Tips for travelling
How to plan an organised and safe vacation
Let’s be honest, if you are well prepared for your holiday, not only will it likely run smoother, but you will feel better prepared and in turn be more likely to enjoy it, stress-free. We’ve learnt from personal experience the importance of preparing before a trip commences and have collated all the important things to consider and get organised before you go.
If you are going with a travel company or tour guide, they will be able to help assist you with preparing, however, if, like us, part of the excitement of travel is being in full control of your trip, independent from a third party, then you in particular will find this blog post useful.
Research your travel destination
Research your destination in as much depth as feasibly possible, using reputable travel books for example ‘The Lonely Planet,’ or The Rough Guide,’ as well as professional online sources. Take note of the year-round climate patterns (as a country may differ from your home country’s climate). Find specific locations you wish to visit and plan your route wisely, referring to a map, making sure to travel in a logical order that will save the least amount of time on the move.
Study the embassy
Study your home country’s embassy within your destination. For example, whenever we travel we look at ‘UK embassy in Malaysia,’ ‘UK Embassy in India’ etc. This will present to you all the critical information you need to gauge whether or not a country is safe for tourists, giving specific area information, possible health risks, for example, diseases that may be of threat, entry requirements, for example, visas, entry/exit fees and much more.
Register with the embassy
Register with your embassy. If there’s a problem in the country you are visiting, this will make it much easier for your government to contact you and get you to safety.
G.P. appointment
Book an appointment with your G.P. They will inform you what vaccines and inoculations you may need to both meet the entry requirements of your destined country and to also keep yourself protected. They may wish to refer you to a tropical disease doctor to provide you with further information on your destination.
Emergency contacts
Collate an emergency contact list to take with you including your home country’s embassy contact number, next of kin contact numbers and contact numbers along with addresses of nearest hospitals in the places you are visiting.
Travel insurance
Make sure you purchase the correct type of travel insurance. It often pays off to shop around for the most competitive price, however, remember that the cheapest option isn’t always the best. Inspect the policy and double-check check it is appropriate for what you need to be covered for. If you have any health conditions, make sure to declare them fully when booking insurance, to not run the risk of voiding your policy, if you take a turn for the worst.
It’s worth enquiring about any current insurance policies you already have, (for example, home insurance), to see if you are covered for travel included in your policy.
Travel first aid kit
Click here to read our recommended list
Protect your finances
Inform your bank at least a month in advance of where and when you are going if possible. They will otherwise suspect your card may have been stolen and stop it from working abroad, or the cash machine you are using may swallow your card for protection purposes against fraud.
We personally use a Post Office Travel Money Card when travelling, which keeps our travel finances separate from our bank accounts and gives the benefit of us not incurring any charges when using it abroad, like we may do when using our bank card. It allows contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay™ payments to be made and our finances can be easily topped up or frozen really easily via their Travel app.
Holiday currency
It’s always a good idea to carry some cash on you, in case you need to tip, or paying on a card somewhere is not permitted. Aim to convert currency before departing if possible, not the whole amount of money you plan to use for the entire trip, however; enough for the first few days, at least until you can find a bank to exchange some more in situ. Note, that some currencies need to be ordered in advance, so give your exchange point at least two week’s notice.
Conversion Rate
Get your head around the monetary conversion rate for your destination. If this is something you are likely to forget, make an effort to create or print offline a small currency conversion chart which you can refer back to when checking the price of goods on your trip.
Using your phone abroad
Inform your phone company where and when you are travelling, making sure your network will allow you to use your phone abroad.
Depending on your provider, you may have the ability to use your mobile data abroad, included in your monthly price plan, however, be sure to look into this before getting to your destination. If it’s not included, We’d recommend turning off your mobile data before travelling, so you don’t incur roaming charges. You will therefore have to find Wifi to connect to, but this will help keep your travel costs down.
You can also set a data spending cap with your provider, which will stop you from racking up a large bill if you do forget to turn off your data roaming. I have mine turned to £0, so I physically cannot use my data roaming, unless I cancel this feature.
If making international calls, make sure you use free apps like Whatsapp or FaceTime.
- Passport – Take with you a photocopy of your passport, in case it gets stolen. Also, leave behind a copy with a trusted relative or friend.
- Visa (country dependent) – Take with you 4 spare passport-size photos, which may be needed to complete a visa on arrival in some countries.
- Driving licence
- Credit cards – This will be needed if hiring a car in your destination. Even if the car hire company allows you to pay on a debit card, they will require a valid credit card upon arrival to secure the booking.
- Travel Insurance
- Medical history – List of vaccines you’ve had & any vaccine certificates you need to travel (eg Yellow Fever). Doctor-approved letter to take medications abroad.
- Emergency contact copies – Have a copy to hand off your mobile, in case your phone gets lost or stolen.
Travel Itinerary
Let your family know your full travel plans, with an itinerary if possible of which country, area and accommodation you plan to stay in (with dates attached). We understand that a lot of backpacking trips tend to open themselves up to booking accommodation on arrival and paying as you go, per night, which is something we have done a lot of in the past. If this is the case, aim to inform your family of the name of the accommodation where you have chosen to stay.
