You have your whole trip planned, your bags are packed, and you are ready to head out. You’re so excited…I get it! You’re leaving the country and you can’t wait to get there and start exploring. Let’s just make sure you have thought of everything you need to do before leaving.
- Call the credit card company/Bank– Make sure you call the credit card company and your bank to let them know you are leaving the country, and the dates you will be gone. Some credit card companies will let you fill a form out online and send it in that way. It is so convenient!
- Passport– Yea I would be pretty stupid if I forgot this…you would be surprised! Just double check you have packed it in all your excitement.
- Order foreign currency– Wherever you’re going, I would go ahead and order some of their currency ahead of time. You don’t have to get very much, just something so you won’t be completely empty handed when you land. I know a lot of airports have ATM’s there, but what if the ATM machine is broken and you need cash right away….better safe than sorry I always say. When I went to Italy, I ordered Euros from this website called Travelex. I felt a lot better knowing I had some cash with me when I landed.
- Pay all bills or setup autopay– Bills?! Who wants to think about paying bills while you’re living your best life on vacation! While we don’t want to think about it, make sure you have something to come home to when you get back…unless you love it there so much and decide never to come home! You don’t want to be on vacation, and suddenly realize you forgot to pay your house note or utility bills.
- Get an international phone plan– If you don’t have international calling already, be sure to stop by your cellphone carrier and let them know you are traveling out of the country. They will let you add international for the time you’re gone and cancel it when you get back.
- Buy a wifi hot spot for your phone– Now, I can’t offer much advice on this because I definitely am not a tech person. Some of you are probably laughing right now because I think a wifi hot spot is complicated. Yea yea…point is, if you want to buy a portable wifi to take with you, just know there are several options out there for you.
- Get an adapter plug– You will for sure need to buy an adapter plug if you plan on charging your phone, plugging in your curling iron, whatever. The outlets are different than American outlets, so you need an adapter to convert your plugin.
- Buy a money belt/Back pack– If you’ve never heard of a money belt, it is a small pouch usually with a couple compartments that you wear under your clothes. It holds all your money and credit cards safely. They are similar to a fanny pack, but they are flat and you wear them on the inside of your clothes, not on the outside. Nobody even knows you are wearing one. When we went to Italy, my husband wore one and kept all our money in it. He didn’t want to wear it at first, but at the end of the trip said he was so glad we had it, because it was so convenient, safe, and easy! This is the one we bought and my husband said it was very comfortable to wear. I carried a back pack purse with me everywhere we went.
- Print off all itineraries and tickets– Most of the time, you don’t need to print anything for your flights anymore. I would print off any tickets you booked for excursions and train tickets. I like to go ahead and print everything off before leaving, that way you don’t have to try to hunt down a printer while traveling.
I don’t want to worry about anything when traveling out of the country, except where to eat and drink next! I hope these tips helped with everything you need to do before leaving.