10 things to do keep in mind before taking a trip

We cannot deny that for many, seeing a plane ticket and starting to travel is practically the same. It happens to us, so we know what that feeling means. Although we must be prudent and dedicate some time to some factors that will make us improve our vacation days a lot. We leave you a selection of 10 things that we must take into account before making a trip .

1- Documentation in order

One of the most important things that we must take into account before making a trip is to review our documentation, especially what is necessary to fly or enter the destination. In addition, we recommend you take a copy of this documentation, it can be perfectly in the cloud, so as not to lose sight of it if you have to use it. This would be the list of documentation to review before making a trip:

ID
Passport: Check expiration, number of blank pages (depending on the country of destination), that it is in perfect condition... etc.
Entry visa in the country of destination (if necessary)
International driver's license (apart from carrying the national one, you never know...)
European Health Card (if we travel within Europe)
Travel insurance
Credit cards (essential if, for example, we rent a car)
Medical certificate in case of having any disease, with translation in English
Vaccination letter, if necessary
International student card (if you have it)

2- European Health Card

Something that we often ignore and that we should take into account is the need to travel with medical coverage. In the case of traveling in Europe, this coverage is given to us by the European Health Card that accredits the holder the right to receive the health benefits that he may need during his stay in the territory of the European Union or Switzerland. You can request it online, even without a digital certificate, or in person at a Social Security Information Center, requesting a prior appointment.
The European Health Card is valid for two years and once it expires it must be renewed through the same procedure.

3- Go to your Vaccination Center

Something that happens to us very often is receiving emails in which they ask us about the vaccines that must be taken to travel to one or another country. We are always satisfied with the same thing: «The best thing is to go to your nearest vaccination center, only they will be able to advise you, since the vaccines will depend on the place you are traveling to, your medical history and even the time you are at the destination ». In Indonesia, for example, it is not advisable to take malaria prophylaxis throughout the country, if not only in some areas, so the information you are given on the internet or read may not be valid for your case.

The best thing is always to go to a doctor and let him be the person who advises you on what to take or what not. In addition, we always have to have the confidence to ask any questions we have, either because of something they have told us or because of something we have read on the internet. Surely they can guide us and get us out of many doubts.

4- Travel insurance

How many times have we forgotten, consciously or not, about travel insurance ? Probably more than one, traveling like this totally devoid of health coverage, something totally inadvisable, especially in countries like the United States, where we can assure you that a simple transfer by ambulance can modify the travel budget of a lifetime. There are as many insurances as there are travelers, which is all the more reason to be cautious and spend time choosing ours, taking several factors into account, which will surely end up being very important in case you need it:

24-hour international medical assistance, including interpreter assistance, shipment of medicines, transmission of urgent messages, travel assistance...
Sufficient coverage to travel throughout Spain, Europe or most of the world. Taking into account that if you are going to travel to countries with higher health costs than the rest, such as the United States, Canada or Japan, it is highly recommended to hire an extension or an extra so as not to surprise us. For example, with ERV Travel Insurance with its ERV Select insurance, we have 60,000 euros of coverage in medical expenses, expandable by paying an extra amount, sufficient coverage even when in a country with high health costs.
Repatriation and medical transport throughout the world, always using an appropriate means of transport, including a medicalized plane.
Displacement/Repatriation of the companion if necessary
Return in case of death or hospitalization of a relative (even without being insured)
Return in case of accident at home or office
Coverage in case of cancellation
Consider an extension of travel insurance if you are going to practice risky activities or sports
Read and re-read the health insurance coverage and ask any questions you have
Insurance amount according to coverage. For example, for the next trip that we will make to Chile, the 32-day travel insurance, with ERV Select , the most complete insurance they have, has a cost of 134 euros, an amount that we believe is more than adjusted taking into account the coverage it offers.

5- Find out about the destination you are traveling to. Things to keep in mind before taking a trip

There is nothing like knowing and finding out how the country you are going to travel to works. For example, there will be destinations with different currencies, some where you will need an adapter for the plugs, others with time change... very different culturally speaking... etc. So having a little information about the destination will only make the trip easier for us, since knowing some of their customs, such as something as simple as tipping in the United States , can save us a lot of headaches. For that we only have to spend some time diving in the destination that we have chosen, something that we will surely appreciate once we are there.

6- Sign up for local connection rates

If there is something that can save us a lot of money, it is to inform us and above all sign up for local SIM cards. In Europe, we now have companies like Vodafone, which allow you to transfer your rate to Europe at no extra cost, but the moment we leave Europe, things change, although much less than what we might think at first glance.
There are countries, such as Sri Lanka , where it is possible to buy a card for 1000 rupees that includes 1Gb of data, 20 minutes of international calls and local calls for 1 rupee per minute, a real bargain.
It does not hurt to find out about the different rates offered by the different companies in the country, as in the airport itself, spend a few minutes comparing prices in the shops that are normally in the departure terminal.

7- Look at the weather at the destination

How many times have you not gone to a destination thinking that in the middle of August it was unthinkable that it could be cold and you have ended up in flip flops in the middle of a mountain at 10 degrees? Never? Well, we have to say that you have been very lucky, since we have fallen into error a couple of times. So now we do not leave without looking at the weather a couple of days before the places we are going to visit so as not to take any surprises or probably a cold as a souvenir of the trip.

8- Plan an itinerary for your trip

Another thing that we must take into account before making a trip is planning the days we have at the destination. Although it is not necessary that we have everything tied up, it does not hurt to know a little about the places that we are going to visit in order to be able to plan a little what will be our trip and our days there. It is not the same to visit a city without knowing anything about it than having read something about its most important and tourist places and even knowing a little about transport. Another possibility is to go to the Tourist Office and have them help us with this task, informing you of the best routes and visits. There is no better advice than that of a local.

9- Know a little about the customs and culture of the country and above all, respect them!

There is nothing more comforting than arriving in a country and knowing at least some of its customs to be able to adapt to them as much as possible and above all, as we mentioned in the statement of this point, respect them, since we must always have Of course, we are no more than travelers who are passing through, mere guests in a land that does not belong to us, and therefore, we should not even judge customs that we do not know. You cannot imagine how grateful they will be for a word from you in their language, covering your shoulders in a mosque, without the need for anyone to tell you, or simply that you do not brazenly look at certain actions, which although for us they are out of the ordinary, for they are totally common.

10- Enjoy all the moments of the trip

And it is that in the end, it does not matter the moment of it in which you find yourself, the trip must be enjoyed. In our case, we already started doing it at the moment we are looking for flights, even before knowing the destination. It is that moment in which the possibility of that trip is born when we begin to taste it slowly. Then, with the preparation, the different itineraries, the proposals (many times crazy) to go to places where we will have to spend a lot of time to only stay a few hours, the sometimes illogical combinations of transport to get to the place in the photo you saw ago. years… We enjoyed all those moments as if they were already the trip itself. That makes us extend it to the maximum and that is that even later, when we have already returned, we relive it a thousand times while we select the photos, while we write the posts or when we are answering emails trying to help other travelers with their doubts.

In the end, we always end up enjoying that trip and there is nothing like TRAVELING before taking a trip .