If you have gone backpacking on a RTW trip or have extensive independent travel experience you can probably skip this post. Get-out-now!
For those beginner travelers or those to wimpy to go you will find this post worth reading. One of the more confusing aspects of travel is knowing how to prepare. I remember before my first trip to Ecuador that I went a bit overboard but at least my parents felt more secure. But in order to cover all bases something like a Good2Go travel checklist
would be worth writing up. What would be covered in a travel checklist?
- Did you buy travel insurance? Or will your existing health insurance policy fly your dead corpse back to your home country? If not, consider travel insurance.
- Vaccinations? Otherwise that cute stray dog might kill you from rabies.
- Do you have the address for your embassy if you get caught in the middle of an Arab Spring?
- Did you check the travel advisories? Not so that you can avoid going altogether but they do actually list specific dangers in specific areas of a country.
- ATM Cards? Did you tell your bank you will be overseas? If not, you might just end up pulling tricks on the street for a bed.
- Visa? It would suck to catch a red eye flight back home after being denied entry for not getting a visa in advance.
Those questions are just a sample of what you should be aware of. Any of those could ruin your trip. Be prepared instead. Create a to-do list. It’s not the end of the world and after a few overseas trips it will all seem like common sense. Happy travels Noob.