20 Essential Tips Before Traveling Internationally
Traveling internationally is exciting yet dangerous. It is fun yet risky. It is often hard, but definitely worth it!
To flourish while traveling, every single one of you should carefully plan your trip before leaving. Explore the unknown territories of various foreign countries is no piece of cake, especially if you’re a novice traveler who is just getting started!
In today’s post, I’m sharing 20 insightful tips that you should take into consideration before traveling internationally. Here we go.
1. Search for the Cheapest Flights
To benefit from your budget as much as possible during the trip, make sure you do your homework well regarding the available flights. You can find plenty of airfare price tracking tools that will help you do that; you must only use them!
2. Recheck Your Passport
If you’re living in the UE, you should worry about your passport only if you’re traveling in countries that are outside of UE and require a passport. For US citizens, you should always double check your passport and VISA requirements before hitting the airport.
3. Create Copies of Your Important Documents
You never know…
Traveling can put you in plenty of unfortunate situations and circumstances. Losing traveling documents is a common unfortunate event that you must anticipate. You can simply do that by cloning the most important documents you’ll take with you.
4. Take Care of the Necessary Vaccinations
First of all, think about your health. Traveling to various zones that are known to carry spreadable diseases is risky unless you take precautions. Make sure you talk to do some research before leaving and let your doctor know of your plans!
5. Get in Touch with Your Bank
Some banks will charge you extra fees if you withdraw money from international ATMs without announcing. Therefore, notify your bank of your leave and ask them for more details concerning the changes that will occur once you leave the country.
6. Have Access to Emergency Cash
Life is unpredictable, and that is why it is so fun!
If you get robbed on an international trip, you may feel that the world’s about to end right now. Despair may arise, as well as many other problems. To avoid that, make sure you have some stashed cash somewhere safe. It can be on a different credit card that you keep in your room, or it can be cash that you hide somewhere. Either way, make sure you have an emergency fund to help with handling the unexpected!
7. Check with Your Insurance Provider
If you get hurt, have an accident, or anything bad happens to you during the trip, knowing that you can count on your insurance is a great stress reducer (especially in those critical moments).
Talk to your insurance provider and make sure that your insurance plans are active before you leave home. If you don’t have any, get traveling insurance as soon as possible!
8. Always Check the Weather Before Leaving
Knowledge is power. If you know how the weather will manifest while you’re traveling, you’ll know what clothes to take, what activities to perform, and what to expect from your trip.
9. Get Some Local Cash Ready
Do not start your trip without converting some of your traveling budget to local cash. You should always have that ready in case anything arises: problems, opportunities, etc.
10. Make Sure You’re Aware of the Country’s Exit/Entrance Fees
Some countries have entrance and exit fees. They are usually not much, though if you’re traveling on a fixed and limited budget, they could represent a problem. Before you go, do your homework!
11. Buy Tickets for Events You’d Like to Attend in Advance
Preparing for a trip involves selecting the events and activities that you’d like to attend. You can find such information on social media (city events) but also on traveling-specific websites that publish content related to the country and city you’re visiting.
12. Leverage Guidebooks
Traveling guidebooks include maps, suggestions, hotels, restaurants, and so on. They are a less complex version of a tour guide, so make sure you get a city/zone guidebook before you start exploring.
13. Equip Yourself with a Charger Adapter
In case you didn’t know, some countries have different voltage and plugs. To prevent your phone/tablet from dying and to save a lot of time along the way, get an adaptable charger!
14. Ensure You Have an Additional Set of Clothes in Your Small Bag
If a random storm catches you unprepared, carrying a set of clothes should fix the problem. However, if you don’t, you’ll have to run back to the hotel and delay your schedule. Very unpleasant, I know!
15. Plan Your First and Last Day
If your first and last day are exceptional, you’ll gain some pretty nice memories regardless of the “bad” stuff that you’ve experienced. Starting a vacation on the right foot is also a good way to gain momentum and keep it that way until the end!
16. Do Your Homework on the Food You’ll Eat
Eating while traveling abroad is a serious concern you should address. It depends on you whether you want to eat healthily (more energy and better vibes during the trip) or poorly (fast food/cheap food that will create the opposite effects).
17. Learn the Basic Words and Phrases
Learn to say “Hi”, “Thank you”, “Where is the bathroom”, and so on. By engaging with locals, you’ll improve the complexity of your experiences while creating rapport and building relationships with foreigners.
18. Figure Out How to Reach Your Hotel After You Land
Long flights are tiring, and the last thing you’ll want is to have problems reaching your accommodation. Some hotels close their check-ins at specific hours, so don’t leave your country without figuring out the most optimal way to arrive at the hotel.
19. Pack Some Emergency Medication
In case you feel bad during the trip, reaching out to local hospitals is often difficult for various reasons (language, insurance, etc.). Carry some emergency medication with you to help “solve” the unfortunate medical problems that may arise.
20. Check for Special Rules and Regulations
Lastly, yet very importantly, research the country’s special rules and regulations.
Some countries do not allow you to bring medical drugs with you, while others will limit the number of certain products that you can bring (cigarettes, alcohol, etc.) Before you enter a country, be very sure you’re not breaking any laws!
Final Words
Traveling is the most beautiful thing ever if you know how to do it!
Are you ready to thrive? If so, make sure you apply everything you’ve got here to skyrocket the quality of your future traveling experiences!
Do you have any essential tips to make international travel easier or more fun? Let us know in a comment below!
Great travel tips Tiffany, thanks for sharing! Easy check list to follow when planning my next adventure.
Yes, Tiffany always gives us great tips and information. I love the ideas she shares in this article. 🙂
Great tips! Some of these seem so obvious, but I’ve definitely forgotten some of them at times. This makes a great travel checklist before heading off! Thanks for sharing (:
Thank you!!
Thanks for the tips. Very informative.
Thanks Nicky!
A good list – I travel often and have an excel form I use to check off. I am going to add a few things to my list that you mentioned here that I did not think of already!
I’m glad this article could help Angela!
hi, really good list! most people would think point 1 isnt important but it is! my wife forgot to check her passport when were going to Switzerland and we got turned down at the check in counter. turns out you need to have 6 months validity on your passport if you travelling to any country otherwise you are not allowed to travel!
number 19 is also very important. we went to georgia in western asia and my little one fell sick…we struggled to get medicine as most of the places spoke only russian or georgian and very little english!
These are great tips! Adding to my list! Thanks!
Really useful ones, and I find especially useful #4 and #5 when traveling in Asia.