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Want to travel smart, save money and get the most out of your vacation? Here are several tips.
1. Renew Passports Nine Months before Expiration Date
Do not trust the expiration date on your passport. While you home country will allow you to use your passport until the time it expires, some other countries might not. Certain countries deny entry to travelers if their passports are set to expire within six months. Therefore, to avoid such a possibility, renew your passport at least nine months in advance.
2. Subscribe to a VPN
The internet, unfortunately, has country restrictions. For example, if you travel from the U.S. to China, where censorship is heavy, you might not have access to many of your favorite website, includes news sites. Having a VPN subscription can help solve this problem. VPNs can also help you surpass geographic restrictions on certain websites. You can stream from anywhere when you have a VPN or SmartDNS account.
3. Keep Hotel Business Card on Person
Are you prone to getting lost? Here’s a quick hack: take a business card of the hotel (often provided in the room or at the reception area) and carry it with you wherever you go. So, when you are lost or don’t know how to explain directions to your hotel, you can just present this card to locals.
4. Mind the ATM Fees
If you withdraw cash overseas from ATMs, you can incur hefty service charges back home. So, get cash with traveler’s checks or at the airport. You can travel with U.S. dollars and easily convert them to local cash at currency exchange centers.
5. Enable Fraud Alerts
When you travel overseas, notify your bank or credit card company regarding your plans. When you do so, it makes it easy to report fraud. The bank will also be on the lookout for suspicious transactions.
6. Don’t Forget Your Prescription Medicine
Do not plan on refilling your prescription medicine overseas. Different countries have different regulations with regards to prescription drugs. You will also have to visit a doctor in the local jurisdiction to get a new prescription. Different brand names can also create confusion. So, only buy the drugs you need before you go.
7. Pack Regular Medicine Too
It is a good idea to pack over-the-counter meds in your luggage too. The brand names for drugs are different in other countries, so it will be difficult to shop. Language problems can also make buying a simple pill for a headache, well, a headache. Do you want to translate “stomachache” to a pharmacist in Thailand? So be smart and pack essential meds too.
8. Subscribe to Travel Alerts
The State Department (or an equivalent entity if you are not from the U.S.) issues travel alerts to citizens in other countries. You will really need to know if a local event is going to end up as a violent protest on your beach vacation. Therefore, subscribe to these alerts.
9. Buy a Local SIM
It is smart to disable data roaming on your cell phone before you leave on your vacation. Every call you make on your phone at a foreign location will count as an international call, and the fee you have to pay will be hefty. It is much more cost effective to buy a cheap cell phone and a SIM card locally.
10. Use Leftover Local Currency to Pay Bills
Everyone ends up with unwanted local currency towards the end of his or her trips. It is too small to exchange and too large to ignore. The best use for this, if you do not intend on keeping the cash as souvenirs, is to use it towards paying your hotel bill. Hotels usually accept this practice.
You can enjoy a hassle-free vacation by following the above tips.
