You may need two out-of-town trips: one for medical screening and one for embryo transfer. Screening can be a day trip or an overnight stay; transfer travel may take several days, and extra visits can add more. At LittleBee, we can arrange monitoring near home when your IVF clinic agrees. Tell us before matching if you can only be away for one or two nights.
How many trips—and nights away—should I plan for?
A short appointment can still mean several days away once you add travel and the clinic’s arrival and return instructions.
Medical screening means the health checks you need before treatment1. If the IVF clinic is far away, that may be your first trip. You might return the same day, or need to arrive the night before. Distance, flight times and the appointment schedule all matter.
Embryo transfer may mean another trip. One clinic’s guide for patients coming from abroad plans for a one- or two-day stay for the transfer2. Your own clinic needs to confirm your schedule, including how many nights you should plan to stay.
Extra tests, a follow-up visit or another transfer can add travel. So two trips can be a starting plan, but they may not be the total for your journey.
“Travel is covered” does not tell you how long you will be away. Before you agree to a match, ask for the likely arrival day and return day for each clinic trip. Check whether the plan includes the time needed to get to the airport and back home. A late flight may mean someone else has to handle bedtime, even if you saw the doctor that morning.
Get the clinic’s travel instructions before buying tickets. If you will have medicine to help you relax, confirm who will drive you to and from the clinic3. If you also need to plan time off work, our guide to working while being a surrogate covers work absences at each stage.
Can I have monitoring and prenatal visits near home?
You may be able to have monitoring near home, but your IVF clinic must approve the location and tests.
Monitoring means the blood tests and scans used to follow your treatment. At LittleBee, we can coordinate these visits at a nearby facility that can do the tests your clinic needs. We also plan monitoring and prenatal visits around your work and family needs. Ask what test orders the local site needs and where it should send the results4.
That can make a real difference when you need to get home for school pickup. It is still worth checking the actual appointment times and drive, rather than assuming “local” means a quick stop nearby.
There are three places to keep separate: where the intended parents live, where their IVF clinic is, and where you can have local visits. The parents may live far away while some of your care is close to home. Local monitoring does not mean the embryo transfer itself will move to that location.
Your prenatal visits and birth plan also need to be discussed with your pregnancy care team. Do not assume you must deliver in the intended parents’ state, or that every visit will happen at the transfer clinic. Our surrogacy process guide explains how the treatment stages fit together.
Who can come with me, and who will look after my kids?
At LittleBee, most travel companions are our colleagues, and care for your kids at home needs a separate plan.
For your trip, ask who will come, where you will meet and when they will be with you. If you want your husband or another trusted person with you, tell us early. Check whether they can join the appointment as well as the trip.
It helps to think about the kind of support you need. Someone meeting you at the clinic is different from someone flying with you or staying overnight. Those details matter when you are away from home for treatment.
Count the hours your family needs help, not just the time on the plane. Start with school pickup, dinner and bedtime, then include the morning after a late return. Give your helper the full schedule and your contact details5, and choose a backup for an extra night away.
Taking the children along may sound easier than arranging care at home. Before making that plan, ask about the clinic’s rules, who would watch them during your appointment and which extra costs need approval. Do not buy their tickets on the assumption that they can come into the clinic with you.
The person supporting you on the trip and the person caring for your children may be different people. Each needs to know what you are asking them to do.
Who pays for travel, and will I need to pay first?
At LittleBee, we arrange reimbursement for agreed travel costs; confirm any costs you would need to pay before the trip.
For transfer and prenatal travel, we reimburse actual airfare, ground transport, parking and normal meal costs for you and your companion. Keep the receipts and check what has been agreed for your trip. We arrange payment through the trust account under your agreement. Your coordinator follows up on the payment.
Across surrogacy programs, required clinic travel is often paid for with the intended parents’ money. Flights and hotels may be booked directly, while smaller costs are paid back against receipts. The part you need to settle with us is how your own trip will be booked and paid for.
Ask who will book the flight and hotel, and whether you need to pay anything at booking or check-in. A hotel deposit can affect your household budget even when the stay itself has been approved. If paying first would strain your budget, tell us before you book.
Also ask how a changed date or an extra night would be handled. Find out who to contact before making a new purchase. Keep a record of the approved change with the receipt so it is clear why the extra cost arose.
Travel costs and base pay serve different purposes. One pays back agreed expenses; the other is your pay for carrying. Our guide to surrogate compensation and expenses explains the difference. For this trip, focus on what is approved, who pays first and what paperwork you need to keep.
What if I can only be away for one or two nights?
An out-of-state match needs a clinic travel plan that fits the childcare and backup help you can arrange.
Having a firm limit is useful information to share before matching. You do not need to wait until someone offers you a flight to say that three nights would be too much. Bring up family trips and other dates you cannot move, too.
Briana could take the flight. Her children could not miss two days of school.
When Briana was considering a match, she knew the fertility clinic was in another state. At first, she assumed the trip would be simple: fly in for the embryo transfer, stay a night or two, and come home.
During the matching process, our coordinator walked her through the actual timeline.
The clinic would require medical screening before the transfer. Depending on the results, some follow-up could be handled locally, but certain appointments would still need to take place at the fertility clinic. The transfer date could also shift depending on Briana’s cycle and the doctor’s instructions.
There was another practical issue: Briana had two school-aged children.
Her mother could help with school pickup and bedtime for one night. Three nights would have been much harder. So before Briana accepted the match, we worked through the details with her: which appointments could be completed near her home, which trips would require flying, how long each trip was likely to be, and whether an approved companion would need to travel with her.
In the end, the match worked.
Not because we promised that travel would be easy, but because we turned “we’ll figure it out” into an actual plan.
Before you accept a match, put these four points together:
- Arrival and return: When must you arrive, and what needs to happen before you can leave?
- Nights away: How many nights does the full trip require, including travel?
- A longer stay: Who could cover at home if the clinic needs you to stay longer?
- Changes: Who should you contact about a changed date, travel booking or added cost?
If the plan still asks for more time than your family can cover, say so. Ask whether a different plan is possible, or whether it would be better to wait. If you still need to find someone to help, the home plan is not settled yet.
Travel advice can also change during pregnancy. Discuss travel plans with your pregnancy care team6, especially if a new health concern comes up. If your medical team says not to travel, a nonrefundable ticket is not a reason to go. We pass medical questions to your care team and relay their confirmed instructions.
If your doctor limits your activity, we can help arrange childcare and housework support. That help is based on your needs and the terms of your agreement. A change in your care can affect home life even after the trip is over.
If you are considering a match, you can tell me your travel limits before you have every detail worked out. I am Vivi, a Client Manager at LittleBee Surrogacy, and I welcome new applicants. Start your LittleBee application and include where you live, how long you can be away and the help you have at home. You can also read our articles for surrogates.
References
- Recommendations for practices using gestational carriers: a committee opinion (2022) — asrm.org, 2022
- International IVF — pfcla.com, accessed 2026-10-17
- Embryo Transfer — med.emory.edu, accessed 2026-10-16
- Outside Monitoring Services — stanfordchildrens.org, accessed 2026-10-16
- Babysitting Reminders: Checklist for Parents & Sitters — healthychildren.org, 2022-08-26
- Travel During Pregnancy — acog.org, accessed 2026-10-16
About this guide: I used our confirmed service information, Briana’s story and the sources listed above. Reviewed October 16, 2026.