The 8 Best Traveling Abroad Tips for Your Next Trip

Before traveling abroad, it’s always best to be as prepared as possible. Although you might want to be spontaneous on your travels, you still need to make sure that you don’t put yourself in a precarious position through lack of planning. If you’re one of the 131 million plus passport holders in the United States, here are a few easy to implement traveling abroad tips that you’ll love.

1. See a Travel Doctor

Before you embark on any major travel, it’s important to see your physician — or better yet, a specialist travel doctor — to learn about health preparations. Many foreign countries require that you have certain vaccinations prior to entry, so it’s important that you have these vaccinations well ahead of time so that your entry to each destination is smooth and easy.

2. Ask About Travel Insurance

Ask your current insurance provider whether they offer travel insurance. This type of coverage can help you get the care that you need while on the road.

3. Make Sure Your Passport is in Order

Double check that your passport is current — and that it won’t expire while you are traveling outside the United States. You might also want to order a copy of your passport just in case of an unexpected loss.

4. Let Your Credit Union Know About Your Travels

When foreign transactions start showing up on your credit or debit card, your card could be temporarily frozen because of fraud concerns. If you let us know ahead of time, we can place special notations on your account so that it’s not flagged when you make charges outside the country.

5. Find Out About Local Currency

Find out what the local currencies are wherever you’ll be traveling. Although values can vacillate from day to day, it’s important to have a good idea of how much your money is worth before you go. Consider installing a currency converter app on your smart phone before your trip.

6. Contact Your Cell Phone Provider

Your cell phone plan needs to be closely examined before you step one foot outside of the country. Let your cell phone provider know that you’ll be traveling, and make sure that you have the type of plan that won’t heavily penalize you for using your phone (and the Internet) while outside the United States.

7. Get Charge Adapters

Every country is different when it comes to electric plugs and voltage. There are no less than 15 types of plugs, in fact. You’ll need to buy an adapter to properly charge your tablet, your phone, and other electronics. Buy one ahead of your trip if at all possible to keep the costs lower.

8. Use Your Carry On Bag to the Max

Your carry on bag should have a minimum of a full change of clothes, all of your essential toiletries, any essential medication, and your electronic devices and chargers inside it. While you might never experience any luggage loss or delays, it’s always best to be as prepared as possible.

Traveling abroad is not only exciting, it can be an amazing and fulfilling adventure! To make the adventure fun rather than frightening, keep the above traveling abroad tips in mind, and we’re sure you’ll thoroughly enjoy your trip!

Sources

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-d-chalmers/the-great-american-passpo_b_1920287.html