When I’m on the road, in a new city, or across the ocean, I let my intuition guide me. Following my gut, passions, and interests has always led me to amazing experiences. That being said, I can’t dive into my travels and let go without some detailed planning before. That’s where my handy-dandy pretravel checklist comes in.
As someone who uses to-do lists and a calendar to stay on track to accomplish my goals, having a pretravel checklist just makes sense. I use it to balance preparing for my trip with my everyday life. Plus, it allows me to (for the most part) turn my anxiety off and ease into travel once I’m out there adventuring.
Here’s how I prepare for a trip, with specifics for international versus domestic travel. I won’t go into details on choosing a destination in this blog, but you can read more about that here.
#1 Passports, Visas, and Vaccinations
If I’m traveling internationally, the first item on my pretravel checklist is always passports, visas, and vaccinations. As a dual passport holder, I check to see which passport will be stronger in my destination. Once I have that information, I use the stronger passport to get around. For instance, I use my Swedish passport while traveling within the European Union.
Ever since I did a foreign exchange program in South Korea, visas have been on my radar. I needed a student visa to stay in the country for the 10 months of my school year. Plus, I also needed a work visa when I started working as a k-pop content streamer.
Another thing I always keep in mind is vaccinations. Both because I needed to have updated shots to study abroad and because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I check specific vaccination requirements in my destination months in advance, and schedule shots if needed. I will also usually get a physical in advance, so I have an idea of my body’s state-of-being before I leave.
#2 Get a Lay of the Land
Once I’ve locked down passports, visas, and vaccinations, the next item on my pretravel checklist is getting a lay of the land. I’m someone who loves maps and will spend a significant period of time studying them before I leave. I also love public transit and will try to familiarize myself with the transportation system wherever I’m going.
Fun fact, I collect subway and bus passes from each the places that I’ve been.
#3 Check the Weather
Many a times I’ve decided to go camping and haven’t checked the weather. What a rookie mistake. I’ve been cold and miserable because of this. Now, getting the average predicted temperatures and conditions is an essential part of my pretravel checklist. Figuring out whether it’ll be rainy, sunny, cold, hot, or some combination also makes packing a hell of a lot easier.
#4 Research the Language and Culture
Before I go anywhere, I make sure to do my research. I take time to look into the language(s) spoken by locals. While most places have an English speaker or a few, being able to say a few words in someone’s native language goes a long way. Plus, I’m a nerd about languages so I could do research for hours. I also incorporate researching culture into my pretravel checklist. Though I’ll probably still experience some shocks, having an idea of cultural differences is quite helpful.
#5 How Will You Pay for Things?
Unfortunately, we live in a capitalist world that is forces us to use money to pay for basic necessities that should be freely given. Because of this, figuring out money is part of my pretravel checklist. I always check the currency used in the places I visit and also the best way to get money.
While in South Korea, I opened a local bank account with the help of the Korean host university. When I traveled throughout Europe and Mexico, I used my Charles Schwab debit card to withdraw money from local ATMS (and had both the exchange and withdrawal fees refunded). I never carry cash while traveling and only take it out of ATMs if I need it. Otherwise, I inform my banks of my travel dates and then use a travel credit card for everything.
#6 Create a Budget
Going hand in hand with determining how to pay for things is creating a budget. It’s necessary for me to have an approximate budget before traveling — but not for the reason you might think. If I don’t create a budget, I usually don’t buy much of anything. The budget helps me indulge in experiences, treat myself to good food, and buy postcards for loved ones.
When creating a budget, I use an OpenOffice spreadsheet and some estimations. Since I do budgeting in my day-to-day life, it’s quite simple to create estimated expenses. I also take into account the price difference between my home base and destination while doing the budgeting calculations.
Now, my pretravel checklist isn’t hard and fast; I usually book my flights or bus tickets before I start my budget. I also give myself a cap (which varies depending on place, how long I’m staying, and my work situation) and proportions for spending. Most of my travel budget goes into flights, accommodations, food, and experiences.
#7 Book Flights, Accommodations, and an Activity or Two
Like I said before, I usually book my flight before I create a budget. I plan the remainder of my spending around how much the transportation to and from the destination costed. I won’t go into too much detail about choosing flights here (check out this post for my method of booking flights), but I try to go in “off-seasons” when prices are cheapest.
As for accommodations, I also try to choose the most budget friendly option. Usually, I book a hostel that isn’t exclusively about partying or working solo. These days, I’ve been volunteering through Worldpackers in exchange for accommodations.
Though I travel by following my gut and never keep a strict itinerary, I do choose one or two things to book beforehand. In most cases, it’s because I know that the experience that I want to have is massively popular and needs to be reserved in advance. For example, because we booked in advance, my sister and I skipped the long line for the Louvre and were able to take our time in the museum.
#8 Create a Packing List
Once I’ve gotten my flight, places to stay, some activities, and transportation figured out, it’s time to pack. Personally, I have two pretravel packing checklists, one for camping and another for backpacking trips (both international and domestic).
In my camping checklist, I include the necessary supplies, clothes, food, and medicine/emergency gear. For backpacking trips, I include supplies, clothes, and medicine/emergency gear. These checklists have some overlap but are unique enough to warrant their own notes on my phone.
Even though I make lists and check them multiple times, I still manage to forget things during my travels. If I’m camping, I’ll either go into a nearby town to grab it or I’ll go without it for the trip. For backpacking trips, I have been able to find forgotten items in local stores. In the case of backpacking, having to buy forgotten supplies gives me a chance to practice speaking the local language.
#9 Cell Phone and Data Plan
We live in the era of the internet, cell phones, and constant connectivity. While there are negative aspects of this, the technological age makes traveling intuitively very simple; I use my phone to find events, classes, or workshops, and keep in contact with friends I’ve made along the way. Before I leave for my destination, I always make sure that I have calling, texting, and data available.
Luckily, my U.S. phone plan includes roaming in Canada and Mexico for no additional charge. When I was traveling in Europe, I bought an e-sim card and attached it to my regular phone. In South Korea, I bought a cheap smart phone and rechargeable sim card that worked throughout Asia.
#10 Prepare Your Space (and Pets if You Have Them)
The last step of my pretravel checklist is to leave my space nice for when I return. I like to do my laundry, clean my room, and throw out any perishable items before I leave. That way I can focus on reflecting and processing when I return. Plus, I love coming home to clean sheets.
Since I live with other people, I always inform my roommates when I’ll be leaving, where I’m going, and when I’ll return. They usually leave my mail by my door and, when I have them, water my plants for me while I’m gone. I also tend to leave my car keys with either my roommates, a friend, or a partner — that way they can use it while I’m gone, and it doesn’t sit idle for weeks.
If you have a pet, you’ll want to talk to your roommates or friends about caring for them. If it’s within your means, you could also hire a pet and house sitter. If you go with this option, make sure that you are paying them well.
Now Get Out There
With your pretravel checklist in hand, you’ve set yourself up to have a smooth and wonderful trip. Having a plan to prepare for your journey will take away a lot of stress and help you focus on living in the moment. Of course, something unexpected could always happen — Such is life and all we can do is work through it. But, with the things we can control, we can make our lives much simpler and enjoy the adventure.