Traveling is one of the best experiences you can treat yourselves with. You can see it on Instagram when people post about ancient ruins they visit, natives they meet, and the glorious amounts of food they gorge on. However, traveling does not just mean buying flight tickets and booking a hotel accommodation. It also involves preparing various travel documents you will need to be allowed to enter a country, especially if you are planning to go to multiple destinations.
Yes, this may be the boring part of traveling, but it is quite essential. To guide you on your prep, here is a list of documents that you need to prepare before you go off traveling.
Compare travel insurance offers
Everyone knows that you need to purchase travel insurance before going off to somewhere away from homeland. In the event that you need medical attention, need to rush back home, or your luggage has been damaged or lost, travel insurance is what saves you time and money. There are a lot of travel packages available for you. But there are some of the items you need pay attention to if you have to compare travel insurances:
- Medical and evacuation coverage – kind of medicine that will be covered, transportation (ambulance, helicopter, etc.), and professional fees
- Valuable coverage – gadgets, jewelry, and IDs
- Destination coverage – visa, trip cancellation, and trip interruption
Make sure your IDs are up-to-date
Renew your passport even if it still has two months left before it expires. Note that there are countries who will not accept passports that are about to expire in 3 to 6 months’ time. Right now, it is easy to renew passports because government offices would rather you fill out the application online so that you can simply drop by in person to verify information and wait for your new passport to be delivered. So if you are already sure you are pushing through with the trip, make sure you get your passports renewed months before it expires.
Additionally, check all relevant IDs and make sure that there are no inconsistencies across all of them; include your credit cards, as well. See if your name has been spelt right, birth date, and if it has an expiration date.
Apply for a visa two months before the trip
Visa application usually takes time to process because they will be looking at bank statements, income tax returns, itineraries, and personal information. Not only are you going through their strict vetting, but they are checking if you have the capacity to spend in the country and still have money to go back home. This is one of their security measures to avoid illegal immigrants and allowing dangerous people to come in. Adhere to their visa requirements properly and provide them with all the documents they need so that it goes without a hitch. But keep in mind that because it is a long process, apply for a visa 1 or 2 months before your travel date.
Photocopy all documents
Lastly, make sure you have photocopies of all the documents you will be bringing just in case you will need them. Keep them in an organised folder so you can retrieve it easily if you are asked to show a specific document. You can also save soft copies on a cloud system so you have access to them wherever you go.
Do not let unpreparedness hinder an awesome travel plan. Prepare these documents diligently and you will have no difficulties on your trip. Bon voyage!