When you decide to go travelling, especially for a RTW trip, a little pre-organisation can a go long and help avoid disappointments and unnecessary problems while on the road. I would suggest to start the preparations for your journey at least a couple of months before your departure date, more if you have the time. By then you should already have a rough itinerary and know the key countries you’re going to visit.
We have created an essential check list of to do items 2 months prior to your departure date.
8 weeks before
- Check you passport has at least 6 month remaining before it expires as most countries have this as a pre-requisite to enter the country.
- Arrange any necessary visa’s which need to be in place prior to your departure.
- Check which vaccinations are needed for any of the countries your visiting and have the ones which are absolutely necessary.
- Research the places your visiting on the internet and guide books. If you not making a full itinerary make sure you bullet point a few key places or experiences you would like to see and do, like a travel “wish list”.
- Try and learn some basic phrases of the native language, even just a few words or phrases goes along way.
- Driving abroad? Make sure your licence is current and valid
2 weeks before
- Carry out your packing trial run- you will still have time to buy an additional items and work the best type of bag to take..
- Inform your bank and the credit card companies that your are going abroad tell them the dates and the countries you will be visiting and make sure they inform their fraud department.
- Make a note of your banks and credit companies lost and stolen international telephone numbers.
- Make a copy of your passport, driving license and plane tickets and email to yourself or use the Sky–drive that enables you to password protects all documents.
- Make sure your emergency contact information is correct and completed in the back of your passport.
- Organise some spare passport photos for additional visa’s that you might need to obtain during your trip.
- Organise and buy your travel insurance: make sure that is covers all countries and all adventure activities you plan to do.
- Book your first two nights accommodation.
- Have stash of $200 in cash and keep it some where safe as a back up for emergencies. US dollars is accepted as an alternative currency and exchanged in most countries.
- Check the exchange rate of the first country you are visiting, make a note of it so you are able to gauge the value of things from your first day starting with not getting ripped off by the taxi driver from the airport to your hostel.
Final tip
When your away and withdrawing cash from ATM’s ensure you keep the receipts, because you might be asked to show them to you travel insurance company if you get cash stolen and need to make a claim.
great tips!
Great list. I’m at the 8 week mark and I still don’t have my yellow fever shot!
One thing I will recommend that I gleaned from wherearelizandadrian? is using delicious.com It’s an online bookmark site that you can put tags in. So for the last year I’ve been researching different cities tours, hostels, sites etc and tag them with the city name. When I arrive there in 9 months all I have to do is search the city name and all the things I thought may be interesting appear in a list.
You still have time, but best to get it done ASAP. The main South American country that I think its compulsory to show your certificate of vaccination when you enter is Brazil.
Sorry just read the 2nd part of your comment. That’s a brilliant tip: using delicious and tags when doing your trip research. That would be so handy all you online research in an easy to reach place.
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Thx for information.