PAEDIATRICS
Travel Vaccines for Children: Planning Ahead
When to book, what information to bring, and how travel vaccine planning works for families.
Travel with children raises practical questions that are different from adult travel planning. Vaccine schedules may need to fit around the UK childhood immunisation programme. Some travel vaccines have minimum age requirements. Antimalarial dosing is weight-based. And the practical considerations — what to pack, how to manage illness abroad, when to seek help — are often the most pressing concerns for parents. Booking a travel appointment 4–6 weeks before departure gives enough time to plan properly.
For children’s travel health, the appointment can be arranged through paediatric GP care or through the travel clinic depending on the main focus.
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How to plan ahead
Four to six weeks before departure is the ideal window for a family travel appointment. This gives time for multi-dose vaccines to be started (and in some cases completed), for the GP to review the child’s existing immunisation record, and for any antimalarial prescriptions to be arranged. Some vaccines — rabies, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis — require courses that take several weeks, so earlier booking is better for trips to higher-risk destinations. Even if you are travelling sooner, a last-minute appointment can still be worthwhile.
What to bring to the appointment
Parents should bring their child’s Personal Child Health Record (red book) if available, or at minimum a list of which routine vaccinations have been given and when. Travel details are also important: destination (including specific regions if relevant), travel dates, length of stay, type of accommodation, and whether the trip involves rural travel, safari, trekking or visiting friends and relatives. If the child has any medical conditions, allergies, or takes regular medication, this should be mentioned. If more than one child is travelling, it is often most efficient to bring them to the same appointment.
Immunisation
How the UK childhood schedule fits with travel vaccines
The UK routine immunisation schedule covers diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, measles, mumps and rubella. These need to be up to date before travel — and if any doses have been missed, catch-up can often be arranged alongside travel vaccines. Travel-specific vaccines — hepatitis A, typhoid, rabies, cholera, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever — sit outside the routine schedule and are discussed based on the destination. Some have minimum age requirements (yellow fever from 9 months, injectable typhoid from 2 years), so the GP needs to plan around what is age-appropriate.
Same-day appointments available. Book online or call 020 7736 7557.
Preparation
Practical preparation for families
Beyond vaccines, the consultation can cover antimalarial prescribing at the correct paediatric dose, age-appropriate insect-bite prevention, food and water safety for children, what to pack in a medical travel kit, how to manage fever and diarrhoea abroad, and when to seek medical attention during the trip. For comprehensive destination advice, see the travel clinic. For broader children’s health, see paediatrics.
Common questions
How far ahead should I plan for children’s travel vaccines?
4–8 weeks is a practical window. Some childhood travel vaccines require multiple doses spaced weeks apart, and live vaccines need minimum intervals between each other. Booking early lets the GP plan the schedule around routine immunisations without compromising protection.
Can children have multiple travel vaccines in one visit?
Often, yes — but the combination depends on age, the specific vaccines, and any recent routine immunisations. The GP reviews what can be given safely in one appointment and what needs to be spaced out.
What if a child has recently had routine immunisations — can they still have travel vaccines?
Sometimes spacing is needed between routine live vaccines (such as MMR) and certain travel vaccines. This is why timing matters. Bring the child’s immunisation record to the appointment so the schedule can be planned properly rather than delayed unnecessarily.
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