Top 10 Things to Remember Before Traveling Abroad

We have all been there! We are getting ready to embark on the journey of a life-time. Every thing is packed away, and as we are heading to the airport, we realize we got something vital.

Forgetting things while traveling is frustrating. Who wants to spend hours making international calls because you forgot to get someone to babysit your cat, am I right?

Here is a checklist I use go over before every leaving the country I am in.

First Aid Kit

I am not saying carrying a hospital operating room with you, but a first aid kit is essential if you have adventures planned on your travels. I’ve carried a first aid kit into the Alaksa Wilderness and Driving 1/3 the planet in the Mongol Rally. However, I don’t just reserve the first aid kit fo adventures.

It’s a smart practice to carry a first-aid kit at all times. Now it is just a habit.

– Baggage restrictions
Sometimes I’m a bit scattered brained. A couple of times I have forgotten to add luggage when booking my flight.

Uh oh right?

Each time I sheepishly tried to pass off my 70L backpack as a carry-on at the airport. To my dismay, they wouldn’t let it pass, and I had to add it as a checked bag.

Make sure you know the baggage restrictions of the airline you are flying with, and if you need to add checked baggae.

It is better to pay the $30 baggage fee while booking the flight compared to the $100 fee it cost to add it at the airport.

 Travel Insurance

I always recommend getting World Nomad travel insurance. Besides your passport, it is the most important thing to remember when going abroad. Proticeting yourself is vital when you are visiting other countries and forgien places.

You’re not at higher risk of injury while traveling, but without insurance getting injured aboard will cost a lot more not being a resident of that country will cost a lot more. Once my travel insurance ran out and before could re-up my policy it I became so ill I had to go the hospital. The bills were over 300 Euros of my hard earned money. Those were bills my insurance would have covered and cost almost as much as the travel insurance itself.

Travel insurance is a wise investment to keep yourself safe and also save money.

There are many options when getting travel insurance. One option if you are traveling to Europe is getting a European Health Card. 

One of the facts about me that I often tell people is that traveling with insurance has saved me over $4000.

Check the Weather

Knowing the weather of where you are going is important to know what to pack. Showing up without the proper type of clothes or unprepared for the climate can severely dampen the mode. And result in spending some of your travel cash buying the proper clothes.

Home Security

Make sure to get someone to housesit, feed your animals, or water your planets while you are gone. The further in the future you get someone the better.

Passport

The passport goes without saying. It is impossible to fly internationally if you left your passport at home.

I have a designated pocket I always keep my passport in so I can find it quickly and have no chance of losing it.

While I am scatterbrained on some things, I always know exactly where my passport is located.

Boarding Ticket

Forgetting your boarding ticket isn’t a horrible. The airlines representatives will print you out another one, although it will take time. If you are running late the time it takes getting your boarding ticket reprinted could cause you to miss your flight.

Nowadays the smart move is to check in online and have a boarding ticket sent to your email.

Reservations

Traveling long-term requires a lot of moving. I long time ago I would have said, “Never make reservations, just show up and see what happens”.