Traveling abroad can be very fun or glamorous, depending on the type of holiday that you are planning. However, there are a lot of inconvenience that can turn a seemingly pleasant trip into a disaster. In order to avoid these type of problems, you must pay extra attention to the things that you will be packing. In this article, we have gathered the top 5 must-have things on a vacation abroad.
Legal Documents
Believe it or not, there are a lot of countries that allow foreigners to enter the country with only a birth certificate or a driver license. However, it is impossible to re-enter the US territory without a passport so make sure you don’t forget to pack it. Things are even more complicated when traveling by land or sea. If you are returning from a cruise, you will need to prove your identity as well as your citizenship in order to re-enter the U.S territory.
Emergency contacts
When traveling abroad, you should inform your family or your close friends about your itinerary. However, you too need to be prepared for the worse case scenarios. Look for the contact information of the nearest hospitals as well as the contact information for the nearest U.S Embassy or Consulate.
Health precautions
As unfortunate as it may seem, we must accept the fact that most health plans do not cover health problems that occur outside the U.S.A. Therefore, no matter what country you will be visiting, you will need a solid Medical Travel Insurance. If you travel for medical purposes, you should also include a medical negligence insurance clause or a medical complication insurance. These type of insurance will cover most of your expenses, should your procedure go wrong in any way. Keep in mind that most countries don’t treat medical malpractice as seriously as the U.S does. Winning a medical negligence claim is very challenging in foreign countries and nearly impossible in underdeveloped countries.
Traveler’s checks
When traveling abroad, it is best if you avoid using cash. The safest thing to do is use major credit cards but you should first make sure that they are accepted in the country that you are about to visit. Travelers checks are also safe to use abroad but you should only change them when you need them.
Chargers and plug adapters
Most people nowadays are addicted to their phones. When traveling abroad, cellphones are very useful as GPS devices in order to avoid walking around with maps in your hands and you can also use them as dictionaries. This means that you would be virtually lost, should you forget your phone charger at home. Aside from your chargers, you should also pack an international plug adapter as well as a transformer for the power cord. Some countries also have a different power supply aside from the different plugs.