Traveling is supposed to be a lovely experience; one filled with great inspirations, unique cultural encounters, and pleasant lasting memories. But before you can enjoy a decent trip to any destination of your choosing, proper planning and preparation are necessary. Failing to get your visas in good time or getting the recommended vaccination may not just ruin your traveling experience, but has the potential of making you miss the entire trip.
You may also encounter certain unpleasant experiences just because you forgot to carry along the right essentials necessary for an enjoyable trip. This is why it pays to know what things you need to make a successful trip. Whether you are a veteran traveler or you are just starting to feed your adventurous spirit by traveling to different destinations across the globe, we highlight for you the some of the essential things you must never forget about when going for any trip.
Traveling Documents
It goes without saying that you will need certain documents such as travel visa before you make any trip out of the country. For instance, you will need to do your visa application in good time, depending on your travel destination. It is imperative to apply for the visa in good time and have it waiting for your travel day. It is always not recommended to start hassling for your visa the very last minute since this might come with a horde of inconveniences. Additionally, if your passport expired, be sure to go for passport renewal in good, never waiting for the last minute to avoid getting inconvenienced.
Proof of vaccinations
Secondly, depending on your destination, you may be required to have proof of certain vaccinations. For example, if you are traveling to most countries in Africa and South America, you will be required to produce the Yellow Fever card at the immigration before you are allowed entry into the country.
You must, therefore, ensure that you have any necessary vaccination documents before you leave. In the same spirit, you should also find out the respective travel vaccines you will need and be sure to get them in good time so that when your travel date arrives, they have already taken effect in your body and you won’t have to worry about contracting any vaccine-preventable diseases.
Travel insurance
Still, on documents, you should always get travel insurance for your trips. Most people never realize the importance of having a travel insurance until that time when they run into an emergency that sorting would have been easier if only they had travel insurance. So many things can go wrong during a trip, ranging from medical emergencies to missing your flights or cutting short your trip. The travel insurance is what you need to mitigate the financial implications and any other related inconvenience you may run into during the trip.
Make copies of important documents
In as much as most of the important documents are sent via emails or saved in soft copies, it doesn’t pain to be extra cautious by making copies of all the important documents. This is so that if you lose your travel documents or they get stolen, you will have a handy back up you can use to proceed on with your business as you plan on getting new originals. Some of the documents worth having copies for include-:
- Your passport
- Your Visa
- The Travel Insurance
- Credit cards
- Airline Tickets
- Vaccination certificates
- Reservation Confirmations
- Travel Itinerary
Pack like a Pro
After having all your traveling documents in order and having made the necessary backups, your next focus should be on how you will do the packing for the trip. Some people get it wrong when it comes to packing, but once you have a clear picture of how to do it correctly, it becomes a walk in the pack.
Of course, you should pack the right clothing you will need, and this should be determined by the nature of your travel business and the weather. You want to dress comfortably and also for the occasion. Secondly, there are certain items regarded as essentials, and you should always include them, irrespective of where you are going to and what you are going to do there. They include the following-: traveling pillow, headphones, universal adaptor, reusable water bottle, power converter, and a document wallet.
Additionally, depending on the size of your luggage, you should be very prudent in packing so that you have the most important items on the carry-on bag. They should be items you cannot afford to lose during the trip. The last thing you want is to lose your luggage or experience a delay in the checked bag when it contained most of your vital documents and other important items. Also be sure to check the weight limit of your luggage, so that you are not slapped with extra luggage fees by your airline.
Alert your credit card company about the travel
With the increase in cybercrimes and related fraud, most credit companies recommend you let them know that you are traveling and you will be using their cards outside the country. The importance of this is so that your card is not flagged for fraud when you use it outside the country it was issued. You don’t want a situation whereby you have your cards but you can use them because they were flagged, yet getting them reinstated would take some time.
Have extra money
This sounds obvious, but you may have a very nasty experience when you travel but you are pressed for funds. In as much as you may have all your credit cards, sometimes it pays to have some cash around. Depending on your destination, not all transactions may be on credit cards, and you may find that you need to make some payments in cash. Also based on the destination, you must be careful not to walk with large sums of money as you may become a target for the bad guys.
Turn off data roaming
If you don’t want to be surprised by massive phone bills when you come back home, you must remember to turn off data roaming on your phone. This also includes location services and all the push notifications you may be having on your phone. If you have to use the internet while traveling use the data plans in your new destination, as they will be way cheaper compared to roaming services by your provider back at home.
