove that you are the parent of the child.

- It is not recommended to travel with a baby within 7 days after his birth.

- Up to two years, you do not have to buy a ticket for your child (except sometimes when an adult is accompanied by more than one child). The airlines consider that you can take him on your lap. This does not mean that the flight will be free for him. Special pricing are applied. For longer trips, specify you would like a crib for your child when boarding. This way they will take you to an appropriate seat. If this is not the case tell the board crew, it is still time to change seats with other passengers.

- Even if your child is under two years, you can buy him a ticket. You should then come up with a child seat to be placed on the chair. Usually, reservations cannot be made online. You will have to call or go to the company.

- Bottles, water and milk may exceptionally pass through security checks. Make sure you have less than one liter of liquid per container.

- If your baby has a cold, avoid travelling as much as possible or clear his nose all along the journey so that the pressure does not damage his eardrums. For the same reasons, give him a pacifier, a candy, a bottle or something to eat during take-off and landing so that he swallows up saliva and thus opens his ears.

- Stroller or baby carrier? Neither is considered luggage by most airlines (still, ask Air France for short flights). Each company has its own policy and there is no guarantee that you can bring the stroller with you in the cabin. Choose a folding stroller to better your odds.

School

You can ask the National Education the right to teach school to your children. Do this in advance and you should not have problem. You will probably have to meet the educational authority of your place of residence before departure.

To teach by yourself from primary school to high school, you can rely on the CNED that offers free online courses (see link at the bottom of the page).

The children's passport

Whatever his age, your child must have its own passport to travel outside the European area. It costs € 17 (up to 14) or 42 € (up to 18).

To get your passport, if your child does not have an ID card, you must provide a birth certificate of less than three months. You do not have to provide this document if his commune of birth has chosen to computerize the issuance of acts of civil status.

If your child was born in France, his birth certificate is sufficient to prove his French nationality. If it is not the case, you may have to provide a French nationality certificate (see link at bottom of page). It may take time.

Concerning the photos, we advise you to have them taken by a professional for children. Indeed, it's not sure that the three trials of the photo booth will be sufficient because the baby has to look ahead, to keep his mouth closed and to have neutral expression, etc.

If you have to (re) make the passport of your child abroad, know that pictures can be taken at the French representation counter (for € 3).