We love getting to know you, readers, so I recently chatted to long-time JFC member and world traveller Natalie to hear about her unique travel experiences and get some top tips. Notepads at the ready, it’s a goodie!

Hi Natalie! Tell us a bit about yourself, and how long you’ve been a JFC-er.

I’m the only paediatric travel medic for the NHS—it’s totally awesome and completely niche! I’ve been a member since about 2019, as soon as I heard of Jack’s Flight Club, really. So far, I’ve snapped up flight deals to Hong Kong, Oman, Mexico & US to visit friends, as well as work trips to Portugal, for example.

Wow! Can you tell me more about your job?

Lots of parents want travel advice, often patients with complex medical needs where they have asthma or compromised immune systems and can’t have vaccines but still want to travel. And there are also lots of people who just want advice about travelling with their well kids. 80% of the mums I surveyed said they were nervous about giving their babies antimalarials!

I used to work in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Lesotho, and the Pacific, specialising in children’s tropical medicine. I absolutely loved it and worked away for a long time, but eventually decided to come back. I thought, “I’m getting old” (editor’s note: I protested this!) and I felt that many of the kids in the UK were getting a raw deal from high street travel clinics.

Travel is almost back to pre-pandemic volumes and children are travelling more and more, especially now parents can work remotely, but they don't have access to the same travel medical service that adults do. It's better to prevent the weird and not so wonderful diseases than to treat them.

This is the exciting bit of medicine for me, probably because I was fortunate enough not to train somewhere where they’re the norm.

You’re a mum as well, aren’t you? Do you do lots of travelling with your child?

Yes, I had a baby two years ago! That’s kind of changed my travel experience, but it’s great for my work, as I now see both sides of it.

I’ve been stuck in the airport, waiting as they test my 9 bottles of sterile water, and been told I can’t take milk on the plane. It helps when you know the rules—at least I know I can say “actually, no, all milk is going on board!”. Recently, they lost my car seat on the way back from Portugal. Nightmare!

But it’s good for me to see how difficult it is, and it’s really rounded out my practice, because it’s not always about medicine any more. I think about all the things parents need to consider when they travel. For example, children will be ill about 1 in every 5 weeks. So you know that if you’re going on a 5-week trip with your infant, they’ll probably get sick at some point, and you should plan for that.

I have all the gear too: a travel seat that attaches and straps my little one to my suitcase, a folding pram that fits in the overhead compartment, straws that prevent illness, balloons that make your ears pop on the plane. Everything!

I still stick to the same thing I’ve always said, though—I’ll go anywhere on the planet with hand luggage only. That’s really hard with a kid, but babies do have their own hand luggage—they just won’t carry it!

What are your top tips for travelling with kids, then?

I’ll actually be putting a packing list for kids on the Travel Doc website soon, so check back!

But my biggest tip is about repellent — you’ve got to put your repellent on after your sunscreen. Most people don’t know that. The other way round, and it’s pointless.

And insurance - always get travel insurance. People worry about putting medical conditions on their travel insurance, because they do add costs. But they’ll actually cover you for everything you disclose. It’s only if you have a condition and don’t tell them about it that they then won’t cover you—not just for that condition, but for anything at all!

There’s one company I use and often recommend for people who have a complicated medical history— AllClear.

And while I’m at it, always take any unusual medication in your hand luggage and bring a doctor’s letter with you. I’ve been in countries where I’ve had medicines taken off me. You just never know what they might take away.

Oh, and vacuum packing — I vacuum pack everything! I’m like Mary Poppins. I get so much stuff in one small bag, throw it over my shoulder casually so they don’t ask to weigh it, and then I try to walk away from the desk without them noticing how heavy it is. Get the hand-compressing vacuum packs, otherwise you won’t be able to fit it all back in your bag on the way back!

Though, if I have too much stuff to fit in on my way home, I’ll find a local charity to donate to. Sometimes my own clothes, but usually the clothes my daughter has grown out of—I always squeeze her into them for a holiday, then find somewhere to donate to, or leave them for the hotel staff.

I always use biodegradable single-use baby bottles in transit, which lots of people don’t know exist, and I always sterilise my water to avoid traveller’s diarrhoea. Studies have shown that if you get it, it will take 3 days off your holiday on average.

A lot of this really applies to adults as well, then, doesn’t it?

Definitely. I offer young person’s consultations too, because there are lots of important things to know for adults as well. A good example is for those who live with HIV. Many countries have a rigid approach to travellers with HIV.

Some places, you’ll be completely fine if you tick “tourism” as your reason for travel, but if you’re on a longer trip and tick “long-term traveller”, they’ll HIV test you at the airport and throw you out of the country if it’s positive. Many people don’t realise this sort of thing is still going on, and it’s so stressful to have those worries.

It’s worth mentioning that these countries are often places with very poor LGBTQ+ rights as well. I hold maps on where these things are an issue.

Where were the most child-friendly destinations you’ve visited?

Honestly, I’ve found everywhere to respond well to children! Everyone just wants to help you out when you have a kid! But I find the best places are those where the kids stay up the latest, places where they’re part of adult society and not kept separate. You know, those parts of Europe you go to where kids are part of normal life and up until 9-10 pm.

In saying that, the friendliest place I’ve ever been is the Pacific. They’re amazing with kids. When I lived in the Solomon Islands, people would just offer me cake on the way to work, or I’d be standing at the traffic lights and someone would offer me a 7up.

I think Vanuatu is supposed to be the happiest place in the world, but I’m not sure if whoever decided that actually went to the Solomon archipelago, which is really close by. The people were just totally awesome.

Where have you travelled thanks to JFC that you never expected to?

The good thing about having a good grasp of geography is that you can look on Jack’s, and if you know where you want to go, you can get the cheapest flight nearby. I think most JFC members probably aren’t scared of travelling, so you can just figure out a way to get there.

So, I went via Guam to get somewhere else—Palau. That was a JFC find. The people of Guam were so friendly as soon as I arrived. The airport cleaner even gave me a lift to my hotel!

I’d love to go back, as I was only there for four days because it was a stopover. There are lots of great walks and nature, and amazing beaches of course.

So, I think I can see where this one might go—but, what under-visited place would you recommend to other JFC-ers?

Yeah, either Guam or the Solomon Islands. I think everyone usually goes to either Fiji or Vanuatu. Solomon isn’t a traditional tourist destination, but it is beautiful and unspoiled. But you’ve got to take your antimalarials! It has the highest malaria rate.

Either there or Guam, I love them both. And Palau was unbelievable. I stayed in Airbnbs and it was just incredible. They also have all those planes that went down during the war, and you can just walk through the bush and ask a local, “is there a plane wreck around here?” The answer tends to be yes, and you’ll find all these amazing old wrecks, disused bunkers, a museum of medals that were found in the jungle…

Solomon is much the same, but they're underwater there, perfect for scuba diving. Plus, there are boats and caves just full of skulls and old army outfits. You feel bad wandering through it, but It’s unbelievable for history. You have to take a book with you and read all about the Guadalcanal Campaign and how it went down.

That all sounds fascinating! And where’s your next trip to?

My next trip is hopefully to Trinidad, because that’s where my Dad’s from. I haven’t been for around 20 years, so it’ll be fascinating to go back and see how it has all changed. I saw an Aruba/Trinidad deal on JFC I need to look at once my daughter is in bed!

I’m going to take her with me. You’ve just got to get them over 9 months old to get their yellow fever jab. You can’t really go to a yellow fever zone before that.

Thanks so much for chatting to me. Do you have any last words of advice for your fellow JFC-ers?

Well, a word of warning about travelling with a cat—DEET may be totally safe for your kids, but it can be really dangerous for cats because they’re missing a certain liver enzyme. But they do need repellent too, so make sure to research that before taking your cat away with you.

And I know it’s depressing, but there is quite a high chance of another pandemic in the coming years, so everyone needs to travel now!! I really think that by the time our kids are in their 40s, travel could be a completely different entity. They might not be able to fly about like we can, so I’m planning as much leisure travel with my child as I can now, for sure.

Natalie is a paediatric infection consultant in London and founder of the Childrenstraveldoc.com, where she runs a virtual travel advice clinic for pregnant women, babies, children, and even grown-ups.

Answered by Akasha Currently based in Ireland, when she isn't travelling, Flight Finder Akasha is probably drawing in a café somewhere or hanging out with her cats.

Well, reader, luckily there are a few of us on the JFC team who know a thing or two about getting around Mexico!

The safest way to reach Puerto Escondido would be to fly from Oaxaca. However, because the two aren’t actually that far apart, most routes go via Mexico City. You can expect it to cost around $150 round trip, depending on when you travel.

There are also non-stop flights operated by a smaller company called Aerotucán, however this is much pricier, at around $350 round trip.

On the other hand, the cheaper option would be to take one of Southern Mexico's ADO buses. Don’t trust Google Maps when it says that the journey only takes 3 hours—it’s actually more like 10!

ADO buses are pretty comfy, at least, with reclining seats and power outlets. They do tend to be cold, though, so pack a blanket, especially if you’re taking the night bus and want to get some sleep! Tickets usually cost about 600 pesos ($35). You may also find ADO GL buses operating the route, which offer more luxury standards but cost a little more, at around 750 pesos ($44).

You can save more again by opting for a shared public minibus ride, known as a colectivo or camioneta. But what you save in cash, you do lose in comfort!

Safety is relatively good there. I travelled through a high-risk zone from Chiapas to Palenque and didn't have any problems. But I would absolutely recommend keeping all valuables on you! A semi-common thing I've heard that happens is kids climb inside the luggage compartments in the bus, loot the bags, and get out at the next stop. But I’ve never had any issues personally!

I’d also recommend that you plan in some time to visit Mazunte. It's a beautiful beach town near Puerto Escondido that’s much smaller and more relaxed. There’s way less of a touristy party scene there than Puerto Escondido, and the Wi-Fi is spottier, so you’ll be forced to properly unplug.

Take a look at my article on lesser-known destinations in Mexico if you’d like more ideas!

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week.

• Tired of buying a different local SIM every time you go abroad? New eSIM company Firsty is planning to offer global connectivity—for free!
• It turns out that our number one pet peeve when it comes to our fellow air travellers isn’t when they strike up unwanted conversations, nor is it reclining their chair on top of us. In this post-pandemic world, we are, in fact, most annoyed by people spreading their germs!
• There’s no shortage of weird and wonderful things to see and do in London, but we reckon this spice trail tour through Wembley might be our new favourite.
• And finally, if you’ve had one of those weeks when you’re just done with people, cast your mind to Japan and any of its eleven islands where humans are outnumbered by felines.
  From Aoshima, where the ratio is around 36 cats to each ageing fisherman, to the citrus groves of Muzukijima, a little detox from humanity can sound paw-sitively delightful every now and then. Just don’t forget to bring the Dreamies!