Nothing beats spending your vacation with your family. The first things that parents should do when traveling with their children is prepare a checklist of things to bring to ensure a successful family trip. Whether you are using up vacation timeshares, or camping in a park wilderness, it's better to go the extra mile to prepare. Worrying about what can go wrong on your family vacation is the last thing you should be doing. Preparing and being ready is the best solution for that. The following are some tips to help you prepare for your next, safe road trip:

1. Before leaving for your destination, check your car and make sure that it is well-maintained. If possible, take the car to a mechanic to have an overall checkup. If you travel during winter, take precautions and bring extra items such as food, water, blanket and a flashlight in case of emergencies. During summer, have the air conditioning inspected; no one wants to be in a road trip while feeling too much heat from the sun during the drive.
   

2. Planning the driving route has never been easier in this day and age. Before, people who went on road trips had to buy a printed map from a bookstore, but now all you have to do is go to Google Maps (or an alternate map engine) and print out your route. If you and your family are a group of adventurous travelers, a GPS navigation system should be included in your car in case you want to take alternate excursions and / or can't find the way to your destination. Also, some organizations offer free or discounted travel planning as part of their vacation club membership. Research different options while planning your vacation to see what the costs and benefits are.
   

3. Whenever the driver needs a break, take a break. Accidents can happen when a person is distracted or drowsy while driving. Let the driver get some rest by pulling over for a few hours or swapping with another person who is a responsible and legal driver. If the weather is bad, wait for the storm to abate instead of risking a serious accident.
   

4. Texting or making calls while driving should be avoided, since this can result in road mishaps. A driver should always be focused on the road and be alert at all times. If it’s absolutely necessary, one of the passengers can take the call or compose the text message.

5. If you're renting a car, make sure it's a model you can travel comfortably in. Research about the automobile’s safety features and be aware of its limits.
   

6. If you have a pet that you want to tag along, find the best way to make the travel simpler for them. Travel sickness is common for some pets. Ask the veterinarian about what should be done in terms of accommodations and possible medications.
   

7. Call up your credit card company and inform them that you will be out of town. This would ensure that your purchases won't be considered suspicious activity. A lot of people have this happen to them and it causes unexpected delays and embarrassing situations. In more extreme cases it could halt your trip due to a halt on your funds.
   

8. Bring a first-aid kit with you at all times. You’ll never know when you or your fellow travelers can get bruises or cuts. This can be taken care of with the right supplies.
   

9. Drive in areas that are well-lit and always be alert about what goes on in your surroundings. Stay away from people or places that seem suspicious and always stay in well-lit, well-populated areas. Also, be sure to know which ends of the town to avoid. Locals will know far more about this than foreigners, but be sure to ask trusted locals.
   

10. Take a list of emergency numbers with you just in case there are any mishaps along the way. Take note of local emergency numbers in the place you’re traveling to and include 911 and poison control (where applicable). Doing this will save you lots of time when an emergency happens.

Following the necessary precautions when on a road trip will ensure a fun-filled vacation for you and your family. It always pays to be a little extra careful; otherwise you might be in for a disaster. Also, use this guide as a starter. Add to it and do a little more research to suit your specific needs.

The contributor, Aaron Schulman enjoys spending time with his wife and 3 girls, traveling on family trips, web development, publishing, writing, cooking, jazz and guitar music. He also writes guitar reviews and is an avid guitar player. He recently shared a review on the Baby Taylor Guitar, a great small guitar for the family traveler and guitar enthusiast.

• Carry bank cards from 2 banks that are on the Plus, Cirrus, or Maestro international banking networks. On a long term trip, it's absolutely necessary to carry a primary card linked to an account with most of your travel cash and a backup card linked to a bank account with emergency cash (minimum US$1000 above the account minimum). There are several times when the backup will save you:
  1. The cards have expiration dates and when you're traveling, you won't receive your new replacement any time soon.
  2. At times, one of your 2 bank's networks will be down for maintenance, error, or some other unforeseen problem.
• Set a 4-digit pin on the bank cards of both banks. ATMs in many countries only accept a 4-digit pin. Although banks in the US always use 6-digit pins, you can go to your bank and change it to a 4-digit pin. Allow at least 2 weeks prior to travel for this request to be processed.
• At both banks, ask for your daily withdrawal limit to be increased to the maximum. Most banks will immediately raise the daily limit from the standard US$300 / day to US$1000 / day.
• Carry an American Express card and Visa card. A cash advance on these cards is additional backup to your 2 bank cards. You never know when you might need more than US$2000 immediately. It happens. The best card to have is a Platinum American Express. Any AmEx office in the world will give Platinum card holders AmEx travelers cheques on the spot without commission. I also carry two backup Visa cards and a backup MasterCard.
• Only have bank accounts and credit cards that provide online access to statements. The Internet Cafe is your only method to view and manage all your balances and expenses.
• Set up the ability to online-transfer cash between the accounts at your 2 banks.
• Set up online bill pay at both of your banks and set up the payment information for all of your credit cards.
• Carry about US$500 in cash. Of this amount, at least $200 should be in small bills ($1s, $5s, and $10s). In many countries, only US$ are readily accepted and nobody will have change for a bill as large at US$10.
• Carry up to US$1000 in emergency travelers cheques. In many countries, travelers cheques are difficult to convert or absolutely useless. In other countries, a signed travelers cheque can be used as easily as cash. You should carry some travelers cheques but not for daily use.
• And who do I recommend? If you have over US$100k combining your securities, IRA, and cash, transfer it all into several Schwab One accounts with Charles Schwab. Your total value held in Schwab will be assessed across all your accounts by your social security number. Then ask for your travel cash account to be upgraded to a Schwab Access account. This account gives you money market interest on all cash, the option to invest the cash in the stock market, free check writing, an ATM card on Plus and Cirrus that reimburses you for any domestic or international bank charges incurred from use of another bank's ATM, online statements, bill pay, transfers between banks, and a 24-hour international toll free (or call collect) financial representative to assist with any and all transactions you want to make. As far as I know, Schwab Access is the only account in the world that reimburses charges levied by other banks. The reimbursement is made one day after the other bank levies the charge.

• Yellow Fever  (Certificate of Yellow Fever vaccination is mandatory to enter certain countries.)
• Hepatitis A     (2 shots over a 6 month period)
• Hepatitis B     (3 shots over a 6 month period)
• Polio
• Rabies            (3 shots over a 1 month period)
• Japanese Encephalitis  (3 shots over a 1 month period)
• Typhium VI
• ADT
• Meningococcal