We must honestly admit that we hate all the preparations that you have to take before you travel. We prefer to pack some things and just go. We always tell eachother that as long as we have the passports and the credit card with us everything will be fine! But let’s be honest. A well prepared trip is often a lot easier and more relaxed than an unprepared one. Over the years, we have become increasingly better in the preparations. Below we share with you our 8 most important tips.
Tip 1: # Passport
Always check whether your passport is still valid for the period you are traveling and beyond. For some destinations, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months longer than the end of your travel. It can be extremely annoying if you find out later that this is not the case. So always check this well in advance. Then immediately take a photo of your passport and put a copy in your luggage. That way you can always identify yourself. We have photos on our phones, on our Google Drive and two photo copy’s. Can’t be sure enough.
Tip 2: #Visa
Always check in advance whether you need a visa for your travel destination. Make sure you are well informed about this. Sometimes a visa has to be applied for in advance. And sometimes it takes months to get one. Even worse sometimes you won’t even get one, especially the USA is hard these days, with some of our Polish friends not getting their ESTA. And having to cancel their trip to New York.
Tip 3: #Traveling Advice
Before you travel, make sure you get some good advice about which vaccinations you need. It is very important to go on a protected journey. Do not think oh well that is not necessary because this is perhaps the most important tip. You don’t want to go catch something silly that our immune systems aren’t made for. You won’t be the first who catches a disease that is hard to treat and keeps you partially ill for the rest of your life. And of course we don’t have to scare you with the incidents that happen where some overseas disease actually kills us. We have the media for that. We use the website www.beschermdopreis.nl to see which vaccinations are mandatory / recommended. In addition, always have contact with a doctor to discuss your personal situation.
Tip 4: #Travel Insurance
Never travel without proper insurance. It sounds logical, but it still happens regularly that people aren’t covered. We have the best travel insurance at the ANWB because we could also insure our extra gear there, such as our cameras and drone. Consider carefully what a travel insurance policy must cover for you and then look for a good insurance policy with your wishes. Don’t compare prices. If you have one incident or cancellation of a flight you will likely save years of paying the monthly fees. Don’t be that sucker.
Tip 5: #Bagage
We have had the dilemma backpack or suitcase so often. Ultimately, we now always travel with 2 large hardcase suitcases and two small hand-held hardcase suitcases. We have a lot of gear with us and prefer to transport this in a hard suitcase. In addition, we use compression packing cubes to bring our clothing in the smallest possible way. Always think carefully about what is important to you. If you want to be able to transport your luggage easily, then a backpack can be a solution. Are you mainly around a place or travel a little more luxury then a suitcase is much easier. We always take a luggage scale with us when traveling so that we can weigh our luggage in the meantime. Different airlines all have different rules and it is useful to know what to expect.
Tip 6: #Navigate
Always put your destination offline in Google maps. This is really a must!
It is super handy to be able to check the app if you are looking for a restaurant, your hotel or whatever. In addition, I sometimes also use it to check whether the taxi driver actually takes the fastest / good route (why control freak ?!). But yeah Taxi Drivers, can’t trust them 😉 .
Tip 7: #Sim card
We always buy a local SIM card when we travel a little longer. That means that we are not dependent on WIFI points. Especially in Asia you buy a SIM card with which you can use the internet for a few euros. You then put it in your phone and your Whatsapp will continue to work on your own mobile number. In these countries people often call eachother through Whatsapp anyway. Super convenient!
Tip 8: #UsetheGram
Of course we are very active on Instagram and we know that this does not apply to everyone. Instagram is really the place to get inspiration where you want to go when you are at your destination. You can do this best by using well-known hashtags from the country so that you can see all the hotspots. Save the photos so that you can always find them later. You can also click on the geolocations to see the most recent state of the places.
And that’s it. Now go look forward to your journey. Because if you ask us there is nothing better than discovering the world!
