Table of Contents
5 Important Things To Do Before Your Next International Travel
Travel means different things to different people. For some, it signifies adventure while for others it may be synonymous with leisure and relaxation. Travel may mean an exotic getaway to some while others may look at it as an opportunity to get close to the local culture of a place.
Whatever it may mean to you; one thing is certain – travel means movement. A movement between distinct geographical locations. The greater the distance between the two geographical locations, the more complicated becomes the affair of travel planning and there would be many things to do before you travel.
International Travel Checklist
International trips, in particular, bring many different dimensions into play, each requiring your attention. Here is an international travel checklist that lists out 5 important things you need to consider before you embark on your journey.
This international travel checklist is something one should refer to on all international travels. Hope you take a look at these tips before travelling internationally.
Health, and Statutory Medical Requirements
Your health and fitness are of absolute importance at any time, but it requires much more crucial planning while travelling. You do not want to spend your holiday cooling your heels in a hospital after all. So, getting a medical check-up done before your trip should be your priority, so that you are forewarned of health issues if any.
This is especially important if you are travelling to a country with climatic conditions different from your home country or you are embarking on an adventure under extreme conditions, like a trek to the Everest Base Camp.
Another requirement that most tend to ignore, and are caught up in a last-minute scramble are various statutory requirements for vaccinations that some countries have. An example is the Yellow Fever vaccination. Many countries mandate that you are vaccinated against Yellow Fever if you are travelling to/from certain East African Countries.
So before you travel ensure that you are aware of any statutory medical requirements of the destination you are travelling to. Always have health included in your international travel checklist. This is one of the most important things to do before you leave on your travels.
Travel Insurance
Travel is an enjoyable experience. But, God forbid, things can go awry any time and one must be prepared for such eventualities. Sickness can ground you, passports can be lost or stolen, an accident may strike, Check-in baggage may be delayed. Really, come to think of it, there are so many things that can go wrong while travelling, with consequences that may range from mild to extreme impact.
So before you travel, travel insurance must figure in your pre-travel checklist and getting overseas travel insurance is something one should not ignore. One should do a proper evaluation of requirements against the travel insurance features before deciding on the best and optimal insurance cover. Your international travel checklist cannot be complete without travel insurance in it.
International Driving License
Your international travel checklist must have an international driving license included in it if you are planning to drive in the country you are visiting. Make sure you check out the driving license requirements there. The driving license issued by your home country will most likely not be valid and you may be required to take an International Driving License.
It is prudent to check on this aspect before the trip to avoid being caught unawares. Checking on driving requirements must be included in your list of things to prepare before travelling.
Traffic rules
If you plan to embark on a dream road trip in the country you are travelling to, it is imperative that you are aware of all the rules and regulations of that place before you travel. After all, you do not want to be booked for a travel offence in a foreign country. So make sure researching on the traffic rules and regulations in the country or countries of your visit figures prominently in your travel planning checklist.
Political Scenario
One of the things that most travellers ignore is the basic political scenario in the country. Ensure you read up and study at least the latest news about your destination to avoid mishaps and conflicts. There are so many stories of travellers being caught up in the crossfire and being stranded in a foreign country because of the changes in the country’s political climate.
You don’t want to get mixed up with that during your vacation. Travel safety is one of the important aspects to be considered. Hence make sure to include a basic study of the political situation in the country you are travelling to in your travel preparation checklist.
These are 5 important things to consider before you travel. If these are taken care of there is less likelihood that your travel experience would be anything less than what you imagined. It would be sunsets and roses all the way.
So travel is not that simple, especially if it is long-term. Travel packing checklists need to be made and ticked off and you need to take care of things to do before an international trip.
We hope we have been able to list some important things to do before overseas travel and how to prepare for travel abroad. For more details on various aspects of travel and how one can be prepared for any eventuality, making travel a really enjoyable experience do check out some of our posts related to these topics:
- Travel tips for what to wear and stay trendy on your next vacation
- How to optimize your travel costs
- Are medical expenses incurred on a foreign trip covered in a travel insurance policy?
- A Packing List to Send All Your Travel Woes Packing
- Top Things to Pack in Your Travel Health Kit
- Top 20 Travel Tips For a Family Vacation
- Travel Tips to Make Your Travels Safer
- 7 Tips to Keep Oneself Fit and Healthy While Traveling
- Top 5 Tips for planning a perfect Family Trip
Do You Love Traveling?
Do you want to know how to travel the world? We have put together a very useful travel resources page with the best travel tips. Go check it out now.
Thanks for visiting our site Voyager – imvoyager.com and taking the time to read this post!
If you wish to collaborate/work with us then reach us at [email protected]
We’d love it if you’d comment by sharing your thoughts on this post and share this post on social media and with your friends.
Follow our journey on our social media channels:
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest YouTube
60+ Million Users Trust TripAdvisor With Their Travel Plans. Shouldn’t You?
Super list guys. We picked up an international driver’s license back in the USA a few weeks ago. Quick trip to Triple A and now we can drive in New Zealand next month. Still due to grab a Thailand motorbike license though 😉
Ryan
I know few people that put off getting vaccinations until the last minute and had a problem. I’ve never driven internationally so the driving requirements is a great reminder as well.
I know there are some places we aren’t even allowed to travel from the US because of the political scene, so at least our country is looking out for us.
Before planning an international trip, I always check to make sure the place I’m planning on visiting is not on the travel advisory list. And when it comes to driving on the “wrong” side of the road, I usually leave that to my husband. It makes me nervous.
I’ll keep these tips in mind the next time I travel internationally. I don’t think I’ll be doing that for quite some time. For now I’ll just be traveling within the United States.
It’s really important to check medical and political advisory of a place before a trip. It will help you prepare the requirements better as well as planning your itinerary.
We traveled in several countries by car last year and only used our driver licenses of our home country. We rented a car don’t know if that makes a difference.
I never realized how important it was to have an international licence until my husband told me about it. I think it’s definitely worth the investment in time and money.
Thanks for this handy list. As travelers, sometimes we sometimes get a bit too confident at times and forget to check on simple things such as traffic rules, political situations and such…so it’s always good to be reminded with a checklist like this.
We check with our health insurance provider about coverage when traveling internationally. We also research about the accredited hospitals in the country we intend to visit. Better to know what to do if something wrong happens while we are in a foreign country.
Planning ahead of time is so important whether you are traveling local or abroad. To avoid bad circumstances, travel insurance is a must esp. traveling abroad.
This is a great checklist. It is so important to do a little research before heading overseas. We always check what’s been going on in the location we are heading to. And we also see if there are any advisory.
All this are definitely must dos! I always travel with insurance because you never know what could happened!!
We just started driving in Mexico. People think things like this are simple, but they aren’t. Mexican police, any police, are super sticklers when it comes to traffic violation.
These are important things to keep in mind. Traveling in other countries can present challenges for sure. Thanks for these smart tips on navigating them well.
This is a great list, registering with the State Department is a must do. I need them to know that I am visiting another country should anything happen.
At first thanks to you share this information. International travel is best travel experience for any one. I love to travel. I want to traveling on international travel but I have not international driving licences any problem for international travel?
Thank you for this list! These are all very useful points. One thing I would add is that Yellow Fever vaccines are currently in very short supply – so I would even advice to get a shot now (or order a shot from your travel clinic) even if you’re not in acute need. You don’t want a missing shot to mess up your trip 🙂
Happy continued travels!
C
I will be flying to Taiwan soon and this is a timely reminder I need. Thank you. What a helpful post!
I love traveling to different countries but it’s important to make sure you’re ready and have everything you need especially the documents. I think these are all important.
Great post! One of the things I learned the hard way was looking into the driving situation. Granted, I didn’t need an international driver’s license to drive a car in the US Virgin Islands, but I failed to research their driving culture. Imagine my shock when I got into my rental and saw a big sign that said to drive on the opposite side of the road I was used to!
Thank you for this post! Great tips!! I’ve had a few of these problems before lol so its great to have a list to remind you.
The last point on the checklist is so important and one that many people skip doing. I think when I was younger I never really paid attention to many of the things on this list, but now that I’m older I definitely get travel insurance now 🙂
Such a great an essential list. I don’t even have a drivers licence so don’t think I would drive abroad at first. I think I would be too scared to drive outside my own country hehe. Travel insurance is a must-have, I never travel abroad without it. It is so important to be aware of conflicts in the countries you travel to as well. Thank you for this post, so useful 🙂
Great list! And an addition: check out if you need a visa for the destination which you’re planning on visiting! That one of the most important things by preparing your trip, together with the list you’ve created above. Thank you!
Me and my husband always make sure to get out vaccinations before we go out of the country. We took a trip to Africa this simmer and it was such a fun time.
I never even thought about the driver’s license. That is a really great note.
What a great list! I’ve been wanting to do more international travel this year and this will help me be more prepared!
Taking the necessary precautions like getting travel insurance and the necessary vaccinations is absolutely essential in ensuring that you are covered no matter what happens. It gives you that peace of mind and prevents a heavenly vacation from morphing into your worst nightmare! 🙂
These are all vital things to bear in mind before travelling! Especially regarding travel insurance; when I went to Peru I had to make sure my cover including trekking over 4000m, so as you say, places like Nepal and other high altitude destinations need special consideration. The political climate too can change very quickly, so reading the news is super important!
Good compilation. The traffic rules is something which we might take lightly, but its very important to be wary. Subconsciously, we drive anywhere like we drive in India.
Great list of travel tips. Travellers must be aware that rules and requirements are always changing these days. So it’s best to check with government and airline travel sites to ensure regs haven’t changed since your booking was made.
Pre-planning is always such a critical part of everything in life, including travel. Unfortunately, the checklist has to include the last point that you mention…checking the political situation of the destination. Thankfully, technology has made it all very simple.
What a useful tips you shared with us. It is really interesting and informative post. Thank you so much for sharing it.
People always underestimate the importance of travel insurance, they always assume that it is something they do not need. But I have run into a few situations over my travels where it has been worth while!
Good tips here. Its surprising how many travelers forget to check their documents or forget them and only finding out at the airports :O
I have four trips abroad already planned this year! I love your tips and agree with all of them! So important to plan ahead!
It’s funny how many people overlook traffic rules- myself included! I know lots of people who got speeding tickets on the autobahn because of the misconception that there is no speed limit on it.
I always get travel insurance for international trips now, as I’ve had too many injuries happen that almost made me go to the hospital. An international driver’s license is a smart idea too, as you never know when you’ll want to rent a car and if that country requires it.
I totally need to update my travel checklist – it makes life so much better and easier. I hate feeling like I’m disorganized at the last minute.
Excellent tips! I feel like so many people forget the importance of the insurance, and then loose so much money when they fall ill abroad. Also the political background is important today.
The vaccinations are super important and glad we did it to be safe. you never know how easy it could be to get sick. When we drove through Italy we read up a lot on the driving rules. theynhad so many different signs and ways for interpreting things. These are great tips and I completely agree they are essential.
These are fabulous tips – I thankyou especially for highlighting the need to research the political situation, because you’re right, I think this is something that people really underestimate the importance of. I’ve heard so many stories of people doing stupid things – like publiclly complaining in Thailand recently when the King passed, or taking photographs of military buildings in Turkey during a coup. And people should be really careful about what they say on social media about a political situation when they’re in a country. It’s a really really good point!
The political scenario is one of the most important things to consider that I think most people forget to look into as long as they see that there are tourists visiting a certain country. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Great post! 🙂
I am not too sure about the travel insurance. You have no choice where it is mandatory but for the rest of the places, I wonder if you know of anyone who benefitted from buying travel insurance. I am not aware.
We love doing road trips internationally and always check driving requirements beforehand. In Sri lanka last year needed IDL for road tripping and were on point because of prior planning. Great tips!
I couldn’t agree more with with these 5 checklist, there may be others, but these 5 are extremely important and are in order. The health insurance is even the major for me. I’ve come across traveler without that and I can’t imagine how they do that. What of something happens? And the political situation is just too necessary to help you have a nice time in your new home. Thanks for sharing these tips with us. Very valuable.
These are all great tips! When we first started traveling, we weren’t careful enough and things like missing a flight for visa mistakes would happen. Now we are more careful. Unfortunately, we didn’t come with an international license on our trip around Asia, but so far we haven’t been asked for it. When we are back in the US we will get one!
This list is great…a few things,but monumentally important. Thanks for including political research. I didn’t do this before and had gotten air tickets to Tunisia before I found out people were being warned of travel there because, only 4 weeks prior to my intended visit, there was a massacre of tourists.
This is a very good and comprehensive list of things you should be aware off before you go abroad. I must admit that I will often forget or ignore the political situation of a country. Curiosity for the country often tempts me. However, my fiancee is far more careful than me and keeps me safe. He has had a couple of frank words with me in the past.
So great tips. These are some great clue on how to be aware and prepared before you travel. Always worth the extra research and efforts.
We’ve been travelling internationally for many many years so usually we have all this downpat, but we did fall down a little on vaccinations for the last trip, we’d thought we were still covered by our previous injections but turned out they’d expired, so we had to get new ones at the last minute, and had to pay a lot more because we couldn’t get a slot in the (much cheaper) GP travel clinic in time! Always worth checking!!!
There is so much to consider when planning to travel internationally! Thank you for this list! I’m Pinning to reference for my next trip.
So very true – all these points are a must check before heading out of the country. Insurance is one thing that we all tend to lapse out on. And checking the political scenario especially on the week of travel is important. Well captured points.
The other thing I recommend is checking the facilities at your hotel. For instance I treated my husband Tina weekend in Italy at a spa hotel and forgot to bring stuff for the spa. Very annoying as it is a gem. Great tips thanks
These are really great tips. I do think that the number one thing to remember before you leave is the travel insurance. That is key to any trip!
What a useful tips you shared with us. It is really interesting and informative post for international travel. Thank you so much for sharing it.
A good checklist. We make sure to travel with our full vaccination and shot list every time we travel. Just in case we wander to a place we had not planned for. It is interesting that you have found that you need an International Driving License everywhere. We carry ours but it has been hit or miss whether we have been asked for it. Travel rules (and road signs) are a great tip. Some of them have been so confusing. The other thing on our international check list is connectivity. Cell phone coverage is so expensive in Canada that we never want to roam with our home cell phones. So understanding local options is essential.
A complete checklist. To travel internationally, certain things needs to be noticed and you mentioned all of them here. IT is really a useful post for a first time international traveller like me.
Thanks for the tips. We in North America are spoiled because few countries require us to have a visa, but it’s worth checking.
I would add passports to the list. I am in the process of using miles to bring my Canadian family to Colorado in July. After discovering that some of their passports were due to expire, I have vowed to make checking passports the first question I ask. Now, we have to wait until we have all the passport information before booking the flights.
I was at an airport where I saw a single mom with her child turned away at customs because she did not have a letter from the father agreeing to the child’s travel. After researching this for my daughter ( a single mom) I discovered that some countries require the letter to be notarized. The letter should also specifically authorize any and all medical care that the child may need in a foreign country.
Traveling abroad is fun, but eating in a foreign country can sometimes become a task. Bring small snacks that will tide you over until you find that perfect restaurant or food cart.
Good Info. I learned about Travel insurance on my first trip.
International travel is very adventure travel. Your blog gives a lot of helpful information regarding international traveling checklist. Thanks for such post and please keep it up.