1. Grab a Hotel Business Card
You’ve gone through the booking hotel process and are handed your keys. Before you head up to your room, grab a business card from the front that’s written in the local language. This gives you something that you can show your taxi driver rather than try to give them the address of your hotel in English.
While a large bit of the world does speak English, you don’t want to take any chances when it comes to getting lost.
2. Six-Month Passport Rule
If you’re traveling within the US, for the most part, your passport will be good up until the date of expiration. A lot of countries work a bit differently though. There are some that will deny you entry if your passport is even 6-months away from its expiration date.
Even if your itinerary set for only a two-week trip, they want to make sure that if you were to get stuck for some reason you would have a way to get back to the US.
3. Having Cash
Your bank will charge you an arm and a leg to take money out of your account from an ATM that’s overseas and out of their service network. You can get cash out at the airport but then you run the risks that come with traveling to a new location with a stack of cash in your pocket.
That’s never a good idea, especially if you’re traveling alone. Open a separate checking account with a bank that won’t charge you as much to take out cash and transfer your travel expenses into it.
4. Medicine
Bring any medications that you think you’ll need with you on your trip. Sure, most countries have a drug store but you don’t want to have to waste time translating your condition to a store clerk late at night when they are about to close.
On a different but related note, have your doctor write you a refill for any prescriptions that you’re taking so you can get a full bottle to take with you.
