I'm going to share with you the 12 most important things you need to think of when preparing for your journey abroad as an EU citizen. They are the results of my latest research and own experiences.
Let me be honest with you...there is no such thing like being 100% prepared for your trip around the world because there are just certain things that out of our control.
But being prepared to the best of your abilities will safe you a lot of time and hassle and trust me you will sleep better as well. As the saying goes...
Better be safe than sorry .
And in addition, better be prepared and plan to fail than fail to plan.
So let's get to it.
Traveling different parts of world for almost 2 decades now made me learn a thing or two about preparing and organizing a journey. And even though I'm flexible and often decide spontaneously where I'm going next it still takes some preparation, and I have at least a broad plan at hand.
Planning a longer trip can get a little scary and overwhelming, so let me ease your mind and summarize the most important things you need to take care of before your journey.
Most of the things should be common sense but you would be surprised how often I ran into people who got lost or stuck along the way.
If you ever wondered how to prepare properly to enjoy your journey as stress free and as flexible as possible then you should take a look at my guide below...
1. PASSPORT
There is no traveling abroad without passport. If you want to leave the Schengen area, you definitely need to get a passport.
It can get a little bit pricy though, depending on where you're from, but ultimately it's a small investment of incredible value. EU passports are usually valid for 10 years, and you even have the option to get 48 pages (some countries even offer 64 pages) instead of only 32 to fill with stamps, you only have to pay a little extra. This is especially great for those of you, who know the average size won't do because of their extensive traveling.
Inform yourself about the costs for a passport incl. biometric photo depending on your citizenship. From what I researched on various EU governments websites, it's roughly between €35-€100. I remember paying €60 for my new passport in 2022, in Germany. A small investment if you think of all the places you can go in the next 10 years. SOOO EXCITING!!!
I even kept my old invalid passport as a souvenir. Just to indulge in reminiscing from time to time.
It's also important to know that applying for a passport can take a few weeks if not even a few months, be aware of the duration of the process and plan your trips accordingly. In general it takes between 2 weeks to 2 months to receive your new passport. If you already have a passport, make sure that it's still valid for at least 6 months, as that's often a requirement for many countries to enter. If it's valid for less than 6 months you might wanna apply for a new one, just in case.
2. VISA
If you're one of the lucky ones like me holding an EU passport you can easily
travel to many countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Central and North America, South
America, as well as Asia, and of course Europe and Oceania without a visa. You often
get one on entry or can simply walk through. Not all 27 Schengen states have the same
requirements. Unfortunately. so please check your government website for country
specific informations.
To all my EU citizen fellows, let me break it down for you as short as possible. Our beautiful planet has 7 continents and 195 countries and we most of us can travel to 170+ countries visa free or get a visa on arrival. Isn't that beautiful?
EUROPE (44)
Feel free to go wherever you want, just walk, drive or fly in and feel like home. Ha!
No, seriously most European countries don't require any visa if you are an EU citizen, the borders of the Schengen countries are open. And you don't even need a passport, just your ID. But there are some exceptions, especially for the non-Schengen countries.
Just do it like me and always carry your passport with you, it's your best friend now anyway. You can usually move around freely or have a limit of 90 days within 180 days, except for the UK, there you have a limit of 180 days per year.
AFRICA (54)
visa free (14): Botswana, Cape Verde, Eswatini, Gambia, Lesotho, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia*, Sao Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia
visa on arrival (19): Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Togo, Gabon, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros, Malawi, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Egypt
visa in advance (21): Kenya, Algeria, Libya, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Guinea, Congo, DR Congo, Angola
ASIA (48)
visa free (24): Brunei, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Armenia, Georgia, Israel, State of Palestine, Turkey, Cyprus,
visa on arrival (10): Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Maldives, Jordan, UAE, Qatar, Oman
visa in advance (15): (Russia), China, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, North Korea, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Syria
NORTH AMERICA (23)
You can travel visa free to literally all North American countries, including the Caribbean Islands. Cuba is the only exception, you want to make sure to apply for a visa in advance.
For the USA (ESTA) and Canada (eTA) you need a travel voucher, which authorizes you to enter the country visa free.
SOUTH AMERICA (12)
And again, you can travel visa free to pretty much all South American Countries including Islands with the exception of Suriname, they have an electronic visa application available.
Alright, another visa free destination. people from Ireland need a visa in a few countries but everyone else from the EU is free to go wherever.
If for whatever reason you wish to visit this icy continent...since no country owns Antarctica, no visa is required. However, visitors need a permission, which you can usually get through cruise tour operators. Since you take that trip from Argentina or Chile you don't need to worry about a visa on your way. Just make sure to have a valid passport.
BE AWARE, even though most countries allow us to visit them without a visa, often times we still need to fill out a form and apply for a travel permission or register before travel. Please make sure you look it up online on your governments website or inform yourself at your local embassy before booking your tickets. If you don't have all necessary documents before travel, chances are they won't let you board the flight or latest on your port of arrival they will send you right back to where you came from.
3. NATIONAL ID / DRIVER'S LICENSE
Your national ID or driver's License will only get you to certain places. In the EU Schengen area your national ID (if EU citizen) will do, to travel around, since the borders are open and you don't need a passport or visa. But that's literally it. If you don't want to cross the big pond or simply only have Europe travel plans, this will be all you need. But most countries will still ask for a passport especially if you arrive by plane. It's not required but good to have anyway.
You should definitely take your driver's license with you if you plan on renting a car on your trip, obviously. But sometimes our mind gets so busy when planning our trip that sometimes we forget about things. Make a copy of it as well, just in case.
4. COPIES OF YOUR IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS
I recommend to have a copy of your passport and ID in all your checked bags. I even carry a copy of my birth certificate with me.
Simply because what if something gets lost along the way or you lose your passport (or someone takes it away from you - the danger of trafficking is real my travel friends, be careful) Then you have a copy with you for the worse case scenario that you can use at the embassy or as identification in general. Some hotels might also require a copy of your ID documents, but actually they mostly make a copy of your passport when you check in.
5. PROOF OF BOOKING
I usually have all this on m phone, but what if for some reason it gets lost or the battery dies right when you need it? So I guess it's always good to have a printout of your tickets and bookings. I would have to find a copy shop every time I travel, so i just make sure my phone is fully charged as well as my laptop, and i also carry a fully charged power bank with me to not run out of battery. Doing something for the environment by not printing it out. HA!
But no matter how you do it, just make sure you have it handy.
6. TRAVEL HEALTH INSURANCE
You never know what might happen on your trip. Maybe you like to go hiking and you insure yourself, or you have an allergic reaction to an exotic fruit you tried for the first time, or you get sting my a jellyfish while taking a dip in the ocean...of course I hope nothing is going to happen to you or the people you travel with but this can prevent you from unexpected hospital costs. You wanna make sure you got that covered. Either check what your national health insurance offers for international travel or get a travel health insurance online. They have great offers even for low budget.
7. TRAVEL INSURANCE (nationwide.com)
I'm gonna be honest with you guys but I never have one, because I'm pretty flexible and never did something bad happen where my belongings got damaged or lost or where I had to cancel a booking because of sickness. But for those of you who only have limited time and a set schedule with pre-purchased tickets for events or non-refundable bookings this is somewhat important. Usually when you book flights and such online it gives you the option to book extra travel insurance for a small extra expense. Can't hurt and I did it for a while but since I never needed it I just stopped purchasing it. But I'm not a standard, so do what makes you feel comfortable.
Before looking into travel insurance, think about the reasons you might cancel. Is a trip delay due to weather going to dramatically change your vacation? Is it possible your school year will be extended, or you will need to take a work-related trip instead? Are there acts of war in the country you’re going to visit? Are you nervous because of the current pandemic situation that there will be a travel warning for your vacation destination?
These are all valid reasons for cancelling a trip or wanting insurance coverage. But not all travel insurance covers these concerns.
So what is a travel insurance? - It's a coverage designed to protect against risks and financial losses that could happen while traveling. The risks range from minor inconveniences such as missed airline connections and delayed luggage all the way to more serious issues including injuries or major illness.
What exactly does it cover?
- injury and sickness (partly like a travel health insurance)
- lost luggage
- last minute cancellations
- coverage beyond your credit card limit
8. PROOF OF VACCINATION
Well...you already know why. There is not much to say to this. Even though I didn't get my vaccination status checked once since early 2022 and most countries lifted the entry requirements, just take it with you in case they change it abruptly like they did over and over again in the past 2 years.
9. PACK YOUR BAGS ACCORDINGLY
Do your research about the country you visit before you start shopping and packing for your next journey. Keep in mind foreign countries often have other laws about what is allowed to bring to their country, as well as the clothes you are going to wear. Be considerate and respectful of their culture and rules. If you don't pay attention to their laws, your belongings might get confiscated or you even have to face imprisonment.
Be it your THC infused chocolate edibles from California or your little pleasure thingies you just purchased, (don't judge me...I'm a single woman with needs. haha) be aware you can't bring that everywhere, I read horrendous stories online. Luckily nothing ever happened to me when I didn't do proper research before, but I learned from it.
It's not worth the risk, or is it? hmmm.
What you also want to take into consideration is which countries you wanna visit on your trip and what's the weather gonna be like. Thick clothes and shoes for autumn and winter are much heavier and take more space and you might don't even need them if you plan accordingly. For example starting your journey in winter in some European country and then go to Africa might not be the best choice. Be smart about it. If necessary choose a place from where you travel often and store your clothes which you don't need with someone you trust. Also be considerate of their culture, the way we dress in western countries might be provocative and you causes unwanted attention. Be respectful.
10. FOREIGN CURRENCY AND CREDIT CARD
While people in many countries pay for most things with a credit or debit card you will come across countries where cash still rules and many facilities don't even accept card payments. (Especially in the emerging and developing countries)
You also wanna check the withdrawal fees you most likely have to pay.
You can get those infos from your bank and in most cases the ATM shows you what they take from you. Also, inform your bank about your travels, otherwise it might happen that they block your account to prevent fraud or they want to protect your account because they think that someone might have stolen your card. Happened to me a few times and it's embarrassing when you want to pay with your card knowing you have the funds and and it gets declined.
It's always good to have some cash on you. Ideally exchange on arrival and not before departure...the exchange rate is mostly better in the country you travel to, because they have a higher supply of their own currency, of course.
11. TRANSPORTATION
Be it to or from the airport, train stop, bus stop, or cruise port, either book a transportation in advance so you don't have to deal with illegal taxi drivers or high taxi rates OR do some research on busses and trains you could take if you travel on a lower budget.
I recommend to download local public transportation apps as well as local taxi apps if available. I personally saved myself a lot of time and hassle, also because they often provide you with the fastest and cheapest route. I understand if you're like me and travel with heavy suitcases and bags and you're just happy to get to your accommodation as fast as possible without having to deal with lifting your stuff in often crowded buses or trains. Maybe put some money aside for those cases and take a taxi.
One thing I like to do is sneaking into shuttle bus services of hotels...often times they don't check your hotel bookings and just let you jump in, they are for free and you at least have a ride away from the airport in the city and from there it's easier to get an affordable ride. A few times I got really lucky and the shuttle bus for a hotel actually took me very close to where I had to go so I didn't have to pay anything at all. Just check which hotels are near your accommodation and see if they have a shuttle bus service at the airport. So convenient.
All you have to do is act like you belong when you reach the shuttle, don't be nervous. If for whatever reason they ask to see your booking confirmation for the hotel, act like you went to the wrong shuttle bus and try the next one. ;)
12. PHONE SERVICE AND MOBILE DATA
If you want to stay connected during your journey, you wanna make sure you either have an affordable travel and surf plan from your home carrier OR you get a local SIM card on arrival which is usually much cheaper and provides a better service as well. You can look it up online and I always recommend to read some of the user reviews, preferably from tourists or other travelers, to get an idea which prepaid SIM card works best for you.
Make sure your phone is unlocked for any carrier otherwise you won't be able to use it. You can do so by contacting your carrier and request to unlock it for you, it should be free of charge but can take a few days. Contact your carrier to check the status of your request.
Personally, I discovered eSims. I use the "airalo" app, which makes it super easy to simply install an eSim and then get data volume inexpensively. I'll just give you my reference code, unselfishly of course. 🤗 This gives you a €3 discount on your first eSim data package. Simply enter the code "ANNE1985" when you register or enter it before booking.
Small data packages often start around €5, so it's worth it.
And then you're good to go.
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There it is, all you need for the perfect start of your journey.
Of course you will make your very own personal and individual experiences and we all have different starting points and circumstances like family, job and home.
I can only speak from my own perspective as global nomad and European female solo traveler and this guide might not apply to you completely depending on where you from but on the whole it should serve you well.
Again, better be safe than sorry.
With that being said...happy traveling!
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