Travel Blog Travel Guide - Beginners Guide to Independent Travel

Planning and Preparation

Preparation - Practical Aspects

There are lots of things to do before you travel - by being prepared your journey will go more smoothly, and in the event of an emergency you will have a fall-back.

Visit (links to government sites): US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland all have travel advice sites. (TBA)

Passports and Visas
For every country you want to visit - find out if you need a visa. For a list of embassy and consulate websites, visaproject.com is a site that can help you. Check it out.

Examples: European Union - citizens of member countries can travel around freely, no visas required. Americans can travel to the European Union without visas - be aware that not all of Europe is part of the European Union - Ukraine is not a member and many nationalities need a visa. Europeans need a visa for visiting Australia!

Before applying for a visa, check out your passport, how long is it valid for ? If it is not valid for more than 6 months after the expected end of your travels - get it renewed - many countries require you to have a period of validity on your passport of 6 months beyond your entry, for example Australia.

TravelTIP: Look after your passport - on the road it is one of your two most important possessions, the other being your money/atm/credit card. Do not let these get damaged or stolen. Get an under-clothes wallet, and a watertight plastic bag that is slightly larger than your passport - a zip locking freezer bag is suitable, with a piece of rigid (but thin plastic) that is the same size - place your atm card, credit card, rigid plastic and passport inside the water tight bag, and place all this in your under-clothes wallet. Keep some of your money, a photocopy of your passport in a more accessible place, as you'll be asked for your passport details quite often for administrative purposes, such as checking in to hostels and hotels - so use the photocopy instead.

Next: Money