There’s a lot to do when you’re getting ready for a trip. From the time that you start thinking about getting out of town to the time that you finish doing laundry and getting the airplane funk out of your clothes after your return, there are a lot of things that need to be covered. I’d like to dedicate a few posts to some of that planning process. These are tips and tricks that I’ve picked up (or made up) over the years. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments!
Weeks or months before your trip is the phase that I call pre-planning. You know where you’re going and roughly when, but maybe you don’t have your flights booked or all of your lodging details locked down or maybe you do. But there’s a lot that you can do besides that.
State Department– Depending on where you’re going, check their website to see if there are any safety concerns about your destination. For example, has there been anti-American or anti-Western sentiment displayed recently? Is there current military action, like a coup or revolution? We hear about a lot of these things in the news, but the State Department website will have the latest information, hopefully unbiased by the media. Even if you’re not a US Citizen, check it out.
Center for Disease Control (CDC)– If you’re going someplace exotic, check the CDC site to see if you need any special shots or pills or if there’s a concern for some bizarre bug. If a shot can stop you from getting Montezuma’s revenge and ruining your trip, I’d say it’s worth it. You can’t plan for everything, but check their site to see if there’s something easy you can do. If you get a shot or pills, make sure you let your doctor know, just in case there’s an interaction. (Despite my parents’ best efforts, I’m not a doctor, so don’t take any of this as medical advice.)
Travel Visa- Depending on where you’re going, you could need a travel visa. I’ve never needed one, but you don’t want to get to where you’re going and be turned away because you forgot to do some paperwork. Honestly, I don’t even know where to get that information. I’m sure googling “travel visa” and your destination country would be a good start.
Travel Medical Insurance- I’ve never gotten it, but I keep thinking that I should. A quick search turned up several companies that offer it, and I got a quick quote here. For a 41 year old person traveling for 2 weeks, it comes out to $45, or less than $4/day. If you’re younger or traveling longer, it’s probably less than that. Yeah, I know you may be staying in a hostel that costs that much, but having the peace of mind to know that all of your medical issues are taken care of should you get sick in a foreign country might be worth the cost. Some plans may also include emergency medical transportation to another medical facility in case the one you find yourself in isn’t up to snuff.
