Once you have finalized your budget, dates and specifics of
your trip you are now ready to book your travel. Hooray! You can book your trip
through hotel services, travel booking sites or through travel agencies. If you
do not wish to book at a travel agency, it is still worth a visit in order to get
some brochures to look at, and to check if they have any alternate offers. If
your travel overseas is meant to attend a wedding, or whatever specific event,
do not hesitate to ask the bride and groom or the event organizer for any
suggested venues, as big events often avail group discounts or special rates
for the function. If you have any relatives or friends working in the
hospitality industry, this is the perfect moment to contact them and see if
they care enough about you to get you a good travel deal.
Prior to booking your trip, check your schedule to see if
you can take a leave from work to fix all the details and paperwork for your
travel. Confirm and reconfirm your flight and hotel bookings since these,
especially the travel bookings, should be finalized once and for all. Be sure
you have booked exactly what you wanted, or else you may not check-in on time.
It is also reasonable when booking to ascertain that your
passport is updated and in order to prevent any last-minute panics, and hours
of lining up to renew it. Passports usually take three weeks to renew in the post;
rush passport and emergency processing can be issued, however, they are often a
hassle and you would be better off not having to do this if only you prepared
sooner. Passport panics may even result
in missing out on your last-minute shopping. Also check with your travel agent
upon booking if you need any visas or vaccinations just to be safe. Vaccines are normally recommended when you
are going to more exotic destinations; urban centers tend to be filled with man-made
hassles.
Check if you have availed travel insurance which will cover
for unforeseen emergencies overseas. You would not want to discover problems
upon arrival. Deal with these matters prior to departure. Make sure that you
get annual coverage so you are protected for all your little nuances overseas.
Before buying travel insurance check first to know if you already have it, as
several credit cards offer such bonuses in their signing up packages.
Photocopy your passport and leave a copy, together with your
travel itinerary, with your parents or a trusted someone as an emergency
contact. This may seem overcautious, but in case you and your passport are
separated by, say, a nimble-fingered local, someone can provide you with all
the particulars you require to speed-up your departure.
Be aware of the current events. Check the latest news abut
the country you intend to visit if it is safe to travel to. Check for travel
advisories. Unless you want to be a hero, don't visit war zones. See if the
current weather situation in that country would permit you to go around. If the area recently encountered a tsunami or
flood, it's useless going there even if the fare is slashed by
ninety percent.
