The odds that something will happen to complicate or derail your travel plans with the kids has become the norm rather than the exception. Children are prone to pick up nasty bugs on a good day, throw in some airports and multiple airplane rides, and you’ve got yourself a bed of germs. Before you embark on your holiday, ensure you dose your little one as much as you can (especially if they don’t get all the vitamins from their diet). A staple in our home is Vitamin C, a good multivitamin and probiotic. Unfortunately this isn’t a magic combo and our daughter does get sick from time to time.

On all our holidays, she has been relatively healthy with the exception of Barcelona. Now you’re going to want to know about our Barcelona experience, because I guarantee that you will ensure your medical travel insurance is active before departure.

On the morning of our departure from Cape Town, she had a slight sniffle. 24 hours later upon touching down in Barcelona it had progressed to a cold and 24 hours after that it had progressed to bronchiolitis. Firstly being in a country where English is not a first language and not widely spoke or understood made things difficult. Our hotel arranged for a doctor to visit us in the hotel room to decipher what was wrong (cost around R1500). He then suggested chest x-rays and other tests in hospital (the international one for tourists). We spent the first day of our holiday in a hospital to get tests done and have her on the nebuliser (R8000). She was discharged in the afternoon and we then had to purchase the medication she needed (R1500). So overall, the experience cost us over R10 000.

But luckily we were not phased at all because we knew we were covered through our medical travel insurance. If you’re on a medical aid, the chances of you getting free travel insurance are pretty high. We are on a hospital plan with Bonitas and are covered for R5 million in international travel medical expenses.

It’s not something many people think about, but when travelling with a child, it’s crucial. Their common colds can quickly turn into something more serious which then requires medical intervention and trust me, it comes at a premium price in most countries.