Okay: you’ve booked your trip, you’ve got your flights sorted, but there’s still a lot to figure out. Don’t end up ruining the trip of a lifetime by forgetting to renew your passport or failing to realize you actually need a visa to enter your vacation destination. Review the following and you’ll be one step closer to enjoying a well-deserved trip abroad:
Organise your passport
Your passport is the most important thing you will carry while travelling. More than money, more than your phone with all your selfies, and even more important than your lucky Superman undies. Without your passport, you will not be able to leave your home country, and if you happen to lose it while you are away, you may not be able to get home until you organise a new or emergency passport.
Passports can take a few days to many weeks to get organised, so this is the first point of call before any trip. Generally, you will need to provide documents like birth certificates and other forms of identification in order to have a passport issued. Check how long until your passport expires, as some countries will not allow entry with less than 6 months and in some cases 3 months validity remaining.
| Country | Website for Passport Information |
|---|---|
| United States of America | http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english.html |
| Canada | http://www.passport.gc.ca/info/ |
| Australia | https://www.passports.gov.au/ |
| New Zealand | http://www.passports.govt.nz/ |
| UK / England | https://www.gov.uk/apply-renew-passport |
Obtain your travel visas
Aside from your passport, you may need travel visas – most countries require for you to apply to gain entry to their country before you can enter, even if you’re just going on a holiday, or in transit to get to another country. You may not even be let on the plane by the airline if you don’t have the correct visa.
Every country is different, with different entry AND exit conditions. Some (but not all) countries will allow people to enter with a tourist visa that is obtained on the border. Other countries will need you to have a visa pre-organised in your home country before you leave. There are different types of visas for each country and reason for visiting. Some of the different visas available are ones designated for tourists, multiple entries, working holidays, student, visa on arrival, sponsored, etc. It is important to cross-check the visa requirements of your nationality with the countries you intend to visit.
We recommend these sites to find out if you need a visa:
https://www.tourradar.com/days-to-come/do-you-need-a-visa-to-go/
https://apply.joinsherpa.com/home
https://www.visahq.com/
NOTE: While the above can provide a great guideline, we strongly recommend you double check the with the government/authority of the countries you plan on visiting to ensure you are receiving accurate information.
Arrange your travel insurance
It isn’t fun, it isn’t sexy, but it could literally save your life. It is one of those boring, must-have parts of life. Kind of like a job. There are numerous horror stories around, and some of those stories have been documented in the following:
Horror stories about travel insurance
Make sure you take out comprehensive travel insurance, and you go through all of the situations that it covers. Ensure it covers you for the places you plan to visit and the things you plan to do; it will be clearly written in the agreement, so be sure make sure you know what you can and can’t do.
If you are going for a long time, or a significant amount of time, look into an Annual plan, it may work out cheaper for you in the long run.