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Travelling out of the country for the first time is one of the most exciting experiences a person could have. There’s nothing quite like the thrill that comes with being on a plane that’s taking you to a whole new world. As a first time international traveller, there are a couple of things you may not know you need to do in order to have the most comfortable and stress-free travel experience. So to help you out, here are 5 tips for first-time international travellers.
Ensure you have the proper insurance
The first things you need to do before travelling is to make make sure you’re hale and hearty and to keep it that way. As you’ll be travelling out of the country for the first time, you need to make sure you’re in the right physical condition to get on a plane. It is advised to visit your doctor prior to your trip for a general health checkup.
When you visit your doctor, it is also recommended that you have all the necessary prescriptions for your trip (if you need any), as well as all your vaccinations. Once you’ve done that, you should check with your health insurance provider to confirm that they cover you even on international trips. If they don’t, then you would want to consider travel insurance.
Set up a virtual P.O Box
Once you have your health check in order, you’re probably going to need to set up a virtual P.O. Box. A virtual P.O. box is a service that essentially scans all your physical mails and sends them to you virtually. This is particularly beneficial as it ensures that you never miss any important emails, even when you’re away from home. This service is incredibly affordable and it keeps you up to date on all your business and personal mails. If you are interested in setting up a virtual mailbox, all you need to do is visit physicaladdress.com for more information on how to get started.
Do your research
The importance of doing your research beforehand cannot be overemphasized. You are leaving the country to an unfamiliar environment, so you want to be equipped with as much information as possible. Try to find out some info about the weather in that region of the world depending on the time of the year and season. This can help you pack the appropriate kind of clothes.
Also, do some research on the locality where you’ll be staying. Is it known for being safe or dangerous? Research the hotel you’ll be staying at. What are the reviews saying? Doing your research helps you prepare better for what you are likely to meet and experience in this new place.
Mark your luggage
Now, this might not be a tip you hear quite often, but marking your luggage can be really helpful once you get to the airport. When you mark your luggage, you ultimately make it easier for you to identify it at the baggage carousel. After arriving at the airport and going through security, a lot of people tend to spend long periods of time trying to identify their luggage as many travellers have similar looking bags and boxes. Marking yours ensures that you locate it faster than usual. There are a couple of ways you could mark your luggage, but the most common way to do this to tie a bright coloured ribbon around the handle.
Don’t exchange money at the airport
As a first time traveller, it is very easy for you to see the airport as the fastest and most convenient place to exchange your money. However, it is not typically advised to do this. This is because airport exchanges don’t offer you the best rates. The best thing to do is change a bit of money at your bank before you travel so that you have some local currency when you arrive. Afterwards, you can find a place with better exchange rates to convert the remaining of your money once you’ve settled in.
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Reminding these things are always welcome, but at present no one knows when to make one.
Thanks for this.. Neatly written
Thanks. Yes it’s a little odd with travel content at the moment.
I’ve never heard of a virtual PO box! It’s a great idea, though.
It is isn’t it!
These are such great tips. The money one especially – I started using prepaid cards like revolut to avoid carrying cash and to get better exchange rates. And also using nectar and tesco clubcards in the UK mean you get better rates too with them.
The suitcase thing brought back a really tragic/hilarious memory…A few years ago my Dad didn’t tag his luggage and he assumed no one else would have the same grey case. Someone did. This person took his case without checking the name & the tragic part was he’d brought loads of sausages and cold things back with him. The suitcase was locked and by the time it got given back a week later it was disgusting
Oh no! I can only imagine how bad it was opening that haha. I love using prepaid cards on holiday.
This is really helpful! Thanks for sharing 🙂 x
Thanks for reading!
Great tips! I always like to research a destination before I visit, it’s always good to know what to expect and read the experiences of others.
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
Oh yes definitely!
Thanks for sharing, I found some countries have closed currcenies so we could not get money before we left, so we had to exchange at the airport, but mostly do it before you go is a good tip 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
Oh interesting! Yes where you can though you should definitely exchange money before you get to the airport.
These are such handy tips! I haven’t thought about a virtual PO Box but it makes so much sense!
It does doesn’t it?!
This is all such great info! I haven’t really traveled internationally before. I have been on a cruise out of the country but that’s it. I will have to keep this post in mind for whenever I do travel internationally. Thanks for sharing!
Oh amazing, thanks for reading I hope it gave you some good tips!
Marking luggage is such an important aspect to remember to do when travelling – it makes it so much easier when picking it up later and making sure you get the right suitcase, right?! I also think exchanging money at the airport is such a rookie error so I never do it, so much more expensive x
It’s such a rip-off doing it at the airport! I always make sure my luggage is well marked but I still panic someone will take my case haha.
My rule is exchange money at the airport only for emergencies! The exchange rate is murder. I’ve never heard of a virtual PO box, seems really useful!
Yes definitely only in emergencies!
These are really great tips, thank you for sharing. It’s scary how travel is going to be transformed with all of the new changes, but I can’t wait to be able to travel once more xx
http://www.GemmaEtc.com
It really is, I just hope one day we can return to a little bit of normality when it comes to travel.