Traveling is exciting. You get to see loved ones or experience new places and cultures. It is an opportunity to let go of your responsibilities at home and refresh yourself. Travel can also be stressful, unfortunately. With the preparations and logistics, you might wonder if it is all worth it. The answer is yes, it is definitely worth it. All you need to do is have a plan. Below you will find some tips that go beyond the essential packing lists and guidebooks you might not realize you need until it is too late.
Manage Your Healthcare Needs
Having good health is a very important part of traveling and experiencing the world around you. Managing your healthcare needs before leaving home will make the trip more enjoyable. The good thing is that these things are easy and possibly something you need to do anyway.
- Schedule Your Medical Appointments – Take care of all your medical appointments and vaccination requirements before you leave home. That way, you will have a clean bill of health and avoid delaying any important tests.
- Prepare Your Devices – If you are concerned about traveling with hearing aids, you do not have to worry. Schedule an appointment with your audiologist to ensure your hearing aids are in good working order, and ask if there are any special steps you should take to care for them while on vacation.
If you use a CPAP machine while you sleep, it will be helpful to have it serviced before you leave. That way, you can continue getting restful sleep no matter where you are.
- Refill Your Prescriptions – Count and then recount your remaining pills for all of your prescription medications. If you will run out during your trip, you need to refill them beforehand. Make sure you have a few extra days’ worth of pills with you, just in case there are travel delays. Also, bring a physical copy of your prescription and take a photo of it on your smartphone. In addition, only travel with your pills in their original bottles with the prescription label intact.
- Bring Extra Lenses – If you wear contact lenses and do not have enough to bring with you on your trip, see your eye care provider and ask for extra contacts. If you wear glasses, consider ordering an extra pair to keep handy as a backup.
- Create a Portal Account – Your healthcare provider has probably sent you an invitation to join the healthcare portal. This portal allows you to access your healthcare records and communicate with your doctor and nursing staff. You can ask questions, request prescription refills, and view your chart whenever you want. You will probably need to download their app to your smartphone. Next, you will create a username and password. Make sure you know your username and password so you can maintain access when you are away from home.
- Review Your Healthcare Insurance – Healthcare insurance is complex, to say the least. Before leaving home, take some time to review your current healthcare insurance policy. Go online and review the handbook, look at your online insurance account (if you do not have one, now is the perfect time to complete that task), or call the customer service number on the back of your insurance card. Find information about receiving health care while traveling. That way, you know what to do or expect if the unexpected occurs. Take a photo of the front and back of your insurance cards and save them to your smartphone in case you lose your wallet.
- Add to Contacts – If you have not already done so, add all of your medical providers’ contact information to your smartphone. Label each one as “Doctor,” “Dentist,” or “Audiologist” to help you, and anyone else who has access to your phone, find the information quickly in an emergency.
Create Digital Copies of Your Important Identification and Paperwork
Regardless of where you are traveling to, you will inevitably need your identification and at least some paperwork. If something happens to any of these essential items, whether through loss or theft, it can become very difficult to deal with the situation unless you have copies of the IDs and paperwork available to you. Take some time to photograph, scan, and digitize the following important items. Once you are done, keep a copy on your smartphone, another at home in a safe if you have one, in a secure cloud of your choice, and with a trusted family member or friend.
- Make a copy of the front and back of your driver’s license.
- Make a copy of the front and back of your insurance cards. (See above.)
- Copy the front and back of all other important cards you carry in your wallet, such as credit cards and military IDs.
- Copy the first and last pages of your passport. Of note, ensure your passport does not expire within six months of your return home. Some countries require that six months remain on your passport before expiration before allowing entry into their respective countries.
- Copy your itinerary, including all details such as contact information and dates.
- If you are traveling with children, you will need to carry their birth certificates. Make a copy of these, as well.
Enroll in a Travel Safety Alert Program
If you are traveling out of the country, it may prove beneficial to enroll in your country’s emergency travel alert program. For the United States, this is called the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP. This is a free service that allows you to stay up-to-date on emergencies, natural disasters, and other safety concerns. It also opens an avenue of communication for the U.S. State Department to contact you and vice versa if an emergent need arises.
Watch this short video for guidance on how to enroll in the STEP program.
Traveling will always come with its ups and downs. You can make more good times by following these tips, so you are prepared for the inevitable. Have fun and enjoy your trip after your careful planning is complete.