Summer is here and for many of us, it is time to go on holiday! As well as being a time of excitement, it can also be a time of stress as you think about all the things that you need to do before you go away so you don’t have to worry on your vacation. Ultimately, the best way to be prepared for taking a trip is to be well-organised, and give yourself plenty of time to get ready for your adventure. But if you don’t have as much time as you would like, don’t worry! In this blog post, we are going to run through a pre-holiday checklist of the things that you need and need to do before you leave. Let’s go!
Check Your Passport Expiry Date
There are plenty of people who don’t pick up their passport until the day they are due to go abroad. The last thing that you want to find is that it has expired! And depending on the place that you are planning on traveling to, some countries require you to have at least six months left to go. If you find that you are in difficulty and don’t have long to go, you may have to pay extra for an express service to get it processed.
Apply for Your Visas
Some countries require you to get a visa in advance, so check out the turkey-visa-service if you are going to be travelling over to this part of the world. Other nations need you to register online and pay a fee before you travel. Ultimately, it is always worth giving yourself plenty of time to spare, so that you can jump through all the necessary hoops and don’t end up with your holiday being ruined.
Back Up Your Documents Online
If you only have the physical copies of all your documents, there is every chance that you could lose them. So, it is worth having a digital copy of everything including your passport, itinerary, insurance, tickets and everything else which may come in handy. Use a cloud account such as Google Drive or OneDrive and you can use any device you like to access all your files.
Apply for Travel Insurance
A lot of people travel without any insurance, but this is simply a risk which is not worth taking. It is usually inexpensive, and will give you the peace of mind that everything is covered in the event that you should lose a valuable item or get into a medical emergency. There are plenty of comparison websites out there which give you the chance to grab the best deal, but make sure that you read the small print to ensure that you are well aware of what is covered and what isn’t.
Healthcare
There is nothing more important than protecting your health while you are traveling. So it is always worth visiting your doctor before you go to any country which requires extra vaccinations. This is likely to be the case if you are traveling to parts of the world like Asia, Africa or Latin America. When you are packing your suitcase, you should also make sure that you have all your medicines, as well as some first aid essentials like plasters and antiseptic wipes. Some of the items which are readily available in your home country may not be as easily accessible when you are abroad.
Prepare Your Phone
Your smartphone can prove to be an invaluable tool when you are traveling, so it is worth getting it prepared. First of all, you should download all the apps that you may need such as offline maps, a phrasebook, a torch, booking apps, taxi apps like Uber, and everything else that you can think of. You could also consider unlocking your phone so that you can purchase local sim cards instead of paying high roaming charges. Finally, clear your phone memory – it is likely that you are going to want to take a lot of pictures! You can even set them to back up automatically on your cloud account, so you don’t have to worry about losing your memories.
Pack Strategically
Packing is the part of holiday preparation which many people find to be the most stressful and problematic. You can reduce a lot of these issues simply by writing out a list of what you need and ticking each item off as you pack it. Check your luggage allowances if you are taking a flight, so you don’t get caught having to pay any extra charges when you get to the airport. Pack strategically by rolling up your clothes and making the most of every inch of space that you have available. And try to choose clothes which are practical and can be worn in a wide range of different situations – rather than filling up your case with high heels and cocktail dresses! As for bulky items like towels, you could try buying a microfiber towel which is thin and lightweight.
Sort Out Your Money Situation
It is likely that you are going to want to get some cash before you leave, so shop around to get the best exchange rate before you travel. Separate this out into different parts of your luggage, so you don’t risk losing it all or it getting stolen. However, you may not want to get out too much cash before you leave as it is likely that you can get a better rate of exchange if you withdraw money from the ATM when you get there. Make sure to contact your bank before traveling, so that they don’t end up freezing your card. Bring a credit card or two with you as another option. You could apply for a new one if it gives you a good deal like 0% balance transfers or no fees when used abroad. Alternatively, you could apply for a special travel card if you would prefer this option.
Prepare Your Travel Entertainment
If you are going to be stuck traveling for hours and hours on end, you will want to stay entertained while you are doing so. If you have an online streaming account, you could download some movies and TV shows to watch. But you could also look into audio forms of entertainment for your smartphone including music, podcasts and audiobooks. And don’t forget to pack some headphones! Pack some reading material or download some new books for your Kindle. But sometimes, you simply can’t beat the classics like some board games or classic car games like ‘I Spy’ if you are heading out on a road trip! While we are on the subject of electronics, make sure that you have travel adaptors, so that you can keep everything charged when you arrive at your destination.
A Journal and Pen
Sometimes, it is nice to disconnect from your electronics for a little while, and writing about your travel experiences in a journal provides you with the perfect opportunity to do this. Not only is this a good way to get your thoughts down on paper, it will also give you some unique memories which you can look back on in the future.
A Refillable Water Bottle and Snacks
A refillable water bottle is a useful purchase – and it is also good for the environment as you don’t need to keep buying endless plastic ones. You should also pack some of your favourite snacks. This will stop you needing to buy food at the airport, train station, service station etc as the mark-up on the price is always going to be huge.
Work Out Your Itinerary
You may be the kind of person who likes to travel with a detailed itinerary or you may prefer to wing it when you get there. Even if you are in the latter camp of people, it still helps to have done some research on where you are going. This will stop you from missing out on something which you will really enjoy. And there is nothing more annoying than hearing about it once you get back again! By doing a bit of research, this can also help you to avoid some of the tourist traps, and potentially see some things that you would have otherwise missed out on. You could also book some activities in advance – especially the main tourist sights – which will stop you from having to waste half your holiday on a line.
Hopefully, this list has helped to provide you with some direction in what you need to do before you go away on your holiday. If you only have a short amount of time before you go, now is the time to get moving on this list! Ultimately, by being a little more organised, this will help you out in making sure that you don’t forget anything, as well as averting any potential travel disasters which are on the horizon.