Many of us prefer to make inland vacations as in most cases they are cheaper, don’t require much preparation and there’s no need to spend money on costly tickets and travel agencies. However, sooner or earlier everyone wants to explore new continents, countries and cultures. If you plan to make your first trip abroad these tips can be very useful and make your trip more enjoyable.

Check your documents
Trips to most foreign counties require international passport. If you still don’t have one, you will have to do it. Note making passport is rather long – in most countries you have to wait up to 6 weeks or pay to get it earlier. You can always find the list of documents at the U.S. State Department website http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html. As you see, the list is rather short - you need just two photographs of yourself, proof of U.S. citizenship, and a valid form of photo identification such as a driver’s license.

Also always check whether you need a visa to enter the targeted country. While most European countries do not require visa, some countries still claim it.

Make copies
After you get all required documents, I highly recommend you to make copies of the most valuable ones like Passport Visa, Tickets, Drivers License, Credit Cards, etc. The reason for this is simple – you can forget or lose your wallet or it can be stolen. If you have copies, you can keep them in hotel or other safe location or simply give them to family member. If anything unpleasant happens, it will be much easier to get your documents back. Also if you lose passport, take a copy of it and contact local embassy.

Clear route is a guarantee of success
If your vacation includes more than one place, making itinerary is essential. You create a kind of day-to-day guideline and let your family members know where you are in emergency cases. I’d recommend you to create a list of places you plan to visit including hotels you will be staying at and their telephone numbers.

Get some basic knowledge about the language and culture
If you go to Germany, certainly you will mostly hear German, the same as French is spoken in France. You can search for people who know English, however, find some time to learn several basic phrases like “Hello”, “Please”, “Thank you” or “How much is”. These can really simplify you life and maybe even make new friends as the majority of people appreciate the efforts of learning their language.
If you go to country with completely different culture as Middle East or Asia, read about things that are considered impolite there. In this way you can alleviate initial cultural shock and show yourself as a courteous person.

Money issues
Being left without money in a foreign country sounds like a nightmare for everyone. One of the safest ways to keep your money is money belt as it makes you a difficult target for potential thieves. Don’t forget to exchange money. After arriving to airport most probably you will need money to buy snack or pay for metro or taxi. Surely, you can find exchange nearby, but I guarantee it will have pretty unfavorable rates. By the way, if you have more than one debit/credit card, taking both with you is a good idea as ATM can eat your card.

Pack your stuff smart

Tags: Credit Cards, documents, Drivers License, French, German, Middle East or Asia, Passport, Tickets, Visa

This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 12:42 pm and is filed under Travel, Travel gear. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.