--- title: International Travel Tips: 10 Things to Do Before You Leave description: Make a budget canonical: https://time.com/4023076/international-travel-tips/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-04T15:45:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:14.201Z og:title: 10 Things to Do Before International Travel og:description: Make a budget og:url: https://time.com/4023076/international-travel-tips/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7095da1750d91bdd/6988624ae20a878513a8d144/american-passport.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2124 og:image:height: 1195 og:image:alt: american-passport og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Things to Do Before International Travel twitter:description: Make a budget twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7095da1750d91bdd/6988624ae20a878513a8d144/american-passport.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Things to Do Before International Travel > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=be64c09f-18d6-4243-a305-a8f0be9e8743&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Snob on a Budget: Travel Tricks [Watch (HLS stream): Snob on a Budget: Travel Tricks](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/OYB7Z6X7.m3u8) (2:18)  _Published 2015-07-16. Snob on a Budget: Travel Tricks_ by [Caroline Duke / Avelist](https://time.com/author/avelist/) ## Caroline Duke / Avelist Sep 4, 2015 3:45 PM UTC  Passport on white background Passport on white background Getty Images by [Caroline Duke / Avelist](https://time.com/author/avelist/) ## Caroline Duke / Avelist Sep 4, 2015 3:45 PM UTC **Check your passport and visa requirements.** You will need at least 6 months before expiry in your passport to travel out of the country. Check to see if you need a visa(s) for the country(s) you’re visiting. Some can take weeks to process, so plan ahead. Make sure you’ve got enough pages in your passport: consider the number of stamps you’ll be getting. Then find a nice, safe spot to keep your passport on your travels and make that the only place you keep it. **Photocopy and scan important documents.** Heaven forbid you lose your backpack, wallet, purse, but if you do you’ll want all of these documents handy to get replacements in a timely manner. Save things like your passport, visa, health insurance card, credit card, and travel arrangements to Dropbox, Google Docs, etc. Print out at least one copy of the front passport page and hide it in a separte bag with your actual passport. **Check your meds.** Some distant lands require specific immunizations. [Passport Health](http://www.passporthealthusa.com/) can help in most cases. Refill your prescriptions and ask for extra medicine if you’ll be gone for a while. **Buy travel insurance.** If you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel. It’s relatively cheap and covers everything from medical bills to lost luggage to stolen valuables. Check out [World Nomads](http://www.worldnomads.com/), but there are plenty to choose from. **Sort your money.** Find out the currency of the country(s) you’re traveling and how best to get money. Look into getting a credit card without foreign transaction fees. [Chase Sapphire Preferred](https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/sapphire-preferred-card.aspx) is a great option if you travel frequently (so is [CapitalOne VentureOne](http://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/ventureone/) and Charles Schwab reimburses all ATM fees). Let your bank know you’ll be overseas or they could freeze your account. Save the international phone number of the credit card company in case you need to cancel your card, get a cash advance, etc. while away. **Make a budget.** On the road is no time to go broke. Start with the big purchases you know you’ll be making (flights, accommodation, attractions, etc.) Then give yourself a per diem that includes your daily food, travel (taxis), and other small purchases. **Memorize three key phrases.** If you don’t already know the language, learn the essentials. Even if you only know a few words, people appreciate the effort. Download [Duolingo](https://www.duolingo.com/) for added assistance. Then practice charades. **Turn off roaming.** Unless you have opted into an international mobile plan, turn off roaming on your phone. Data can eat through hundreds of dollars in a very short amount of time. **Pack and repack.** Less is more when you’re lugging a backpack or suitcase through airports, onto trains and in and out of hotel rooms. Pack once with everything you think you will need. Take everything out. Eliminate one-third. Repack. **Write your mother.** So it doesn’t necessarily have to be your mother, but write your close family and friends letting them know where you’ll be, who you’ll be with and contact, flight, and accommodation information. If you’ll remember, the guy from _127 Hours_ did not take this step. _This_ [_article_](https://www.avelist.com/list/things-to-do-before-traveling-overseas-15634) _originally appeared on_ [_Avelist_](http://www.avelist.com) _More from Avelist:_ * [How to Deal With Rejection](https://www.avelist.com/list/how-to-deal-with-rejection-15153) * [10 Tips for Dogs and Air Travel](https://www.avelist.com/list/10-tips-for-dogs-and-air-travel-18659) * [Tips for Business Travel: Entrepreneur Style](https://www.avelist.com/list/tips-for-business-travel-entrepreneur-style-15374) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] We're here today with Jacqui Gifford, senior editor at Travel and Leisure. And we just wanted to get some tips for budget travel, where in the last few years it's been hard to get a good deal. And certainly now that people are trying go on their summer vacations, They're wondering, what are some first steps I can take to really get a great deal but go somewhere fun? Right. Everyone's looking for a great deal, so one tip to consider is flying with a low cost carrier, such as Norwegian Air or Wow. They're flying to Europe. Something to consider is maybe not doing a non- stop flight. Those are going to be more expensive. If you do a stop over, yes, it might take longer but at the end of the day you're saving money. What if you have some flexibility, say in your dates or even the destination. Where he's gonna do. Flexibility is absolutely key, and here's why. When you lock yourself into certain vacation dates, you're locking yourself into whatever prices are coming up for those days. So in general, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are some of the cheaper days to fly. So just being flexible about the time that you're going to take for vacation can really save you money in the long Long run. Great, and if you're planning far ahead does the season matter? The season absolutely can matter, so for example, consider travelling during the shoulder season. So from about May through August, that's the shoulder to low season in the Caribbean so you'll have more flexibility when it comes to negotiating your great hotel rate. Are there any other tips you would recommend? One tip to consider is to pick a credit card that doesn't have a foreign transaction fee. So many cards actually will charge a fee for use abroad. So consider getting a card that doesn't have those fees. We all Always care a lot about, you know, making sure there aren't any hidden fees and that you get, not only no foreign transaction fee, but you get travel rewards, right, if you're a frequent traveler. Absolutely. Rewards are a huge perk of many credit cards. Another thing to To consider is going with an online travel agency that actually bundles their fare. So sometimes you can get a better deal by booking with a company such as Expedia and they're able to bundle the airfare and the hotel together. It's cheaper than if you were to book those separately on your own. Thanks so much for joining us, Jackie. For more travel tips, go to money. com and Travelandleisure. com. 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