Wendy's Wandering

International Travel To Do Checklist

This International Travel To Do Checklist is one that I go through each time that I travel outside of the U.S.  If you live in a country other than the U.S., this information should apply to you as well – just find your country’s embassy/consulate rather than the U.S.

 

• Itinerary, Travel Documents, and Alerts
  •  Create an International Travel Itinerary for Friends and Family. Print copies for each member of your travel party as well as provide copies to a trusted friend(s) and/or family member.
  •  Photocopy travel documents.  Bring one copy with you and provide copies along with the International Travel Itinerary to a trusted friend(s) and family member.
    •  Passport ID page
    •  Foreign visa (if applicable)
    •  Airline ticket
    •  Driver’s license
    •  Credit cards, front and back, brought on the trip
    •  Traveler’s check serial numbers
  •  Enroll your trip with the State Dept’s STEP program
  •  Sign up for travel alert and warnings
  •  Locate the nearest US Embassy / Consulate to where you will be travelling

• Research Your Travel Location
  •  Research your location
  •  Research the country’s foreign currency and the exchange rate
  •  Research tipping etiquette
  •  Research local laws and customs, including how to contact emergency police and services
  •  Determine if you are going to drive abroad and research what the requirements are for the location.

• Finance and Credit Cards
  •  Notify your bank, credit card company, or other financial institutions that you are going overseas.
  •  After researching the foreign currency and exchange rate, determine if and how much foreign currency you should buy before arriving and where you should buy it (bank, ATM, currency counter at airport, etc.).

• Phone Coverage
  •  Research international phone and data plans with your mobile phone carrier.
    •  Research how to place local and international phone calls from your travel location
    •  Purchase an international data package if needed
    •  Consider purchasing a SIM card at your destination location and swap it for the SIM card in your mobile device.  Sometimes this is cheaper than an international plan; however, your phone number will change.  Store your US-based SIM card safely.
    •  Consider using apps such as Skype, WhatsApp, or Viber for texting and cheaper phone calls.

• Home and Pet Care
  •  Pet care. Ensure you have friends, family or a trusted pet border set up for pet care.  The person taking care of your pet should be given your contact information.
  •  Home care.  Accidents can happen while you are away from your home.  Turn off your water, set your air conditioning or heat at its most economical setting, arrange for the watering of plants/lawn, etc.
  •  Mail delivery.  If you are going to be gone for more than a couple days, arrange for someone to bring your mail in or pick it up.  You can also contact the post office to put a hold on your mail while you are away.

• Health and Life Insurance
  •  Research how to Find a doctor/hospital abroad
  •  Research vaccinations needed (Center for Disease Control, World Health Organization)
  •  Determine if your health insurance offers coverage outside the US
    •  Especially if you are going to be doing adventure tourism, be sure to check into your catastrophic and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage.
  •  Life insurance.  Though it’s not fun to think about this topic, it is a matter of practicality and responsibility to ensure your life insurance policy is up to date before you travel.

• Legal
  •  Power of Attorney.  Consider looking into making arrangements for a power of attorney who can handle your finances and other estate and or health issues if something were to happen to you and/or you are waylaid on your journey and not able to return home as scheduled.