"100 Days" Travel Checklist

Hello There! 

Well, it has been a long time since we booked our upcoming adventure, and we are finally at 100 days left!  

Since this trip requires international travel, (from Fairbanks, Alaska all the way till Barcelona, Spain,) there are some important items I wanted to share with you.

Now, 100 days seems like it is a looooooooong time, but trust me it flies by.. Next thing you know, your trying to get your vacation on, and you're missing your favorite shades, and sunscreen, even important paperwork or documents!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Have no fear, here are some easily over looked ideas that we always try to do at least 100 days before you leave for your vacation!

To me, some of these things seem so obvious now, but I promise we learned some of these tips the hard way, so I am passing these on to you:

BILLS?! It is important to lay out what bills may be due while you’re far far away enjoying your vacation! Nothing will ruin it faster than phone calls and voice mails about bills. So, I recommend setting up automatic payments, or paying a little extra in advance so that your account has a credit (if the business will let you do so.) Once you’ve set this all up, your vacation should remain uninterrupted.

TELL YOUR BANK If you intended on using a debit card/credit card while abroad, be sure to inform your banking establishment to avoid having your only line of credit flagged and shut down on you for trying to buy a beach towel or a margarita in paradise….

“YOU’VE GOT MAIL”? This one gets forgotten A LOT. Your Mail. Now, whether you planned on letting someone stay at your home, or stop by on occasion; or have the post office hold your mail, you’ll find these two options much better than having your mail stolen, or rained on… Make sure this makes it on your list of things to square away before you go.

PASSPORTS/VISAS!! Since we are traveling out of the country, our trip requires full passports. (Depending on where you are going, you might only need a passport card, it is best to research (at least 100 days in advance if not more), which will work best for your travel destination.)

Now, I live in Fairbanks, Alaska… so things that have to be sent off, and mailed back take and

E  X  T  R  A  L  O  N  G

time to process. Make sure you look at how long processing usually takes for where you live, and get your paperwork in with plenty of time for accidentals.

CELL PHONES.. As connected as we would like to believe the world is, international calling and texting can be very expensive. I am a huge supporter of just turning the phone off while on vacation, if that is not an option you can do a couple of things. Many places, (most places if I’m honest) have Wi-Fi which you could uses without incurring extra charges. You could see if your cell carrier has any decent international plans at a decent price. This particular trip includes a cruise for us, so if that pertains to you, most ships have Wi-Fi you can purchase. (This option is unbelievably expensive, and who wants to look at e-mails when you could be sipping a margarita by the pool:) )

HEALTH AND INSURANCE. Depending on where your adventures take you, you may consider looking into travel insurance, or extended international medical insurance, just in case. Some parts of the world also hold some diseases that you might not already be vaccinated against, If you are planning on visiting a vastly different part of the world, you should look into the vaccinations that are recommended for traveling there.

FLIGHTS AND ACCOMMODATIONS… this may seem like such an obvious step, but many people forget to confirm their travel plans and hotel stays. Doing this ahead of time can relieve a lot of post flight stress when trying to get to your hotel and check in. I suggest printing out copies of your confirmations and keep them  in your carry on, (if you want to be double sure, take a snap with your cell phone!) These copies might help check in go faster even if there is a language barrier or anything like that.

COPY, COPY, COPY. To start with a short story, on our way to one of our cruises a few years ago, my boyfriend lost his WHOLE WALLET on the plane, and we didn’t catch it before the plane left again. We filed a report, and got a copy from home of his expired visas, and fortunately he was able to go on (and off ) the cruise with those documents. In light of this experience, we started making copies of everything, and keeping them with us. I would invest in a water resistant file, and make copies of:

-ids

-visas/passports

-credit/debit card

-previously mentioned print-outs of flight/hotel/cruise information

It might seem like overkill, but it you should lose the original at least you have copies of the information, and you’ll be less likely to be stranded somewhere…..

MEDICATIONS Another often overlooked step. If you or someone in your family has ongoing medical scripts, you should remember to let their doctor know they will be out of the country, and try to reorder scripts so that  you have more than what you need for the days you are planning on being gone. If you were to run out, finding those same medications abroad might be a bit more tricky. (During our trip to Germany in 2013, I found out the hard way that the cures for Migraines are not the same there, and I was miserable for the whole day, when i could have brought along a pre-prescribed migraine aid.. Lesson learned!)

Once we've settled those things, the fun part begins… Packing List!!! Now that all of those things are settled, it is the time to sit down and write down all the things you can think of that you might need. Starting this process a little farther out can give you opportunity (and mindset) to weed out unnecessary items, and make it easier to pack when you get closer to your vacation. I always try to over pack, and I found this really cuts down on the junk, and gets me right to the bones of what we need to take.

If you don't even know where to start on your Packing List, don't worry! There are so many guides online, including the one you can find right here!! I have an awesome packing list and some packing tips coming your way!! 

Until next time <3 

Tessanichelle - THP