As I’m thinking about my upcoming Iceland trip, I’ve been
thinking a lot about my pre-trip rituals. Although I travel pretty frequently,
I still get a little stressed out about my pre-trip ritual/planning every single
time. I mean, it shouldn’t be that hard – find passport, make a packing
list, eat any perishable food, stop the mail. But I always feel like I’m
forgetting something… does that happen to you?
Here are some tips/tricks I’ve been thinking about in the
last few days while I get prepared to head to Iceland:
Pre-Trip Planning
- Even if you are a regular traveler, it’s a good idea to know exactly what you can & can’t take with you in your carry-on and checked luggage. I recommend bookmarking the TSA website and checking before every trip, since the prohibited items list can change frequently and without notice. Did you know you CAN take disposable razors & cartridges with you in your carry-on? I learned that one a few years ago when I went to Ecuador for 10 days in a carry-on. I had a 24 hour layover in Miami and it would have been horrible to miss out on some pool/beach time because of hairy legs! (although any good hotel should have things like that readily available, usually for free).
- I like
to print out any itineraries (including flights & tours) and other
trip documents and put them all together in a plastic sleeve and in the
outside pocket of my suitcase. This way I can always find my hotel’s
address to emphatically point to when the cabby & I don’t speak the
same language. If you feel so inclined, include the address of the
local embassy & any addresses for postcards to send too.
- Now that I travel by myself more, I’ve also been sending my flight and hotel details (and usually a rough itinerary of daily activities) to a couple of friends and family members. You should always have someone out there who knows roughly where you are in the world!
- I make 2-3 copies of my passport – one to leave with a friend/family member, one to leave in my desk at work, and one to bring in my suitcase. On recent trips, I’ve scanned my passport and emailed it to my web-based email (Gmail, etc.) so I can access it if needed while I’m abroad.
- I always make a point to check out currency exchange rates, but I rarely exchange any currency before I get to my destination – depending on your bank’s ATM fees, it is often cheaper to get cash that way than to get cash in advance or even use the currency exchange desk at the airport.
- If you haven’t already, get a credit card that doesn’t charge you fees for international transactions. Those little fees add up!
Stop the mail
Did you know you you can stop your mail online? No
need to go to the post office! Head over to the USPS website and submit
the Hold Mail
form. This is an important part of leaving town – unless you have
a great neighbor to take in your newspapers & mail, you’ll want to stop
these services so any burglars that are scoping out easy targets don’t pick
your house. To that point, you might want to put a light or two on a timer
so it looks like someone is home during evening hours – especially on longer
trips.
Packing
My upcoming trip is a little tricky in the packing
area. Iceland in March requires a lot of winter gear (like my big down
coat and my heavy, gigantic Sorel boots). I’d love to just carry-on since the
trip is only 5 days, but I don’t exactly want to wear my boots on my flights, and I feel like my down coat would be so cumbersome to carry around on my 6 hour layover in Toronto. I guess I still have some pre-trip planning to do there!
I am always looking for packing tips (I never seem to pack
the same way twice) – so please, send them my way! I haven’t made my
packing list yet for this trip, but I am looking forward to giving some of
these tips a try.
Do you have any other pre-trip tips or rituals? I probably am forgetting something (hopefully nothing too important – I always triple check for my camera and clean underwear!) – but as long as I have my credit card and my passport, I figure I can buy whatever else is needed. :)
