The Things Every Traveller Needs To Do Before They Jet-Off

Travelling is exciting and the idea of going somewhere new, or hot or exciting can take your mind off all your worries. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from travelling, is that you have to be safe, plan ahead and be reasonable. I decided to share with you the things every traveller needs to do before they jet-off to some far off place in the world.

As of late, most of my travels have been to countries where I haven’t had to worry about different diseases, sickness and safety as much as I would if I went say, down south. But since I booked my latest trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with another girlfriend I found myself scrambling to get things like vaccines and take the same sort of precautions I took when I went backpacking in Europe almost ten years ago. The truth is, we should be taking safety precautions each time we travel and make sure we follow a thorough list of things to do that go beyond remembering a plastic bag for wet bathing suits and your toothbrush.

Here is a quick little reminder of things you should do before you jet off!

• Vaccines
  People sometimes waive these off for various reason. Anti-vaxer, scared of needles, or the ‘it will never happen to me’ mindset. And then you get travellers diarrhoea (sorry…but) or hepatitis A, or typhoid…the list goes on. Don’t be one of those people who has to deal with an awful illness (or spread it!) because they didn’t get their vaccine. I meet with a doctor at a traveller’s clinic who specializes in travel vaccines before every trip. It costs me about $40 for the consult, but I get only what I need for the country I’m visiting. Going to Costa Rica and Nicaragua meant I needed my Hepatitis A vaccine, tetanus and Dukerol. Note that travel vaccines are NOT covered by OHIP. Getting your flu shot is also important because it’s one of the common sicknesses travellers come back with. (And for the record, the flu shot DOES not give you the flu. It literally cannot give you the flu.)

 

• Check Your Passport
  You would be surprised at how many people check their passport a week before take-off only to realize it’s going to or has expired. I still have two years, but for peace of mind, I always check (and I travel a lot!)

 

• Traveler’s Insurance
  I hate to bring this up because the last thing you want to think about when you’re going on vacation is getting hurt or something worse. But you should think about this. Aside from the costs associated with hospitalization, if you needed to be transported back to your home country (or worse…your body needs to be transported. I know, I’m sorry!!) you are putting a MASSIVE burden on your family. The costs are astronomical. So always make sure you have travel insurance through your benefits or credit card or you purchase it. I get mine through Blue Cross or my AMEX Gold Card (I compare rates).

 

• Take A Picture Of Your Passport
  Take a photo of your passport. Email it to yourself and email it to your travel companion. This sounds like a weird thing to do, but it’s super important. In the event that you lose your passport, you have a copy to show your embassy. In the event that something happens to YOU, your travel companion has a copy of your passport to show your embassy. This is really important to do in countries where crime is high.

 

• Check Government Travel Advisory
  Before you book, make sure there are no advisories for the country you would like to visit. I was planning to go to Belize but changed my plan when I realized there was a travel advisory for high crime. Most underdeveloped countries will have a travel advisory for their large cities, but it’s still important to consider when making your travel plans.

Whether you’re booking a last minute or planning ahead, make sure you make time to go through each of the items to save yourself from having to deal with a horrible situation when you should be enjoying some time off!