Before-You-Travel Checklist

Those last few days before a trip can be stressful, full of last minute errands and packing. A lot goes into traveling and there is nothing worse then being on vacation and realizing you forgot to do something important. There are many things you can do before you even leave the house that will make your travels go off without a hitch. 

Call your bank. Don't risk your bank card being frozen because of suspected fraudulent charges, let your bank know ahead of time that you will be in a different country/city. Do the same with all credit cards you might use.

Contact your cell phone provider. If you plan on using your phone abroad call your provider and enable your international plan or get your phone unlocked so you can use a foreign SIM card. 

Register with the US Embassy. This way if some crazy event like a national disaster or political uprising happens, they will know you are there and be able to help you in an emergency.

Program important numbers in your phone ahead of time. For example your hotel phone number or airlines number.

Take care of household needs. Put a hold on mail and newspaper delivery. Pay your bills ahead of time, you don't want to have to worry about that while you are gone. Make sure someone is feeding your pets.

Decide if you want to purchase travel insurance. Do your research, check if your existing insurance (health, homeowner's, renter's) covers your health needs and/or your possessions abroad. 

Make copies of important documents. This is in case you lose the originals. You can also take pictures of them and save them on your phone or cloud.

Make a list of valuables you are bringing with you. Include make, model and serial number. This is in case they are stolen so you can make a police report and/or file an insurance claim.

Know where you are going. When you are arrive in your country of travel make sure you know where you are going and how you are getting there. (i.e. - hotel address to give the taxi driver, public transportation stops, etc.)

What is on your before-you-travel checklist?