Traveling abroad is both a stimulating and an amazing experience, no matter if you travel for work or recreation. The trip might end, but you’ll bring back home images of far away countries, fascinating historical or notable sights, great food and new cultures. Traveling implies a multitude of decisions, but there are several guidelines to follow that can make your international journey much easier. By following these steps, you will diminish the stress level and will be able to ignore the small irritating details and concentrate on the purpose of the trip.
You should store your essentials in your handbag. Everyone has experienced at least once losing their bags or having them arrive at a later date. So, if there are essential items that you really cannot live without, deposit them in your carry-on! This recommendation is valid mainly for items that can’t be easily replaced, such as expensive items or things with sentimental value. Also keep in mind that the way in which you pack your handbag will help you get through security faster.
Be sure to be familiar with your hotel. This is important in case you’ll skip your flight connection or even if you’ll lose your luggage, situations in which you’re going to need the information for the hotel. Before you board the plane, you should print out the hotel’s name, phone number and address. Once you get to the hotel, take a business card from the front desk, so you won’t have any problem if you get lost: the card will specify the name and the address of the hotel in the local language. Almost everywhere around the globe are numerous people who speak English, but it doesn’t hurt to be extra cautious and have a piece of paper with something written in a local language that can be understood by locals and taxi drivers.
The passport rule. The expiration date on your passport is rather interpretable. The U.S. allow you use your passport up to the date specified inside. But some countries won’t let you enter their territory if the passport expires in less than six months. Why can this be possible? They are extra cautious in case you are constrained to remain overseas longer than anticipated. They want to make sure that you have a valid passport to return to the United States eventually. To avoid this kind of situation, better renew your passport at least nine months before the expiration date.
Getting cash. People are accustomed to depending on an ATM to withdraw money, but many U.S. banks charge excessive fees for using an ATM that is out of network. You may withdraw a significant amount of cash at the airport ATM so you have to pay that fee only once, but it’s never recommended to carry large sums of money. One of the motives is that you’ll end up having too much local currency left over once your trip ends. Fidelity and Charles Schwab both offer checking accounts with no minimum balance requirements and also reimburse you for all ATM fees, including those from overseas.
Credit cards. You can find better exchange rates by using your credit card. But most of the times, many credit cards will charge a foreign transaction fee, even as high as 3 percent. To avoid it, you can get the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Platinum American Express card. These cards don’t impose this fee.
Fraud alerts. Before leaving the country, notify your credit card company’s fraud department of what states you will be traveling to and on what period. So, they won’t consider your card stolen and shut it off just when you most need it. Be vigilant of any countries where you only change plane because you might have to pay with the credit card to make a charge during your break, especially if there’s a delay.
Credit card chips. New chip-embedded cards are becoming more and more popular outside of U.S., including in Europe, Canada and Asia-Pacific. This new technology, recognized as E.M.V. (Europay, MasterCard and Visa), uses embedded chips that contain personal information about the cardholder. A secret PIN is required for authentication in these cases.
Almost everywhere in the world, entities that issue credit cards demand that people also choose a PIN. This way you’ll keep your cards and personal information secure. When you use chip-and-PIN, the EMV chip creates a unique ID for the respective transaction. Plus, you also have to unlock your card with your PIN.
American Express Card Members can still make use of their magnetic stripe cards all over the globe, without a PIN. Simply give your card to the merchant for approval; don’t worry if the merchant’s terminal is set up for chip and pin as it will still accept magnetic stripe cards. If you are at a railroad kiosk or other terminal that only accepts chip-and-pin cards, just show your magnetic stripe card to a clerk at a window for authorization and assistance.
Double-check that your credit card can be used abroad. Some EMV readers in certain countries may not read a card with both a stripe and a chip.
Medicine. For you to be stress-free while traveling, it’s important to have with you a medicine bag filled with antacids, pain relievers or any other necessary medicine. If your destination is a less developed country, then it is even more important to bring proper medication. A lot of travelers fill a prescription in advance for the antibiotic ciprofloxacin and bring it with them in case they need it. Make sure you have all of your recipes up to date and the doctor’s notes with you when traveling. This will help you answer questions about your medication.
Travel alerts. It’s a good idea to check the site of State Department for travel warnings and alerts. It’s also best to print out the address and contact information of your local embassy.
Data roaming. Make sure you set up your cell phone to prevent international data roaming. The businessmen who travel a lot have an international calling and data plan, but occasional travelers don’t. Transmitting data overseas is very costly. Your mobile phone can consider itself as being on foreign soil even when you are in the United States, a situation that can be encountered at the borders of Canada or Mexico. In this situation, if you do not have an international plan, shut off your data roaming and turn it back on once the nearest cell tower is back in the US.
Get airport transportation. To avoid stressing out, you should arrange for your airport transportation in advance. Instead of trying out public transportation or finding a taxi and explaining to the driver where you need to go, you can purchase the transportation services provided by Royal Coachman Worldwide Limousine Service. This way you can be sure to be picked up and dropped off exactly where you want. Royal Coachman ensures global ground transportation for all of our clients.
Anywhere in the world you’ll travel, for business purposes or pleasure, Royal Coachman can provide the best chauffeured limousine services in New Jersey and Worldwide.
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It doesn’t have to be a stressful task to travel internationally. The preparations can seem to take forever but following the guidelines specified above will ensure you an easier international travel.
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