To travel, is to live, isn’t it? The happiness of planning a holiday, packing your bags and heading out to the airport to fly afar from the mundane routine ideally defines the essence of life in today’s world. Whether you are taking the journey to visit family, study, work or just to roam, it’s necessary that you plan ahead of time. As soon as you decide to scout and invest in an online flight booking, make sure you follow this simple checklist compiled by travel experts to make your international travel simpler:
- Get your travel documents in place: Preferably 3-6 months prior to your departure date is when you need to start planning your journey. First things first – do you have a valid passport? If not, apply for one right away as the processing time varies from country to country. Secondly, what are the visa requirements for the country that you are visiting? Every country’s requirements are dependent on your passport’s origin and therefore if a visa needs to be applied for, better get cracking and start the paperwork process for the same.
- Understand your travel requirements: Has your itinerary been planned out? If not, it’s wise to check the flight dates and plan accordingly. Say you are travelling from Riyadh to Delhi via Emirates Airlines, you might need to research if any immunizations are needed for the journey and most importantly, make sure to reserve your accommodations and any attractions that you might want to visit – they tend to get more expensive the closer you book to the day of departure. Also, most countries now ask for travel insurance as part of your visa requirements, but generally its always a good practice to buy one in order to ensure you are protected by theft or illnesses of any kind during your journey.
- Finalize your itinerary and budget accordingly: As we all might have been guilty of being spendthrifts at some part of our lives; we can tend to overspend on a trip and unfortunately come back home in a fix. Therefore, we highly suggest locking down your itinerary at least a month prior and accordingly finalizing budgets for the same. On top of the flight, hotel and tour expenses, keep a portion of your budget for food, shopping or even the odd indulgence. A week to two weeks prior, head down to your local currency exchange and convert your Riyals into the local currency of the city you are visiting.
Pro Tip: try and keep a few US Dollars on you as well as you may be in a situation abroad wherein you run out on the local currency and Dollars are widely accepted all over the world.
- Be a smart packer: Packing is one of the most boring aspects of your travel checklist, but, when done right, it is the most essential of them all. Try to travel as minimalistic as possible as you need to abide by the airline’s luggage restrictions – you would not want to be in a situation whereby you have to pay for extra luggage.
Pro Tip: rolling clothes instead of folding them tends to take up lesser space in your luggage and can help you add more if you like. Ensure that along with your clothes you also pack essential toiletries/medications dependent on the country you are visiting.
And there you go, you are now one step closer to travel the world like a pro – so stop daydreaming and book that next trip right away. Bon Voyage!
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