Keep your students safe and healthy with these essential international travel tips. Learn how to prepare, pack smart, manage emergencies, and choose the right student group travel insurance.
International travel is often the highlight of the school year for many students. Whether it’s a summer program, volunteer project, or academic exchange, studying or traveling abroad can be one of the most rewarding experiences of their education. To make the trip memorable for all the right reasons, it’s essential to plan, stay organized, and prioritize your group’s health and safety while overseas.
Safety Advice and Health Tips for School Groups
1. Pack Smart
Be sure to familiarize yourself with the weather of the country you are traveling to prior to departing for the trip. Students should be provided with a packing list outlining the mandatory items, as well as what to leave behind and what to definitely bring. For example, if your group is traveling to a hot climate, be sure everyone packs sunscreen to avoid sunburn. If your group is traveling to an icy destination, ensure everyone packs gloves and a hat to prevent frostbite.
2. Ensure Vaccinations Are Up to Date
In addition to ensuring all vaccinations are up to date, everyone traveling should also inquire about any new vaccinations that may be required for the specific country they are visiting. Some countries require visitors to carry proof of certain inoculations. Ensure you have the documentation necessary so that if a student falls ill, you will not be turned away at a hospital due to incomplete or missing information.
3. Implement a Travel Buddy System
Have each student be accountable for another student. They can work together, eat together, and do certain activities together. When group attendance or roll call is being taken, the buddies can look for one another, and then if someone is missing, their buddy may know more about their whereabouts. If an accident occurs in which someone is injured, one travel buddy may be able to communicate what happened at the time of the accident if the other is unable to do so.
4. Carry a First Aid Kit
It seems simple enough, but when traveling abroad, knowing where to find a bandage may not be as simple as stopping into a local pharmacy. Carrying a first aid kit with you at all times means you have basic medical supplies available to your group at all times. Luckily, first aid kits are available in various sizes, including travel sizes. You can even encourage each student to carry a travel-size first aid kit with them at all times and pack one as part of their mandatory items.
5. Take Note of All Allergies and Ask Questions
Ensure that all staff, parents, and volunteers accompanying your school group are aware of each student’s medical needs, particularly those related to allergies. Ensure students with severe allergic reactions carry their EpiPen with them at all times, as well as any jewelry or other allergy-identifying information that specifies what they are allergic to.
A phone tree is a network of people organized in such a way that they can quickly disseminate information among each other. Phone trees are useful for international travel because they enable the quick and easy communication of urgent information. Setting up the phone tree will require some planning and should be tested before departure, but once in place, the phone tree network can be used for more than one trip. For international travel, this could mean using the parents or each student’s emergency contact, as well as school staff.
7. Set Rules Before Departure
Prior to leaving on an international trip, it is essential to inform all students and other group travel members about any areas in the country or city you are visiting that should be avoided. Explain why these areas need to be avoided and make it clear that students are to remain with the group at all times unless otherwise stated. Setting clear rules prior to departure and reiterating them throughout the trip will ensure that everyone traveling is aware of the rules.
8. Carry All Necessary Documentation
Along the same lines as the above point, travelers should always carry with them the contact details of the American embassy in that country. If your country does not have an American embassy, find out which embassy from another country will be available to help in the case of an emergency, such as the Canadian embassy. Travelers should also keep a copy of their passport, as well as medical documentation, and all other important documents in a safe place.
9. Know Where to Find Medical Assistance
Should a student or staff member fall ill while traveling, having a predetermined list of medical facilities known to be safe for travelers is not only handy but also saves time. A quick online search should provide you with this information. If you are unable to find relevant medical facilities or hospitals listed, contact the country’s embassy prior to departure and ask for assistance.
Remember, regardless of how safe a country is, accidents can still happen. Having a system in place and ensuring that students, staff, and all travelers have all necessary medical and travel documentation with them reduces stress for everyone during a crisis.
10. Insure Your Group
Finally, ensure your group has comprehensive and secure student group travel insurance. Group insurance for students and faculty provides peace of mind to everyone involved in a trip abroad. Travel insurance covers medical expenses, delays, lost baggage, and other unexpected costs that may arise during the trip.
There are several types of group travel insurance a student group should consider, including:
Travel Medical Coverage: For unexpected medical issues and reimbursement for doctor and hospital bills.
Emergency Evacuation: For a safe and planned medical evacuation when a person otherwise cannot be moved in order to receive medical care.
Trip Cancellation: You never know when a student might need to fly home for a family emergency. Trip cancellation coverage will provide them with the means and funds necessary to book a flight home and return to their destination.
Insurance Plans for Youth and School Groups
It is also essential to ensure that your student group’s travel insurance is purchased as soon as possible, before leaving for an international trip. Our team works with multiple carriers and can provide quotes from three or more providers. Request information,and our advisors will provide multiple quotes and help you compare travel plan options.
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Joe Cronin, President of ICI, is a leading expert in international health, life, and travel insurance. An MBA and founder of multiple global businesses, he helps expatriates and travelers access trusted, comprehensive insurance solutions worldwide.
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