Calling all international travel virgins! Listen-up, this post is for you! If you’ve ever thought about going abroad (do it) but aren’t sure where to start, we are covering some things to think about before you book your trip, once your ticket is purchased and before you leave home. It might seem overwhelming, but hopefully it gives you the confidence to book that trip you’ve always wanted to take!

Before you buy your ticket:

• Passport: most countries require your passport to be valid for 6 months after you enter. Example – enter the country April 1, your passport should not expire until October 1 or after. If you still need to get a passport, make sure you allow about 4-6 weeks for it to arrive after you submit the application.
• Check visa requirements for your destination. How awful would it be to get turned away at the “door” after you spend all your moolah and months planning?! Get or apply for a visa if necessary. Some visas are done in advance, some once you land, some require passport size photos and some you can only pay for in cash. Do your research here! This can really ruin what should be a great day! Visas can also impact the cost of your trip, so keep that in mind as well.
• Look at vaccination requirements. For some destinations vaccines are strongly recommended, while other countries require proof of a vaccine to enter. Some of these might not be found at your regular physician, but there are travel physicians in most towns and a quick Google search should reveal those closest to you. Check your insurance as well, some of the more common vaccinations might be free or discounted and can sometime be found at walk-in clinics (like CVS’s Minute Clinic, etc). Other vaccinations or preventative medications will need to be brought with you on the trip, so it’s important to get them in advance. No one wants Malaria. Ick. These medications can also affect your cost, so be aware of that since it is not a guarantee that insurance will cover them.

Cash Money

• Credit Card Pro tip: Get a credit card with no international transaction fees – Seriously do it right now. If you don’t want to open a new card, call your credit card company and find out what the international transaction fee is. Then just go ahead and reconsider that card with no transaction fees-it’s worth it! While you are on the phone, notify your banks and credit cards that you will be going oversees. Some do not require this, but it’s best to check. Many times you can set a travel notification right on your bank or credit card’s website! Pro Tip: Take photos of your credit cards in case they are stolen so you have the necessary numbers. We learned this one the hard way…. trust us, just do it.
• Debit Card Pro tip: Open a Charles Schwab checking account – FREE ATM withdrawal everywhere (except Cuba, but that’s a whole different story). If you choose not to do this, find out from the bank what the fee is to get money from an ATM overseas. Also find out if your bank has any affiliate banks in the country you are headed to – for example Bank of America partners with Barclay Bank in the UK – sometimes you can get waived or discounted ATM fees if you use an affiliate banks ATM to withdrawal your cash.
• Physical Cash: Some countries are closed currency and you can’t even get money until you arrive. We don’t recommend getting foreign currency before you leave (if you are USA based) since there are ATMS readily available everywhere these days. If you are DYING to get some, chat with your bank, that’s probably going to be the easiest and most cost effective way to go about getting money.

After you purchase your ticket – yay

• Trip insurance: We have done this a few times, and depending on location highly recommend it. Most companies require you to purchase the policy fairly quickly after you get the airplane ticket, so keep that in mind. Consider this when calculating costs as well. Most policies aren’t super expensive and help cover in case of theft, medical issues, or trip delays, etc. but it is an additional expense. And be sure to read the fine print on the policy so you know for sure it covers what you think it does!
• Think about buying the return plane/train/bus tickets in advance. When you go through customs upon arrival, sometimes they will ask to see proof of a flight/train/bus/boat out. This is especially common in the UK. We’ve been asked almost every time for proof of an exit or return ticket. Nervous about entering a country for the first time? Don’t be! We outline some common questions in one of our other posts to help ease those jitters!
• Book at least your first night’s lodging. Again, some countries want the address of where you’re staying when you go through customs, even though it’s written on your form. Pro tip: use an app like Trip It, or have a note on your phone with your lodging address readily available to help when filling out the immigration forms. It’s very hard to think when you’ve been flying all night and didn’t get a ton of sleep!
• Check the voltage/plug type of where you are visiting. Most other countries use a different shaped plug with a different voltage from the USA. Pro tip: DO NOT bring a nice USA straightener/hairdryer and think you can use it overseas with a converter. One of us may have killed a CHI in Ireland. RIP. Also pack a converter/adaptor in your carry-on in case your checked bag doesn’t make it right away. Dead electronics are no fun!

Before you leave the country:

• At home, if you have someone house sitting, make sure you’ve gone through everything with them and laid out instructions for how things work in your house. You also might want to replace those fire alarm batteries while you’re at it-a beeping alarm at 3AM is a ruined friendship.Arrange pet care if applicable. Make sure there’s a contingency plan in place for a worst-case-scenario situation. Many places require some kind of written documentation to release your pet to someone who isn’t you!
  • Throw out what’s in your fridge that will spoil
  • Take out the trash
  • Turn off ice maker and dump the ice (never know when the power may go out-ice melts!)
  • Physically turn off the water to your home (not if someone is house-sitting, that might be a bad idea)
  • Turn up/down the AC/Heat-about 55 for the heat and around 78/80 for the AC. That way you prevent mildew or a frozen pipe!
  • Lock all doors
  • Make sure you have any medications you take regularly with you and a supply to last the length of you trip if not a bit longer- sometimes there are natural disasters and you get stuck on a different continent-possibly happened to us
  • Stop your mail (easy to do in the US on the USPS website)
  • Provide at least one family member or friend your itinerary so they know where you are
  • Take a list of the embassy contacts with you or create a contact with them listed in your phone
  • Make a copy of your passport and put it in your luggage or carry-on in case it’s lost. It won’t substitute, but it will be easier to replace at the embassy
  • Take a photo of your luggage and the contents inside. If it’s lost, this just makes it easier when dealing with the customer service counter!
  • As an American you can register yourself in STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) to receive alerts related to where you are visiting and make it easier for loved ones to get in touch if anything happens. While we foolishly have never done this, we can’t really think of a reason not to. Heaven forbid something happened abroad, it would only make it easier for people to find you.

Day of Your Flight:
Holy cow you are almost there!!!! Get excited!

• Before heading to the airport, make sure that you have checked in for your flight online-do this as soon as you can, you don’t want to end up in Dubai with a non-confirmed ticket to India…not that it happened to us or anything…ugh!
• Weigh your bags (overage fees are expensive!). 
• Get that passport ready! We put ours in a safe spot and basically check to make sure it hasn’t moved at least one hundred times once an hour the day we travel internationally. To date, no passports have mysteriously jumped out of our bags. Probably won’t change how often we check though.
• For international flights, make sure to arrive at the airport AT LEAST 2 hours prior to your boarding time. We are looking at you last minute airport arriver! Don’t do it-the timing is different when traveling internationally.
• Consider bringing some non perishable type snacks, airport prices are expensive AF and they often don’t have a large variety (especially if you are gluten free, dairy free, vegan, etc.). Also, it’s nice to have your favorite snacks on those long flights – we all agree plane food is meh at best! The TSA is slowly changing the process of going through security with food, so don’t be shocked if you have to take it out of your bag! And be careful of snacks that can be considered liquid!
  Pro Tip: Get a packable water bottle and fill it once through security!

*Please note: All opinions, links, etc. included in this post are just things we like/support/believe are helpful. This is not a sponsored post in any way. All links related to passports and vaccination requirements are for US Citizens*