We cannot deny that for many, seeing a plane ticket and starting to travel is practically the same. It happens to us, so we know what that feeling means. Although we must be prudent and devote some time to some factors that will make us improve and much, our vacation days. We leave you a selection of 10 things to keep in mind before making a trip.
1- Documentation in order
One of the most important things to keep in mind before taking a trip is to review our documentation, especially the necessary to fly or enter the destination. Besides, we recommend you take a copy of this documentation, it can be perfectly in the cloud, so as not to lose sight of it if you have to use it. This would be the list of documentation to review before making a trip:
- ID
- Passport: Check expiration date, number of blank pages (depending on destination country), that it is in perfect condition ... etc
- Entry visa in the country of destination (if necessary)
- International driving license (apart from carrying the national, what you never know ...)
- European Health Card (if we travel within Europe)
- Travel insurance
- Credit cards (essential if for example we rent a car)
- Medical certificate in case of illness, with English translation
- Vaccination letter, if necessary
- International student card (if any)
2- European Health Card
Something that we often miss and that we should keep in mind is the need to travel with medical coverage. In the case of traveling through Europe, this coverage is given to us by the European Health Card that accredits the holder the right to receive the health benefits they may need during their stay in the territory of the European Union or Switzerland. You can apply online, even without a digital certificate or in person at a Social Security Information Centers, by asking for an appointment.
The European Health Card is valid for two years and once expired it must be renewed through the same procedure.
3- Go to your Vaccination Center
Something that happens to us very often is to receive emails in which they ask us about the vaccines that we have to get to travel to one or another country. We are always happy about the same thing: "It is best to go to your nearest vaccination center, only they can advise you, since vaccines will depend on where you travel, your medical history and even the time you are at the destination ". In Indonesia, for example, it is not advisable to take malaria prophylaxis throughout the country, if not only in some areas, so the information they give you on the internet or read may not be valid for your case.
It is always best to see a doctor and be the person who advises you on what to drink or what not. In addition, we always have to have the confidence to ask any questions we have, either for something they have told us or for something we have read on the internet. Surely they can guide us and get us out of many doubts.
4- Travel insurance
How many times have we forgotten, consciously or not, the travel insurance? Probably more than one, thus traveling totally devoid of health coverage, something totally inadvisable, especially in countries like the United States, where we can assure you that a simple ambulance transfer can change your traveling budget for a lifetime. There are as many insurances as travelers, reason for being extra cautious and spending time choosing ours, taking into account several factors, which insurance, will end up being very important if you need it:
- 24-hour international medical assistance, including interpreter assistance, medication delivery, urgent message transmission, travel assistance ...
- Coverage enough to travel in Spain, Europe or most of the world. Taking into account that if you are going to travel to countries with higher healthcare costs than the rest, such as the United States, Canada or Japan, it is quite advisable to hire an extension or an extra to not get any surprises. For example, with ERV Travel Insurance With your ERV Select insurance, we have 60000 euros of coverage in medical expenses, expandable by paying an extra amount, sufficient coverage even while in a country with high healthcare costs.
- Repatriation and sanitary transport throughout the world always using an adequate means of transport, including medicalized aircraft.
- Travel / Repatriation of the companion if necessary
- Return in case of death or hospitalization of a relative (even without being insured)
- Return in case of accident at home or office
- Coverage in case of cancellation
- Contemplate an extension of travel insurance if you are going to practice risky activities or sports
- Read and reread health insurance coverage and ask any questions you have
- Amount of insurance in accordance with the coverage. For example, for the next trip we will make to Chile, the 32-day travel insurance, with ERV Select, the most complete insurance they have, has a cost of 134 euros, an amount that we believe is more than adjusted taking into account the coverage offered.
5- Find out about the destination you are traveling to. Things we should keep in mind before making a trip
There is nothing like knowing and informing how the country you are going to travel to works. For example there will be destinations with different currencies, some in which you will need an adapter for the plugs, others with time change ... very different culturally speaking ... etc. So having a little information about the destination will only make the trip easier, since knowing some of its customs, such as something as simple as tips in the United States, can save us many headaches. For that we just have to spend some time diving in the destination that we have chosen, something we will surely appreciate once we are there.
6- Sign up for local connection rates
If there is something that can save us a lot of money it is to inform us and above all to sign up for local SIM cards. In Europe, we now have companies like Vodafone, which allow you to transfer your rate to Europe at no extra cost, but the moment we leave Europe, things change, although much less than we can think with the naked eye.
There are countries, such as Sri Lanka, where it is possible to buy a card for 1000 rupees that includes a 1Gb of data, 20 minutes of international calls and local calls at 1 rupee per minute, a bargain.
It does not hurt to find out about the different rates offered by the different companies in the country, as in the same airport, spend a few minutes to compare prices in the stores that are normally in the departure terminal.
7- Look at the time at the destination
How many times have you not gone to a destination thinking that in the middle of August it was unthinkable that it could be cold and you ended up in flip flops in the middle of a mountain at 10 degrees? Never? Well, we have to say that you have been very lucky, since we have fallen into error a couple of times. So now we do not leave without looking at the weather a couple of days before the places that we are going to visit so as not to take any surprise or probably a cold as a souvenir of the trip.
8- Plan an itinerary for your trip
Another of the things we should keep in mind before making a trip It is the planning of the days we have at the destination. Although we do not have to have everything tied up, it does not hurt to know minimally the places that we are going to visit in order to be able to plan a little what will be our trip and our days there. It is not the same to visit a city without knowing anything about it than having read something about its most important and tourist places and even knowing a little about transport. Another possibility is to approach the Tourist Office and that they help us with this task, informing you of the best tours and visits. There is no better advice than that of a local.
9- Learn a little about the customs and culture of the country and above all, respect them!
There is nothing more comforting than arriving in a country and knowing at least some of its customs to adapt to them as much as possible and above all, as we commented in the statement of this point, respect them, since we must always have Of course, we are only travelers who are passing through, mere guests in a land that does not belong to us, and therefore, we should not even judge customs we do not know. You can not imagine what they would appreciate a word from you in their language, cover your shoulders in a mosque, without needing anyone to tell you, or just do not look in a way cheeky certain actions, that although for us they go out of the habitual thing, for them they are totally common.
10- Enjoy all the moments of the trip
And in the end, no matter the moment of the same in which you are, the trip must be enjoyed. In our case we have already started to do it at the moment we are looking for flights, even before knowing the destination. It is that moment when the possibility of that trip is born when we begin totaste it little by little. Then, with the preparation, the different itineraries, the proposals (often crazy) to go to places where we will have to spend a lot of time to be only a few hours, the sometimes illogical transport combinations to get to the site of the photo you saw makes years ... We enjoy all those moments as if they were the trip itself. That makes us lengthen it to the fullest and that is even after, when we have returned, we relive it once and a thousand times while we select the photos, while writing the post or when we are answering emails trying to help other travelers with their doubts.
In the end that trip we just enjoyed it always and there is nothing like TRAVEL before taking a trip.
* All images without a watermark have been provided by Shutterstock
* Post in collaboration with ERV Travel Insurance
