International travel is back in a big way and if you are one of the
many people looking to travel internationally you
will soon realize that preparing for an international trip can be overwhelming.
You want to prepare for every possible situation but at the
same time make sure you don't over pack or forget something really important.
But don't worry I have you covered.
This video is going to be the start of a series of videos I am going to be putting out where I
will be sharing packing and general tips to help you prepare for international travel.
Today's video is about international travel documents and if you decide
to watch the rest of the videos in this series you are going to end up
with over 80 tips to help you prepare for your next international flight.
Let's go
Dream Vacations start here
So let's get right into it.
The first tip I want to give has to do with your passport.
Before packing your passport check the expiration date.
Most countries are not going to let you in if your passport expires less
than six months from the time you plan to enter the country.
For your specific destination make sure you read
up on the passport requirements to enter the country you are going to.
If you find out that you do have to renew your passport,
it's going to take some time to renew it.
The current normal processing time to renew a U.S. passport
is currently six to nine weeks but you do have the option to expedite
the process which will cut down the processing time to three to five weeks.
Now if you do find yourself in a position where you are just finding out this rule
and you are due to travel within the next 14 days, you can make an appointment at a physical
passport agency or center where you can get your passport renewed before you are due to travel.
Tip number two.
You want to check to see if a visa is required for the country you are going to.
Most of the time you will just need a tourist visa to enter a specific country for short-term stays.
I know for those of you who are planning to travel here to the U.S.,
depending on which country you are coming from you we need what's called an ESTA,
which is an Electronic Travel Authorization to be able to enter the U.S. even if you just
have a connecting flight and then continuing on to another country.
A good resource to use to see if
a visa is required for the country you are going to is ivisa.com.
Tip number three.
If you are traveling with children under 18 with only one parent, you will need to provide written
permission from the other parent in order to travel with your children internationally.
Some airlines will provide a travel consent form
for you to fill out otherwise, you will need to draft one up yourself.
You will need to include your child's name, birth date, and passport information.
Any allergies or special needs that your child has.
Names of both parents, custody information,
and passport details as well as contact information for the non-traveling parent.
Tip number four.
Print a copy of your travel insurance.
If you don't have one I highly recommend that you get one.
If nothing else, get it for the medical insurance.
If you were to get sick or injured while in another country and have to see a doctor,
your current medical insurance is probably not going to cover
the cost of that visit unless you have a global health insurance plan.
And even if the country you are going to has free health care,
it only applies to the citizens who live there and not to foreigners visiting the country.
The cost of travel insurance is typically not that expensive.
It will not only protect you against medical costs but theft, flight delays, and more.
It's one of those things where if everything goes well on your trip you wonder why you paid for the
insurance but on the other hand when something does go wrong you will be glad you had it.
Tip number five.
Pack all your travel documents in a separate bag like your carry-on
or personal item bag or even a neck pouch like this one.
That way all your documents will always be with you.
Never put your documents in your checked bag.
The last thing you want to experience is a lost bag with all your important documents in them.
Also, it's better to take pictures of them and email a copy to yourself
just in case they do get lost while on your trip.
Tip number six.
Print out a copy of your boarding pass.
You can usually do this at home on your home printer or you can
print out your boarding passes at the airport.
The reason I recommend doing this, especially if you are used to using digital boarding passes,
is that it will work as a backup in case your phone battery dies.
This is especially true on international flights where you may be using your phone
a lot to entertain yourself and not even realize
your phone battery is almost dead by the time you reach your connecting airport.
And depending on how long your layover is,
you may not have time to recharge your battery before it's time to board your next flight.
Tip number seven.
Don't forget other documents like hotel reservations, tickets for attractions and museums,
train or bus tickets, guides and maps, and other activities that you may have booked for your trip.
Tip number eight.
Check to see if you need an international driver's license.
If you plan on renting a car in the country you are visiting, you want to check to see if you
need an international driver's license or it's also called an international driving permit.
To see which countries require an international driver's license head to the website listed below.
And if you are living in the U.S you can get an international driver's license through
AAA and they cost an average about $20 or so depending on which state you live in.
You can fill out the application online and later
print a valid driver license for you to use for the country you are visiting.
Tip number nine.
Check the vaccination status of the country you are going to be visiting.
Find out if you need any vaccines by visiting cdc.gov.
Once on the website just choose a country you are traveling to and it
will list the required vaccines as well as the recommended ones
as well. The most common ones are yellow fever, malaria, and polio.
Just remember that some vaccines you will need
to take a few weeks before your trip so be sure to plan ahead.
And be sure to check out the next video in this series where I will be sharing tips on
packing electronics and also check out the video description as well.
I will have resource links to a lot of things I covered in this video.
Thank you so much for watching this one and I look forward to seeing you in the next video