5 Tips To Know About Travelling Abroad

Summary

The website provides essential travel tips for those going abroad, emphasizing the importance of financial savvy, preparation, and safety measures.

Abstract

The article "5 Tips To Know About Travelling Abroad" offers practical advice to international travelers. It suggests paying in local currency to avoid high exchange rates, carrying cash for areas where cards are not accepted, informing banks of travel plans to prevent account freezes, keeping digital copies of important documents for easy access in case of loss, and registering with the local embassy for emergency updates. These tips are presented to help travelers avoid common pitfalls and ensure a smoother travel experience.

Opinions

The author believes that choosing to pay with the local currency provides better value due to lower exchange rates compared to paying in one's home currency.
It is recommended to have cash on hand, as some destinations may not accept card payments, and it is useful for tipping.
Notifying banks about travel is crucial to avoid accounts being frozen due to suspected fraudulent activity.
The author emphasizes the importance of having digital copies of passports and visas accessible on multiple platforms, but cautions against using 2-factor authentication that relies on a lost phone.
Registering with the local embassy is seen as a quick and essential step for receiving timely updates and assistance during emergencies, as exemplified by the author's experience during the pandemic.
The article implies that learning from others' experiences can prevent common travel issues, suggesting that the advice given is based on lessons learned through personal or observed experiences.

Always pay in the local currency

When you're travelling abroad and paying by card, ALWAYS pay in the local currency. When the card reader asks if you want to pay with the local currency or your currency, they want you to choose to pay in your currency. When you pay in your currency, they get to charge you their exchange rate with the crazy markup that’s attached to it. When you choose to pay with the local currency, your bank will use their regular exchange rate, giving you much value for your money.

Don’t forget to bring cash

Depending on where you’re travelling, some places won’t accept card payments. It’s also good to have cash for tipping. Just make sure you go to the bank at least a week (preferably two) before you leave so you can order however much of the local currency you’ll need.

Banks keep a set amount of foreign currency in the branch, so if you need more than they have, the bank will need some time to order more for you.

Make sure your bank knows that you’ll be travelling

Picture this: you’re on vacation overseas and go to use your credit card only to find out that your bank froze your card because they were concerned about fraud. You may have some cash on you, but nowhere near enough to fund the rest of your trip. Now you have to call your bank and explain that you’re travelling and ask them to unfreeze your card.

This could all be avoided if you inform your bank that you’re going to be travelling before you leave the country.

Have digital copies of important documents

When I travel, I make sure that not only do I have a scanned copy of my passport and visa on my phone, but I also email myself a copy. So if I lose my phone while travelling, I can access my email from any computer to get my documents. Just make sure that this email doesn’t have 2-factor authentication activated because if it does, then you won’t be able to log into your email without the phone that you lost.

This is a process that can usually be done online and should only take a few minutes. If there’s an emergency in that country while you’re abroad, your embassy will contact you.

I live abroad and am registered with the Canadian embassy here. It was really helpful at the start of the pandemic because I was receiving updated emails about the situation and knew when I had to go back home before they started limiting flights between France and Canada.

Final thoughts

These are some of the lesser-known things that go along with travelling. I feel like a lot of people know to look out for pick-pockets or to only drink water from sealed bottles in certain countries. Many of the things that I mentioned in this article are things that, unfortunately, some people had to learn by experience. If all goes well, you’ll be able to learn from this article instead of learning from experience.

I write about travel, living, and studying abroad, and I’m starting to dip my toe into personal growth. So if you liked this article and are interested in reading more of what I write, then you should follow me. Thanks!

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