What are the most important things to know before traveling to a new country?
It’s one thing to be frowned at in Japan for passing food with chopsticks or hugging a stranger in Europe. Some etiquette mistakes are bound to happen when traveling to a new country.
But there are somethings that are absolutely essential that you learn before you go off to explore a new country, otherwise you’ll find yourself in a heap of trouble!
Know the country's language
I can feel you rolling your eyes at me. “Duh, Kelli.” you say, “It’s pretty obvious that Germans speak German, Italians Italian, the Chinese Chinese, etc.” And you are not wrong.
Many times the language of the country is going to be obvious, but that is sometimes that is not the case! It’s something very important to know before traveling to a new country.
For example: did you know that not all countries in South America speak Spanish? *gasping in shock* Although most do, some places have official languages of Portuguese, French, Dutch and even English! Some countries in the world even have multiple official languages (I’m winking at you Canada).
My point it, know what the language is in a new country before you go. That way you will be prepared.
Download great apps like Duolingo to learn a few essential phrases or a dictionary (both free).
You will be able to know what language Siri or Google can translate from…
Know the country's visa requirements
You can’t just book a flight to wherever you want to go in the world and just go!
Some countries have strict laws about visitors, what country they’re from and how long they are staying there. If that is the case, you will need to apply for a tourist visa.
Sometimes this paperwork can be filled out upon arrival, but others require advanced paperwork to be filled out beforehand. (This can even be required months before arriving!) There is usually also a fee for the visa application. You may even have to show proof of: your booked hotels, flight purchase (with the return flight), sufficient funds, etc.
Look up that country’s embassy and know the rules before you go. Some even differ depending on how you arrive (plane vs boat) or how long you will be in the country (like for a connecting flight).
Here’s the US gov site with all the info you’ll need.
Very very very important note! Make sure you know the passport expiration laws of the country that you are traveling to.
You might think I return flight is in May and my passport expires in June, so I’ll be good right?? Um usually no. In some countries, you can be denied entry if you are less than 6 months from expiration. 6 months! I’ve known multiple people who made this, very expensive, mistake. And booking sites won’t usually warn you about this in obvious ways (other than the occasional fine print). This makes it an essential thing to know about a country before visiting it. Because you just want to visit, not be detained there…
Be sure to know these rules before going a new country for the first time.
A few countries even require certain vaccination documentation. Which leads me to my next point…
Know the country's health concerns
In the world of COVID-19, this is now a hot topic. And while this was important before, health concerns and travel (especially international travel) is going to be a bigger deal than ever from here on out. This is an essential thing to know before traveling to a new country the first time.
I’m guessing you’re reading this from the United States, and with that you are used to a certain level of public health.
But sadly this is not the case everywhere, and many diseases live in other countries because of the climate, health access and vaccination of the area. This means that you can be susceptible to diseases not often seen in the US.
For example, we don’t see climate related diseases from places very different like the US. This is things like malaria and zika. Or diseases that we have eradicated in the US but other countries haven’t, like measles.
As a cancer nurse, I have to screen every patient that I check into the hospital for countries that they grew up in or recently traveled to, for this reason.
There may even be requirements for you to get certain vaccinations or take certain medications when traveling to specific countries. The visa website and the CDC travel site are reliable sources of info. Trust them more than a corona virus article on Facebook.
When we went to Paris when Link was 7 months old, I made sure he was up to date on all his vaccines, flu shot and asked his pediatrician if there was anything else she would recommend. (Don’t forget airports and tourist areas are a MAJOR place that diseases are passed from person to person. I have a friend that wears a mask on planes for this reason.) It turns out that measles is more common in Europe, so we got a booster shot for him to help protect him.
But it’s not just vaccine info that you should be sure to know before traveling to a new country, check for health advisories as well. This is health info about precautions to take in certain places.
For example, couples trying to get pregnant should wait 3 months after traveling to a country infected with zika to prevent them from possibly passing it onto the baby. If you are already are pregnant you should avoid travel to those countries.
To every place I go I bring a mini first aid kit, this is how to make your own and what to include.
Take some time to research the health concerns before traveling to any new country.
Know the country's money and how to get it
While you can usually buy your tickets and place to stay from home, you’ll need to know your new country’s money when you get there. Otherwise, you’ll be very hungry and bored!!
Some places might be more open to taking US dollars, but not many. And definitely not in every situation you will need it!
One of the things I love about traveling to most countries now days is that most places take a card! Not only is it so much easier than figuring out cash, but it’s safer and cheaper.
- It can be a pain to find an ATM (that doesn’t hit you with a lot of fees) and knowing how much to pull out? Too little, you’ll have to do it all again and get hit with another round of fees. Too much and you’ll be stuck with money you can’t use or pay ANOTHER fee to change it back!
Plus carrying around a big wad of cash is dangerous in cities you are not familiar with. If you were to lose it or get pick-pocketed you’ll lose it all. I try to keep most back in the hotel safe and only bring a day’s worth at a time.
- If you get a great travel credit card, you will get no foreign transaction fees (meaning you only pay the straight exchange rate) and earn points for more travel.
- Plus the extra safety to be able to freeze your card and reverse transactions that you didn’t make if it did get stolen. They usually have great 24/7 international customer service if you have any problems.
This is one of the reasons a travel credit card is one of the best things you can do for travel. I wrote all about how to pick the best one for you and how to take advantage of all the other free perks that come along with having a travel credit card.
While so much travel is now credit card friendly, there are some countries and instances that you will probably still need cash.
Things like street vendors, bus fare and souvenirs might be cash only. Or less urban countries might be mostly cash. In those cases, know the best way to get money in that country before you go.
- Call your bank and tell them you will be traveling to this country so they don’t see the charges as suspicious and freeze your account!
- Know which of your cards have least fees for pulling cash. Usually this is a debit card versus a credit card.
- Know the ATMs that will charge the smallest fees per time you use it
- Try to use ATMs inside of banks if you can, they are usually safer than street ones. (I’ve even heard of some street ones being fakes!)
- Avoid ATMs in the airport (or money exchanges there), your hotel or near major tourist spots, the fees there are usually the very highest!
Avoid exchange back fees by using your cash only when you have to at the start of your trip and then using mostly cash at the end.
That way you’ll use it all up the last day or two and not have to lose more money switching it back. If I have a little still in my pocket at the airport, I’ll either buy a snack or give it to a family just arriving.
Know how you are going to get internet and phone service
Like it or not, we use our phones for everything now days.
Forget just calling and texting, we need maps, internet, traveling apps, saved receipts, boarding passes, translators, etc. You have a need? There’s probably an app for that.
So what happens when you leave the good ol’ US of A? You probably don’t have phone service anymore. Your phone is suddenly much less useful.
So what are some ways around it? Download as much as you can, find wifi locations and get (a few more) apps.
Download things to use them offline. Boarding passes, confirmation receipts for activities and hotel reservations, books to read, podcasts to listen to… whatever you can. For Link we download lots of games and movies on his iPad.
Google maps is wonderful for offline maps! You can download maps of the area before you leave, so you can look up routes and locations without data or wifi. This is so great for finding something on the go! Here’s how to do it.Â
Find wifi locations in the cities you will be visiting so you can know where to go if you need data.
Some cities, like Paris and Barcelona, even have free city-wide wifi (although it can be spotty and I definitely wouldn’t use it for sensitive information). Other cities, like London, allow you to pay a small fee for a week of wifi.
Make sure you book a hotel with wifi, so you can prepare for your day before you leave (and upload your pics to social media when you get home). Or find places like coffee shops and museums that have it. Many of the tour buses also have free wifi on board.
Finally, get a few more apps to help with calling and messaging international numbers.
Did you know that with most phone plans you cannot even call or text an international number? It won’t go through, or you will get hit with a massive bill.
WhatsApp is a great app that lets you call and text international numbers for free. It’s great for messaging but the connection can sometimes be spotty for calls. Additionally, you can only message and call people that also are on WhatsApp. This makes it useless in calling businesses with any questions you may have or help you need.
For this I love the app Rebtel.Â
If you only have a few short calls to make, you can pay per minute to any country in the world. This is usually much cheaper than roaming fees on your phone plan will be.
You can also get unlimited calling in your country or globally for a time period starting at $10 or less!
Your first week is free to try it out and it is very easy to cancel when you don’t need it anymore. I used this when we last went to Spain and it was a lifesaver!!
Have you done these things before seeing a new country? How did it help you?
