Here is What You Should Do Before You Travel – Travel Guide 2020
There is nothing as exciting as travelling to new places, meeting new people and experiencing their unique cultures. More and more people are taking up travelling for its lifetime and priceless experience. As a beginner, the biggest challenge you will have is prepping for your first trip. There are multiple things you need to do to make sure you have a stress-free time from start to finish. Here are a few tips to help you ease into the travel lifestyle.
What to do before travelling
Make sure your visa and passport are up to date
Most countries will not let your board a plane if your visa is not valid or expires within 6 months of the return date on the flight. Check the expiry date on your passport and make sure you renew it to avoid any issues and cancellations. Process your passport application two months before the travel date to avoid any commotion.
Get a travel advisor
Travel advisors are very knowledgeable because they are experts in the field. They are well informed about multiple destinations around the globe or to a specific travel destination. You can use a global city ranking website and a travel advisor’s knowledge to decide on a great place to visit. They can offer you travel tips that will help you along the way.
Here are some other benefits that come with hiring a travel advisor
Travel recommendations. For beginners, one of the biggest perks about travel is finding the perfect tourist destination that will cater to their interests. Travel advisor will help you find the particular location as well as help you organised everything related to the trip. If you are traveling to Ecuador and Galapagos Island for the holiday for instance, Galapagos Travel Advisor is the perfect travel guide for you. They provide planning services, information about popular destinations in the area, contact information for cruises, tour operations, hotels and more.
You get to enjoy personalised planning- for many people, it is hectic and time consuming to browse through hundreds or thousands of reviews to find the right international tourist destinations, hotels, restaurants and more.
Save time and money – like I said, you do not have to spend days on your computer trying to find the right destinations. Travel advisors do all the legwork and ensure they get you what you desire under the right budget. Cheaplifetravel.com can also assist you in finding affordable flights, with up to 80% off your destination of choice.
You get plenty of travel assistance – Booking to travel anywhere through a travel agent is one of the best things that you could do. With a travel advisor, you can call for assistance whenever there are emergencies. Say you miss your flight or your flight gets delayed, the travel assistance can help you get another flight or find a solution fast. If something happens when you are at the destination, for instance if you cannot get transportation means or are not satisfied with your room, you simply have to call the travel agent. This as personalised as your travel assistance can get; there is no better place to get travel services.
Check for travel warnings and advisory
Most countries issue a travel warning and advisory to specific destinations. This is because some countries can create a risky environment for travellers, which is why it is better to be safe beforehand. Some travel insurance companies do not cover you if you travel to countries that have been issued a travel warning.
Get vaccinations and fill your prescriptions
Vaccination will protect you from serious diseases when you travel internationally. The vaccines you get will depend on where you are travelling to. Some countries need proof of vaccination on certain diseases; do plenty of research on the legal vaccination requirements and plan ahead to get the vaccinations on time. If you are sick or pregnant, make sure you get all the needed vaccinations. Get vaccinated at least 6 weeks before you travel.
Purchase travel insurance
While traveling is very exciting, it does hold some serious risks. You might think to use your existing insurance as protection, but most insurance companies do not cover issues that happen outside their countries or states. By taking travel insurance, you will be able to protect yourself against potential issues like theft, unexpected medical emergencies and other accidents. Get a travel insurance that can provide baggage cover, emergency medical cover, death/disability, personal liability and losses due to cancellation for maximum protection.
Pack properly
Documents – Make sure you have your passport, visa, train/us/airline tickets, driver’s licence, students card/ID, travel insurance, health insurance, medication prescription and other important documents in a waterproof folder. Make sure you make copies of all documents and leave them at home and also scan the copies to your email for extra safety.
Financial documents – Some of the most important documents you will need with you include a credit/debit card, extra wallet and identity, emergency cash and foreign currency.
Make sure you know the conversion rates before you start travelling so you can understand exactly how much money you will need for the trip.
It is a great habit to keep your bank in the know when you travel. Making an alert to your Credit Card Company and bank before you travel will save you from any potential theft or fraud while you are overseas. It also prevents your card from being blocked without your authorization.
Health – do not forget to pack your medications. Preserve space in your language for a first aid kit, disinfectants, vitamin, and insect repellent. Some might think that it is easier to make the purchase once you reach your travel destinations but that might be harder.
Appliances – some of the electric appliances you will need for your travel include your cell phone, multiple chargers, an adaptor, your laptop and chargers, camera a memory card and its charger, headphones, flashlight and travel iron.
Travel aids Clothes and toiletries
As far as it goes, this is one of the trickiest parts when it comes to travelling. Chances are, you are either going to over pack or forget something. There is so much you need to carry with you but so little space due to the weight limits by the airways. All you need to do is make a list of the most important clothing article you need. As for the toiletries, you can get everything in travel sizes to save on the space in your suitcase.
Learn about the People and culture
It is common curtsey to learn a thing or two about the people and their culture before you travel to any destination. Of course, no one expects you to achieve cultural and linguistic fluency overnight, but learning a thing or two can really make a difference. You would be surprised how much more welcoming people are when you show interest in their culture. Make sure you get your information from government approved websites or past tourists and locals online to avoid any misinterpretation and disrespect.