For most people, the opportunity to travel abroad is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Be it for a project, for business, or for leisure and vacation, traveling to a new country and immersing yourself in a new way of life can bring a lot of perspective. That being said, traveling abroad can be as much a nightmare as it can be a dream come true if you don’t have your process in place.
Traveling abroad is very exciting Here are some vital things to know before you embark on your out-of-country journey:
Knowledge is Power: It may sound boring and tedious but doing thorough research on your destination is one of the best and most rewarding things you can ever do. The reason is very obvious – while you know practically all there is to know about your home country, your knowledge on a foreign one is naturally next to none. Updating yourself on that allows you to know the essential things, which in turn helps you navigate your way when you reach there – both literally and figuratively.
Your Passport is Your Life: Without your passport, you will not even be allowed to go near an airplane. And without your passport in a foreign country, it will be very difficult for you to prove your identity, let alone citizenship. Always make sure that your passport is with you at all times and keep copies of it both at home (with someone you trust) and with you that you can easily use in case you happen to lose or misplace it.
If you don’t have insurance, you cannot afford to travel: Many consider insurance to be a fickle matter – the truth, however, couldn’t be farther than that. Health issues and calamities happen all the time, be it to you personally or in your destination at large. Having an insurance in place helps you be compensated for any troubles that you encounter that are beyond your control. In the event that you do have insurance, make sure it has all the adequate coverage.
Always Carry Prescriptions: Laws for medications vary from one country to another – for instance, a medicine that is available over-the-counter in your country, may not be available at all your destination country. Having a valid doctor’s prescription that lists all of your medications and vaccines makes the status of your medical needs, requirements and statuses legal. Additionally, it prevents you from running into any potential troubles that may arise due to differences in the availability of medicines.
Money Matters are Important: Apart from documents, money is the one pivoting aspect upon which the success (or failure) of your entire trip. As important it is to save on money, it is important to save the money you have from prying eyes and hands. Make sure you know about currency conversion rates, so that you can do your math and plan your expenditures accordingly. Next, make sure that your cards remain valid in the destination country – in the event that that is not the case, do get a card that does work. Try to make all your transactions in banks or ATMs instead of conversion centers, as they have a tendency to rip-off people in the name of conversion rates.
