The Adventures of Rob & Lauren

Tip: Arrange for your hotel to pick you up from the airport when you first arrive at your destination, and avoid the stress. We will now wait for your emails of gratitude to roll in…. ;)

We are now about 15 hours from leaving for Peru, and have been running around like mad to get everything sorted out! What a perfect time for this handy little article.

The tasks that build up before you leave on a big trip almost always leave you asking “Did I forget something?”. Here’s a list of things that we do before heading out on any adventure.

Stock up on travel medication - Typically we make sure everything is stocked up before a big trip and then for smaller trips we don’t really need to worry about it. You’ll also want to make sure you have any region specific medications (like anti-malarial pills) as well as appropriate vaccinations. Check out this article to see what travel meds we’re packing!

Hold mail - If you’re gone for a longer trip you’ll probably want to make a visit to the post office and get them to hold your mail until you return. For shorter trips your house sitter can probably take care of that. It’s also a good idea to fill out the form at the post office that lets someone else pick up your parcels on your behalf. We tend to get packages delivered when we’re away and the only way someone else can pick them up is if that pesky formed it filled out. Just writing a letter does not work. Trust us. We tried.

Purchase travel insurance - You never know what could happen. A variety of policies exist to sell you everything you could possibly need! At the very minimum you need medical insurance. This covers any medical expenses you might incur in a foreign hospital. It often also covers the cost of evacuating you from the country or the costs of having a family member come stay with you. Check for details, but don’t leave home without it. You can also get policies that cover trip cancellation, lost luggage etc. When you travel you’re investing in an experience, and it’s a good idea to think about protecting that investment :)

Scanning all vital documents - Scan (or take photos if you don’t have a scanner) of all your vital documents. Passport, drivers license, credit cards, plane tickets, health insurance, marriage certificate, university degrees or highschool diplomas, birth certificate, and anything else you think might be important. You don’t need to take everything with you (you probably shouldn’t!) but once you’ve scanned them you should carry them on a USB key, compress the folder (and password protect it if possible) and e-mail yourself a copy, and print out duplicates (keep the duplicates separate from the originals - we carry our real passports with us and leave the duplicates at the hostel/hotel). You never know what you might need. It’s also a good idea to leave a copy with your house sitter.

House sitter - Maybe you need someone to look after your pets, or just stop by once and a while to pick up mail and make sure everything looks alright. It could be a friend or family member, but probably not a random person you met on the bus. Make sure you leave them as much info about your trip as possible so they can try and contact you if something goes terribly awry. 

Making sure your passport is valid for 6 months after your return - Some countries won’t admit you unless your passport is valid 6 months after your return. For our trip to Peru we needed to rush a new passport for Lauren. It was stressful, and a lot of work. Learn from our mistake, and give yourself lots of time if you need to get a new one.

Visas - Some countries require visas in order to enter. Often you won’t even be able to board your flight if you’ve failed to get the proper visa. Check out this page for all the visa requirements for Canadian travelers. Once again, make sure to give yourself a lot of time to apply for and receive your visas. We failed to get our Indian visas before leaving the country, so we had to get them in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Hassle and a half. Look at all our mistakes you get to learn from!

Book your first night - A good strategy that has never failed us is booking a hotel for the first night of your travels. It’s easy to underestimate how tiring traveling can be, and when you reach an airport utterly exhausted you might make the mistake of going with the first tout/taxi who takes you to an overpriced out of the way place to stay. It’s never fun to arrive in Bangkok at 1:00AM, get to the Khao San Road and find out there’s not a room to be had. Yes. Another mistake. We’re awesome. In some places hotels/hostels can arrange to pick you up from the airport, often for free. That’s probably the greatest feeling in the world, seeing your name on a sign, and knowing you have everything already figured out. 

Wow, looking back, we have made a lot of mistakes while traveling. And I fully expect we’ll make a lot more. But that’s what this is all about: experiencing the world, and learning more each and every time. I really, really hope we can help you avoid some of the hassles we’ve had to deal with!