Small oversights can make a big impact on your travel experience — especially when traveling abroad.
Anytime you take an overnight trip, you’ll have to pack, prepare and make some arrangements. But when you go outside the United States, there’s more to consider. Things you take for granted on domestic trips may not be easily available overseas. And, if you leave unprepared, it could turn your dream vacation into a series of small hassles.
If you’re planning to take your church group on an international trip soon, here’s a checklist of items you and your travelers will need to think about before departing.
Electricity Needs
Pretty much everyone relies on electricity to power phones, computers or other personal devices, but not all electricity is the same. You need to check ahead of time to learn about the power connections in your destination country. Canada and the Americas use the same two-pronged plugs that we do, but other parts of the world have a variety of other connectors. You’ll need to bring an adapter to plug your U.S. cables into foreign outlets. If you use a blow-dryer or other high-output appliance, you may also need a converter, which can safely downgrade the 220-volt power supply common in Europe to the 110 volts American devices use. This shouldn’t be necessary for laptops or mobile phones, though, as these are designed to work with both voltage levels.
Medications And Prescriptions
Prescription medicine can be difficult to get in foreign countries. In many cases, obtaining medicine while traveling abroad requires finding a local physician to write a new prescription. To avoid this headache, make sure you pack all your prescription medications in your carry-on — not your checked luggage — and consider bringing extra in case you lose some along the way. If you’re going to a destination where certain infections are common, you may be able to talk to your doctor or an online provider to get an antibiotic to have on hand just in case you get sick.
Banking and Currency
Traveling anywhere means spending money as you go — on meals, snacks, souvenirs, gifts and more. That’s easy to do in the U.S., but it gets trickier when you go abroad. While credit and debit cards are both widely accepted in all but the most exotic destinations, it’s still important to let your bank and card issuers know when you’re going out of the country so they don’t block your foreign transactions. It’s also advisable to have some cash on hand — at least a couple hundred dollars — and to convert some of that cash to local currency as soon as you get a chance.
Snacks
Exploring the cuisine in foreign countries can be an amazing experience. But it can also be difficult, especially if you’re a selective eater or have dietary restrictions to work around. You may find yourself needing a snack between meals or a replacement for a meal you can’t eat. Don’t take for granted that those snacks will be as easy to find abroad as they are at home. Instead, pack some snacks in your carry-on. Look for compact, non-perishable items with high protein content that you can use as a meal replacement in a pinch.
Mobile Phone Service
Smartphones have become indispensable travel tools, and you’ll likely want to use yours when you go abroad. To do this, you need to get in touch with your mobile carrier in advance to find out what your options are. Most of the big carriers offer talk, text and data packages that you can add on to your regular plan, with pricing and features ranging greatly from one company to the next. If you plan on using a lot of mobile data, it may be worth temporarily switching providers to Google Fi, which offers free data roaming anywhere in the world with standard service plans.
