The Family Vacation Departure Checklist
A family vacation should start at the airport, the dock, or the open road — not with a scramble at home. A passport nobody checked, a house nobody secured, or an itinerary nobody shared can follow you for the whole trip. This checklist covers the house, the documents, and the people, so you can leave with a clear head.
What’s inside
- Secure the home before you go — mail and newspaper holds, lights on timers, water and trash handled, and every door, window, and the garage locked
- Documents for everyone — passports and IDs for every traveler including the kids, copies left with someone staying behind, and health details for each person
- Money, cards, and essentials — your bank notified, more than one way to pay, and prescriptions and essentials in the carry-on, never only in checked luggage
- Kids, pets, and the people helping — pet care confirmed, caregivers briefed with routines and written permission, and comfort items packed for young travelers
- Itinerary and contacts, shared — where you’re staying, how you’re traveling, and when you expect to return, shared with someone staying behind, with a simple check-in rhythm
- The plan most people forget — the short list that makes sure your family would never have to figure things out at the worst possible time
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What happens next
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It should arrive within a few minutes. If you don’t see it, check your spam or promotions folder — and add us to your contacts so our occasional emails reach you. Have a wonderful trip.
Who’s behind this checklist
Journey Secure is an Authorized Independent General Agency for Return Assured℠. The membership’s benefits are provided through APASI, which has been providing travel assurance since 1994. The idea behind everything we do is simple: a Return Assured℠ membership costs $350 once, for life, and if a member passes away more than 75 miles from home, one call has everything arranged and paid for to bring them home — so their family never has to figure it out at the worst time. The checklist is free whether or not the membership is ever right for you.
Common questions
Is it really free?
Yes. The checklist is a free download, no payment and no obligation. We make it because leaving well is the whole point of what we do — and because some readers will later decide the membership is right for them.
Will you spam me?
No. You’ll get the checklist right away, and after that an occasional email — seasonal reminders and planning tips, a few times a year, not a few times a week. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing is immediate and permanent.
What is Journey Secure?
Journey Secure offers the Return Assured℠ membership: lifetime travel protection for people who travel away from home with their families. If a member dies more than 75 miles from home, one call at the time of death sets everything in motion — identification, preparation, transport home, and the paperwork — with the costs covered. It is not insurance; it’s a membership, and it’s one $350 payment for life. You can read more at journeysecure.com.
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