Here is a list of sorts for planning a trip – things to do or have in advance. Some may apply to every trip and some are just personal preferences.
Start by looking for good airfare, 2-3 months in advance if for international travel. Set up flight search notifications for when prices drop and look to purchase on a Tuesday.
Prepare an itinerary by checking websites, travel blogs, and friends who’ve been there before you. There are lots of sources including Lonely Planet for guidance. Even search your destination in Tripadvisor and see what others are saying.
Prepare/refine packing list. I’ll post my attempt at a minimalist packing list.
Look into availability of wifi and cost of sim cards. Make sure you have a global quad band phone that is unlocked. If you have the option of getting a international phone plan for little cost with your cellular provider, start to put that in place. I use TMobile with the OnePlus International plan that gives me unlimited data and hotspot functionality in the US and good wifi coverage (not as a good hotspot) in many countries. And if you have a phone with wifi calling, if you stay where there is free wifi you’ll be able to make calls to the US for free.
Consider the following ToDos four to six weeks prior to departure:
Travel credit cards – no foreign transaction fees, chip enabled mandatory! http://time.com/money/4039386/best-credit-cards-travel-rewards-2015/. I use only cards that are good at collecting points. Even with the high annual fee some cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve provide lots a perks that make it worthwhile. Things like $300 credit for travel expenses every year as well as Global Entry costs every 5 years. There’s also airline lounge access and other coverage that is a nice plus. The travel insurance also provided if you use the card for the airfare is also a good bare bones start. It’s what we currently rely on given we have good US based health insurance and generally don’t get sick enough to need a doctor.
ATM with no fee – Schwab refunds ATM fees worldwide and doesn’t charge transaction fees. Set up a Schwab Investor Checking account and you ave great perks and flexibility. Best to get cash in country at an ATM at the airport or a bank; not in a convenience store. Take some US dollars but don’t expect to use them too often as the conversion rates will not be favorable. The best rate will be the bank rate and that will be reflected at the ATM window. We’ve followed this approach since 2004 in the UK, Sri Lanka, Senegal and France as well as in 2012 in Tanzania and Zanzibar, Europe, and frequently in our several trips to St Lucia. Ensure your ATM/debit card hasn’t expired! 2017 update – in order to get a back up ATM card in the event the primary is lost or stolen, based on blogs I read this happens!, open a second Investor Checking account at Schwab for emergencies only and you’ll have an emergency ATM card if the primary card is lost or stolen. Fund with something to be useful if needed. Use the online access to transfer funds from other accounts into the emergency fund while you wait for the replacement ATM card for the primary account. Keep it separately from other cards.
Notify your banks and credit cards providers of your itinerary to prevent fraud halts when you purchase overseas. This can be done online for a number of banks or call the 800 number on the back of the cards. Provide dates and countries you’re visiting.
Go thru your wallet before departure – take health care card and only cards/ATM cards you’re taking. leave everything else home. photo copy all cards, and the reverse side and carry separately from your wallet and passport. For the cards you are leaving home – if you intend to do much online banking while traveling or may be traveling for extended time periods, take photos of the ATM cards left home. You may need the ATM card number to re-establish your online account access at some point. I didn’t do that but was lucky I could make a free wifi call on my TMobile phone to go through the security checks to get the online account access back up and running.
Photocopy passport and carry separately; post a copy to the cloud/dropbox, or email to yourself to use if needed.
Money belt for cash and cards you don’t need on any given day.
No need to take currency – best currency exchange rate is obtained at the ATM when you get there. Get a denomination of $10 not $100 if you can, like $290 of the currency to start with some smaller bills in hand. Especially if you’ll be taking a taxi to minimize the possibility the cab driver sees you as a tourist and doesn’t want to make change.
Taxis – set up an Uber account before departure as many countries have Uber and it’s nearly always cheaper than a taxi. It also mean you’ll have to get the internet going on arrival – easy enough to stop at the sim card seller at the airport. Google best sim card in country “x” before you arrive so you are informed on companies, data plans, etc. Generally you’ll find a tourist sim that’s good for 30 days. Some can be topped up if you are staying longer but you’ll be able to get started pretty quickly at the airport, that is, so you can use the Uber app and get where you need to go!
Register with state.gov to get notices
Check with your health care provider for travel vaccinations – Kaiser Permanente is our provider and has a travel nurse you can arrange an appt with – 6 weeks in advance. Or at a minimum check cdc.gov for country specific recommendations.
Check visa status – turkey and others have evisas – need before arriving. Visas generally not needed in transit airports, but check, unless you leave secure area. (https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/). Some countries require a visa obtained in advance, such as Vietnam, so do your homework early to figure this out.
Add VPN for added security to devices such as laptops and tablets:
http://foxnomad.com/2015/09/08/the-3-best-vpns-for-frequent-travelers/
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/details/Communications/virtual_private_networks_for_travel.html
Travel adapters – nearly everything electronic needs an adapter not a 120-220 converter (blocky/heavy). A multi USB charger is useful – 40-50W http://www.amazon.com/Desktop-Charger-TechMatte-Travel-Adapter/dp/B00NA9JQLM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1446637420&sr=8-3&keywords=usb+5+port+charger After blowing up a laptop charger in Vietnam I got a power surge protector with 2 outlets and 4 usb ports that is rated for 220 (not 110). I never plug in without it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XFZPQSM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Trip insurance – I picked one that had good coverage if electronics stolen (camera, laptop, tablet, phone) and provided insurance for car rental – US credit cards will not cover CDW for international rental (9-14+/- per day) (http://www.worldnomads.com/). It’s more expensive for very long trips so we opted to not buy insurance for our 5month trip.
Turn phones to airplane mode and only use wifi with something like WhatsApp, FaceTime or Free tone – get a US phone number and all calls, to from and texts are free. Charges for international calls – need to use 800 numbers if calling numbers in your country of interest. (or get credits for the few local calls you may need to make)
To deter anyone interested in getting into your bag/backpack, especially when on a train, or in a waiting area, and you might want to take a nap, link the zipper pulls with key ring circles or paper clips (which can come unbent) and make sure a strap is around your leg or a seat/table leg so it can’t be lifted away. The clips will deter someone from trying to gain access as it will take time and it will be easier for them to move to another potential victim. (from Rick Steve’s blog – very helpful stuff there)
Enlist friends or neighbors to check on the house, water the plants, bring in the newpapers and the mail. Put a light on a timer for a few hours each night if you want your house looking more lived in. Also set an alarm for a radio to come on, it should stay on for 30-60 minutes. If you don’t need anyone to check on the house, put a vacation hold on the papers and mail. (https://holdmail.usps.com/holdmail/)
On departure, if you’re going to be away a while, turn down the temp on the water heater, turn off the ice maker in the frig, turn off the supply lines to the washer, turn off/unplug as many electricity “vampires” as you can, turn the AC up or the heat down on the thermostats.