How to Adult: Traveling Internationally Edition

Tips, tricks, how to, and advice

At some point in your life, your parents stop taking care of getting your plane tickets for you or adding a hotel room for you when they book theirs.

I wish that never stopped, that was awesome.

But alas, I am an adult and have to take care of my own travel arrangements. And it is not just domestic travel or going somewhere to see your family, there are even more arrangements to be made when traveling internationally!

I’ve written a few other posts in my “How to Adult” series, about personal finance and building credit, filing regular taxes, and one about freelance-specific taxes.

In this episode, I want to talk about making travel arrangements and what to look out for, specific packing items and tips, currency exchange, and how to prepare to be gone from your home.

Booking Plane Tickets

When you are ready to book your plane tickets and you know the dates, locations, and everything, the first thing you want to do is think about when you want to leave.

For many longer international flights, they leave in the evening local time and you fly overnight. You are generally served two meals while in flight and can have as many little snacks and drinks as you want. You can also bring your own food on the flight.

Most international flights these days do have individual seat TVs and a plug to charge your devices. Some flights will provide a pair of headphones, others sell them to you for $2. To keep things simple, it is easiest to travel with your own headphones or earbuds.

You will get the best prices on international flights if you book at least 2 months in advance. Many articles have also stated that Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days to actually purchase tickets.

When looking for the best price, start by looking at your options. Does your credit card have reward points on purchases? Most of these rewards/points can be used for travel, so log into your rewards and see if you can use your points toward your tickets. If you can, you’ll have to purchase your tickets through their site.

If not, start on sites like Expedia.com, flights.google.com, or Kayak.com. Look up available flights and compare prices. If you have flexible dates, you will often find cheaper tickets if you’re willing to fly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Before booking through one of these sites, check the airline’s direct website just to make sure you’re getting the same or better price.

When booking your ticket, you MUST have your passport on you to enter your passport information such as name as shown on the passport, passport number, date issued, and where it was issued. You will need this information for each person you are buying a ticket for.

Purchase your tickets using your credit card to get points on your purchase.

If you’re going to need a car, book your car rental at the same time as the flights, since you can often get a bundled deal.

Booking Accommodation

Once you know where you’re going, it’s time to find somewhere to stay! There are tons of options, from resorts and hotels to Airbnb.

When you are researching your itinerary, if you find a bunch of attractions in one general area, aim to stay nearby. This will cut down on the time it takes to get places each day and on the cost of having to take a cab or transportation from one place to another.

Do some research to see what the “cool” neighborhoods or areas are and what things there are to do there. In Lisbon, my friends and I narrowed down the area by Googling “best neighborhoods in Lisbon” and seeing what each neighborhood was known for.

If you decide to book a hotel, compare pricing for it both on the direct hotel website and on sites like Trivago.com. Make sure to ask about things like additional fees, parking availability (if you need), and shuttles to the airport.

Many hotels in major cities have a shuttle to take people to and from the airport, so make sure to ask that before planning to just grab an expensive cab.

If you decide to go with an Airbnb, just make sure you know what you are getting — location, amenities, and whether or not you have the whole apartment. Make sure the host is responsive and has good reviews.

Definitely make sure you book hotels in advance if you’re going during a peak travel season or to a touristy location. It will generally be cheaper to book them in advance than when you get there.

Finding Fun Things to Do

If you’re the type who likes to have things pre-planned and scheduled then you will likely already have your trip planned.

If you’re like me and you want to go where the wind takes you for the most part, then try Googling “things to do in _____” and making a list of all the main stuff there is to do in that location. I keep this list on the same Google doc I put all my confirmation numbers and info and put links to things if needed.

When I travel internationally, I may buy tickets to a specific thing before I go if it is expensive or requires tickets in advance, but for the most part, we make a rough plan/list of the things we know for sure we want to do and then when we get there, we see what we feel like doing each day.

When Hubs and I went to London, we woke up each day and picked the neighborhood/area we wanted to go and walked there, walked all around and saw what we wanted, then walked a different route back to the hotel to see more. We ended up walking 7–8 miles per day and had a blast.

When a couple girl friends and I went to Lisbon, Portugal, we had a more firm idea of what we wanted to see and had a list before we went, then confirmed again each day and had plenty of built-in time for wandering and resting.

Tips & Tricks

• If you’re going somewhere new, always check visa requirements. If you are traveling from the US, most places do not require a visa, but some definitely do! Last time I went somewhere, I had to apply online at least 7 days before traveling for a local visa. Had I not done so, I would not have been let into the country and would have wasted a lot of time and money.
• If you are going somewhere you have never been, check the CDC website to see if there are any recommended vaccines you should get. I went to India for the first time in 2018 and actually needed several vaccines before going, which I never would have known.
• Most international flights do NOT charge for a checked bag. Make sure you have some spare room in your carry on baggage, though, because they all have weight limits on checked luggage and if you’re over the limit, the easiest solution is to move a couple things to your carry on.
• CURRENCY EXCHANGE. This is an important one! Never change your money at an airport, they always overcharge. You’ll get a better exchange rate almost anywhere else. Before leaving, call your credit card company and ask if your credit card has 0 foreign transaction fees. If it does, you will not need to bring much cash. Maybe a couple hundred dollars at most, because you will want to use your credit card for everything — the bank will take care of the exchange, there are no additional fees, most places accept credit cards, AND you continue to earn points/rewards on your card. When you need cash exchanged, ask a local person for a currency exchange, like a hotel employee or cab driver. Or simply go to an ATM and use your debit card to take local currency out.
• Leave your passport in your hotel room. Hide it in your suitcase or use the hotel safe. Don’t carry it around when you don’t need it, that’s just more opportunities to lose it or have it stolen.
• Pay attention. When you are traveling internationally, YOU are the tourist and can, therefore, be a target for scammers and pickpocketers. Use a bag that zips all the way closed, pay attention to your surroundings, and just stay generally aware.
• Have all your confirmation numbers for flights, hotels, car rentals, tickets purchased, etc. in one place which is easily accessible, like in a Google doc or a note on your phone.
• Know how you like to travel. Are you a person who prefers to be scheduled and moving every moment? Are you the type to prefer to leave things more open-ended and relaxed? Go on the trip YOU WANT, not one you think you “should” have or to fulfill other people’s expectations. Travel is much more enjoyable if you’re actually having fun and doing what you want to do.
• If you’re a writer like me, you’ll probably want to bring your laptop, so check to make sure your hotel or Airbnb has good wifi!

Things to Remember/Do Before You Go

There are a few things you will definitely always need when you travel internationally:

• A universal plug adaptor
• Your passport and a color copy of it
• Extra room in your suitcase to bring things back
• Sunglasses
• Hat
• Sunscreen
• A plastic bag — trust me. You’ll want it for dirty laundry.

No matter where you go, you’ll pretty much always need these things.

Before you leave for the airport:

• If going for longer than a few days, call the postal service and have them hold your mail while you’re gone.
• Make sure to call your credit card company and report which days you’ll be traveling and where so your credit card doesn’t flag your purchases as fraud and temporarily freeze your card. It takes 2 minutes and you can usually even do it through their recording.
• Confirm with any people helping you, such as driving you to the airport or petsitting for you.
• Make two color copies of your passport and pack one in your suitcase (separate from where you are keeping the real one) and have a friend hold onto the other for you. If by chance your passport gets lost or stolen, it is much easier and faster to get it replaced if you have a copy of it.
• Make sure you have a paper or note somewhere with ALL confirmation numbers: airline, hotel/Airbnb, car rental, etc. Having it all in one place makes things a lot easier and more organized.

Check out my brand new book Concept to Conclusion: How to Write a Book and learn everything you need to know to conceive of, outline, write, publish, and market a nonfiction book!

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