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If you don't have a current passport, get one! |
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If you don't have an International Certificate of Vaccination, get one! |
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Review your vaccinations with your family physician and health professionals who have
specialized knowledge in this field. Ensure you comply with all the requirements of every
foreign country you will be traveling through. Keep in mind, you may have a valid
passport, airline ticket and sufficient funds, but unless you comply with all health
regulations of a foreign country, they may not let you pass through their borders. Take
care of this at least 4-6 months before your departure date. |
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Arrange for someone to take care of your home (including clearing your postal mail, ad
mail, and newspapers). Give them contacts for emergencies involving plumbing, heating,
electrical, and insurance, and give them appropriate ID numbers for the various agencies.
Give them your itinerary, including telephone numbers of where you can be reached, or
where urgent messages can be left. |
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Arrange for care of your children and/or parents living with you (if they are not
traveling with you, of course). |
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Arrange for care of your pets. |
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Arrange for care of your plants. |
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If you will be away for more than 2-3 weeks, arrange for bills to be paid. |
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Purchase traveler's health insurance, as well as any other travel insurance you think
you need. |
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Ensure there are sufficient funds in your chequing account to cover any pre-authorized
payments (mortgages, credit cards, utilities, etc.). |
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If you are traveling for an extended time (over 4 weeks), notify next of kin and
register your itinerary with your nearest foreign affairs office or consulate. |
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Purchase sufficient funds in either traveler's cheques or US$ cash. If you purchase
traveler's cheques, you should also purchase some US$ cash. If you will be carrying
credit cards, there will be less of a need for cash, however do not rely on using
credit cards. Many locations still do not honour credit cards, and those that do often
have bizzare rules or "special" prices or surcharges which you may want to
avoid. |
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Have sufficient funds available in a chequable bank account to cope with overseas
emergencies. Take the bank account number, bank name, address and telephone number. Take
two or three cheques for this account, and fold them up and put them away in your wallet.
For the cost of a long distance phone call (for approval from your home bank), you can
then have access to these funds in an emergency. |
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Keep in mind, some overseas medical facilities will not bill your travel health
insurance directly. You must pay them and claim later. In other words, you may need access
to sufficient funds to receive medical treatment! |
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Credit card accounts should be paid down to zero balance before leaving. You may need
these lines of credit in an emergency. |
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If you are planning to use credit cards while on vacation, be aware that some countries
have different security systems than those we are used to in North America. For instance,
in some European countries, the credit card approval process for retail purchases
often requires
that you enter a PIN into the system. If you don't know your PIN for your VISA or
MasterCard, go to your bank and get one before you leave. |
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If you live in a cold climate, ensure your heating system has been fully serviced before
you leave. Keep your house temperature sufficiently high to prevent freezing of pipes and
fixtures (set no lower than 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees Celsius) |
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Compose a list of names, addresses and/or phone numbers of people you plan to write to
or phone while you are away. |
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Reconfirm departure flights with airlines 24 hours before departure. Reconfirm your
return flights 24 hours ahead of time as well. |
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Turn off the hot water heater for your house at the circuit breaker (unless this is your
primary heating system). |
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Clean out the refrigerator the night before departure, and ensure all garbage is taken
outside. |
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Install and test timers for house lights. Setup to mimic normal living patterns. |
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Close (or partially close) blinds/drapes before leaving. |
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Turn on your telephone answering machine or
enable your voicemail. Ask callers to leave a message, but do not
indicate that you are away on vacation. |
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Purchase new batteries for any cameras, travel clocks, or other devices you are taking
with you. Leave yourself several days to verify that they are working properly before you
depart. |
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Remove any valuables normally kept in the house to a safe deposit box or other secure
location. |
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Make three photocopies of the page in your passport with your photo and identification
info. Pack one copy in your suitcase, keep the second folded in your wallet or purse, and
leave the third with a person in your hometown who you can contact in case you lose
everything. |
| If you are traveling with children, take proof they are yours!
Birth certificates, child's passport (or their names on your passport) are
essential. If both parents are not traveling with their children, you
will also need a letter of permission from the missing parent. If you are a multinational couple with children, be aware
that your respective home countries may consider your children as nationals of
the country, and may impose local laws on you and your children upon arrival. Do
not take your children out of your home country until you have carefully
researched this angle! |
