BONUS: If you are one of my clients, you will receive all of the information for what is required for your international trip, plus handy links to everything.
1. Fill out the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP): Get updates about health, weather, safety, and security for your destination, plan ahead using information from the local U.S. embassy, and help the embassy or consulate contact you if there's an emergency like a natural disaster, civil unrest, or a family emergency.
2. Make sure you have the right ID for travel, and that it will not expire for at least 6 months past your scheduled return.
3. Complete forms and pay taxes and fees required by the countries you are visiting.
4. Make sure you know what you are legally able to carry with you in luggage and that you don't have anything prohibited in your checked bag.
5. Make sure you have good travel insurance. Insurance isn't just for getting your money back when you have an emergency cancellation. You receive 24/7 travel assistance, compensation for interruptions and delays, payment for doctor bills, evacuation if needed, and even compensation for lost items.
6. Make sure to tell your bank that you are traveling, and for how long. It is terrible to be stuck somewhere foreign without money.
7. Get a crossbody satchel/purse or security belt. Keep your passport on your person at all times when possible, and when you arrive, continue to carry it, because you may need it to get into popular tourist spots.
8. Mobile Passport Control: Use this handy app for your passport that might even speed up customs in the USA for those who don't have TSA pre-check or Global Entry.
9. Know what to do about using data on your mobile device or phone in another country.
10. Make sure you know what the current scams are for where you are traveling, and avoid scams when booking travel.
-Becky Esquibel
1. Fill out the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP): Get updates about health, weather, safety, and security for your destination, plan ahead using information from the local U.S. embassy, and help the embassy or consulate contact you if there's an emergency like a natural disaster, civil unrest, or a family emergency.
2. Make sure you have the right ID for travel, and that it will not expire for at least 6 months past your scheduled return.
3. Complete forms and pay taxes and fees required by the countries you are visiting.
4. Make sure you know what you are legally able to carry with you in luggage and that you don't have anything prohibited in your checked bag.
5. Make sure you have good travel insurance. Insurance isn't just for getting your money back when you have an emergency cancellation. You receive 24/7 travel assistance, compensation for interruptions and delays, payment for doctor bills, evacuation if needed, and even compensation for lost items.
6. Make sure to tell your bank that you are traveling, and for how long. It is terrible to be stuck somewhere foreign without money.
7. Get a crossbody satchel/purse or security belt. Keep your passport on your person at all times when possible, and when you arrive, continue to carry it, because you may need it to get into popular tourist spots.
8. Mobile Passport Control: Use this handy app for your passport that might even speed up customs in the USA for those who don't have TSA pre-check or Global Entry.
9. Know what to do about using data on your mobile device or phone in another country.
10. Make sure you know what the current scams are for where you are traveling, and avoid scams when booking travel.
-Becky Esquibel