10 things to get you ready for a trip
All of us at some moment of our lives committed mistakes during our trips. There is no way of escaping it. I wrote this article in order to help people out there, whether experienced or not. I wish I have read an article like that before my first trips. Nobody is free from making mistakes, even when they have experience, anything can happen. Control is an illusion, but, it is always good to plan and be prepared.
Bags
This is a thing I always get stressed about. First of all I hate packing. Yes, I know that most of people love to arrange all stuff before trips, it is part of the excitement, etc., but I really don’t like it. Why? Even though I always try to pack small bags, few clothes, I always exceed the kilos allowed in the airlines. Whenever I travel I usually stay longer than most people and I prefer winter, meaning, more weight. In the end I always buy extra bags. It is ridiculous, I know it and stress me a lot. So if you are a person with good sense, DON’T do like me. Plus: pay attention in the kilos allowed for each airline company; check if that cheap ticket allows dispatched bag or only hand bag; traveling inside Europe with trains? Ok, still, usually the trains don’t stay still between one stop and another so long, so you have to move fast, mainly if you are alone, so make sure not to have too many heavy bags with you. Another thing: be careful with what you pack inside your hand bag and dispatched bag. Since September 11 attacks airports became a neuroses in all senses and if they get annoyed with your face, they will make you open everything. I remember when I was in Athens airport heading to another island and they made me open all my lenses and even checked my hair to see if I was carrying something within my hair! It was very stressful to say the least. Avoid teas, smelling food and all that sort of things. Always good to check the weather forecast.
Travel insurance
Travel insurance is very important. The truth is you never know what can happen. Travels are non predictable. A lost bag, an incident, a toothache, you never knows. There is plenty good insurance companies and you can make the insurance also through the credit card you bought your airline ticket. Don’t miss that point. Shit happens, it is good to be assured.
Vaccine
Vaccination is a serious matter and sometimes can restrain us from crossing a border. The documentation required by each country is one of the factors that travelers need to be aware of when planning their next destination. The yellow fever vaccination certificate is being required by more and more countries. For prevention, the best thing to do is to get vaccinated and always keep the certificate with your passport. Here are some of the countries listed: Angola, Central African Republic, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (ex-Zaire), French Guiana, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, India, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Togo, etc. For more information check: https://www.who.int/.
Budget (take money)
Most of us today travel with debit and credit cards, buy tickets before the trip, pay the hotel or airbnb previously. But just in case, it is always good to take some extra cash. You never know what can happen and depending of which city you will go, nor dollar or euro will be helpful and you will eventually need a bit of cash in the local currency. Some places don’t accept debit or credit cards (museums, shops, restaurants, sightseeing buses). The last situation we want is to seat in a restaurant, eat and drink a lot, and when the time to pay arrives, the restaurant only accepts money and suddenly you only have cards. Not every place is like New York or São Paulo that paying 1 dollar with credit card is acceptable. It is so automatic to pay everything with cards today that sometimes we end up forgetting it.
Visa and documentation to visit other countries
When we are new travelers, we never think about applying visas and documentation. But this is a necessary factor in many countries and it also depends where you are from. Before planning a trip, check what is necessary to visit the country you want to go. Go to the official consulate website. There you will get all the necessary information. Many people think that to travel do Brazil there is not need of a visa, but countries like USA still need a visa to enter here. Research about the place you are planning to go, sometimes a visa may take months to be approved.
