Quick Guide To International Travel
Make Copies of Important Documents
Make two photocopies of your driver’s license, passport, credit cards, insurance cards, and all travel documents like train tickets in case they are lost, stolen, or paper copies are needed. Store one in a hotel safe or other secure location during your travels. Leave the other copy with a relative or close friend you can trust. This includes your Itinerary. You want someone to know where you will be. This will help in case you need to produce a copy of it later or in an emergency. Don’t trust that your mobile app will be working when you need it, or that the train conductor will accept that online document. You may not have internet, their scanner may not be working, etc., so always carry paper copies of important documents if needed.
Register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program
This program is a free service for U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad to receive important safety and security information from the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate about your destination(s) of travel. It may help guide you in making informed decisions during your stay. This will also allow them to contact you during an emergency, like a natural disaster, civil unrest, or assist your family in getting touch with you during an emergency.
Limit Your Wallet
Only carry credit cards, insurance cards, driver’s license, and other cards that you absolutely need or may use during your travel in a money belt securely fastened to you under your clothing. Not a purse! Be sure to contact all your credit cards that you will be carrying for an International number to contact them if the card is lost or stolen. Do this prior to leaving for your trip. If possible, bring one Visa and one MasterCard, as not all locations take both. Make sure you also have an ATM card with a limited daily withdrawal amount to get cash if needed. This card should not be tied to your savings account on the ATM machine, in case it is lost or stolen. There are international locations that may not take credit cards, so it’s good to have a way to get small amounts of cash if needed. Be sure to let your bank or credit card companies know the countries you will be traveling to. Newer cards with a chip may not need notification, so just check with your bank to be sure.
Read about Your Country(s) of Destination on Travel.State.Gov
This is an amazing website to read about important information on the areas you are interested in traveling to including: Safety and Security information and alerts, quick facts about the country, U.S. Embassy locations, entry/exit requirements, local laws, transportation, crisis planning, money, health precautions, getting help in an emergency, lost or stolen passport advice, and much much more. Do not leave home without the reading information on this site!
Travel like a Local
When visiting any location, make sure you are aware of your surroundings. Don’t look like a tourist! Keep the nice jewelry at home. Hold onto your baggage and keep it close, especially at train stations and airports. Keep your valuables close and secured. Be sure to keep in mind what you are wearing. You don’t want that U.S. T-shirt displaying that you are a tourist making you an easy target. Know where you are going in advance.
Social Media
Avoid oversharing information or posting during your absence from home. Real-time photos can be tempting, but can also let those at home know no one is at home watching your property.
Cell Phones
Cell phones can be your best friend to keep things organized or they can be your worst enemy. Don’t rely on it. Always have back up information stored securely while you are traveling. It can be a nightmare if your phone is lost or stolen. So be prepared! Back up your cherished photos daily and have paper documents, or some other way to get important phone numbers, hotel, and travel plans you may need in case something happens to your phone.
Insurance
Travel insurance may be something you may want to consider. You usually need to purchase them at the time of booking the first thing on your Itinerary, so be sure to read the fine print on any plans you are considering before booking anything. Insurance plans can help with not only trip interruption or cancellation fees, but also medical or dental expenses, emergency medical transportation, and so on. Each plan is different. Be sure to research several and see which covers the things you feel are important. The same goes for auto insurance, medical insurance, and dental insurance. Check each plan for coverage in the countries you are visiting. Compare them to any credit card coverages you may have, as some credit cards will also cover these things. Ask for a copy of the policy so you can compare the coverages, read the fine print, and see if you need additional insurance or supplements to what you may already have. It’s important to understand how to make a claim if needed and any documents or steps needed during an emergency in order to get the coverage.
Do you have an important tip or story to share?
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This article is dedicated to:
My dear friend Tamara.
Journey Jitters | 13th Oct 18
This is AMAZING information! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us Casey. I know this will help someone out there. Such great advice and steps to follow.
Do you have a story to share?
Casey | 10th Oct 18
Sooo many great tips! I would like to share my experience about losing my passport while abroad (ugh). To set the stage, I have traveled overseas at least once a year for the last 11 years. I told everyone I was with, “Don’t lose your passport. Put it in the safe and LOCK it when you get to your destination. Super important that you don’t LOSE your passport…”
Center stage, enter me while on my trip in Germany…
Everyone, do we have our:
1. Wallets
2. Cell phones
3. Passports
Guess who can’t find their passport?? Me. Yes, me.
Prior to this past year, I’d never known anyone who had lost or had their passport stolen while abroad.
While it might seem frantic at the moment, it really isn’t the end of the world!
BEFORE GOING ABROAD
1. Make copies of your passport and anything else of value in your wallet. This includes credit cards, insurance cards, and your driver’s license. I’d also recommend traveling with a COPY of your birth certificate in case you do need to replace a passport. Leave one copy of everything with a friend or family member in the USA, give one copy to your travel partner (if you have one!), and keep another copy with yourself separate from where you keep your passport.
2. Email everything in Step 1 to yourself. Therefore, if for some reason you can’t get to the paper copies, you have a backup accessible via your email.
3. Leave your social security card at home. And please people, never put it in your wallet.
WHEN ABROAD
1. Honestly, I never carry my passport when I’m out sightseeing. There really is no reason! Keep your passport in a safe or locked up somehow at your hotel or hostel. I’ve never been asked for my passport when traveling.
2. If you must keep it with you, always wear a cross-body zippered purse. I like to be extra safe with valuables and put them inside the zippered pocket of the zippered purse (double protect). That way if someone tries to pickpocket you, they have to open an additional zipper.
AFTER IT IS LOST/STOLEN
1. You’re allowed to panic. And freak-out. And cry. Honestly, just get it out of the way. My new passport photo looks like I’m a drowned rat. There was really no need for all of that.
2. Go to the police and file a police report. Even if you don’t know if it was stolen or lost, still file a police report because it looks much more legitimate to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate when they issue you a new passport.
3. Print out new passport photos. In order to be issued a new passport, you need photos. There are photo booths at all train stations (at least in Germany!). I don’t know if this is the case everywhere, but there was actually a photo booth inside the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt. However, it is also the largest U.S. Consulate in the world so I don’t know if that’s common or not 🙂
4. Contact the closest embassy or consulate immediately (easy Google search) and ask what you should do.
5. Bring your police report and passport photos along with your passport copy and birth certificate copy with you. If you also have a copy of your travel itinerary, I would recommend bringing that as well. Because we went to the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt on a Monday morning and my friend was able to prove with her travel itinerary that she left that night, they marked her an “emergency case” and bumped her to the front of the line.
7. A replacement passport costs $175! In extenuating circumstances, they will waive the fee (violent crime, etc) but don’t count on it.
ONCE AT THE EMBASSY
1. DON’T BRING ANY ELECTRONICS! Cell phones are not allowed (at least at the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt). I literally brought my wallet and a book to read while I waited. HOWEVER, at least in Germany, they will store all of your electronics and luggage for 5 eruo.
2. Most of the time, if you aren’t the one who has lost your passport, you’re not allowed into the embassy or consulate. Your friends/ family/ travel buds are not allowed into the consulate. I sent them to a neighborhood pub.
4. Depending on when you travel, your replacement passport is valid for different lengths of time. It is usually allowed for 1 year. (Phew). Make sure you get a new one ASAP when you get back to the US since most countries will not allow travel if the passport is set to expire in 6 months or less
Hopefully you never find yourself in the situation of having lost a passport or gotten it stolen! However, if you do, this guide should make it less stressful for you. I know this is geared towards Americans but I don’t think the process is that much different for other countries 🙂