Before you go

Preparing for you your trip sets you up for the best experience. There is nothing worse that getting to your destination and realising that you have forgotten something important! Worse still if the something important is expensive!

Gather your essential Information & Load your phone

It sounds silly, but the number of times we have forgotten to download a booking confirmation for a flight or hotel, only to spend time trawling theough your emails has stopped being funny.

So to avoid this, we recommend the following:

Download the mobile apps of all the providers you have booked through:
- Airlines
- Accommodation (Hotels / Hostels / AirBnB's)
- Tour Operators (GetYourGuide / Viator, Or the Classics - TUI/Jet2)
Create a Folder in your Email Inbox to get to all of your trip info at a glance. Create Sub-Folders for:
- Flight bookings
- Accommodation bookings
- Tours & Excursion bookings
- Your Plan It For Me Travel Pack
- Important Documentation
  - Scanned Copy of your Passport photo page
  - Copies of any Visa documentation, Including e-Visas
  - Links to your National Government Travel Advice pages for your destinations
  - Notes on local embassy / consulate contact details for your planned locations
  - Contact numbers for your Bank & Credit Card companies in case you need them

Contact your Bank & Credit Card companies

Contact your Banks and Credit Card companies to tell them that you are travelling. Let them know where you are going and when.

This will stop payments and withdrawals being accidentally stopped/declined due to suspected fraud (when the bank doesnt know you are travelling)!

This happened to Richard when he was travelling in Kazakhstan when trying to book an taxi. Some local Taxi Companies will try to charge a small amount to your card at the point of booking to make sure the payment card you added to your profile is valid, usually the equivalent of £0.50 or its equivalent in the local currency.

Cue the awkward phone call from the AIB fraud team, asking to confirm if I had just charged €0.00924 (5.00 Kazakh Tenge) to Yandex Go, and having to explain where I was, and that I was just ordering a taxi!

Get ready to stay connected!

Before you go, look into getting a travel eSIM and or Wifi Hotspot ready. This will keep you connected when on the go, for accessing Instagram, BlueSky and all of your travel apps.

We recommend Saily eSim and Solis Wifi Hotspot as the two best options that we have found and use when travelling.

Get your Saily eSIM here

Get a 5% Discount when you use Promo code: SPECIAL5

Get your Solis Wifi Hotspot here

Pack your bags

Smart packing is one of the keys to a successful trip.

In the early days of travelling we all had a habit of simultaneously over and under packing - Having too much of certain things, not enough of others, and completely forgetting others!

Here we have shared what we have learned over the years about packing for individual types of trips. Below you can find general tips, as well as suggested packing lists for various trip types.

General packing tips

Packing is a skill we develop over time. Lots of people have a tendency to over pack. Below we share our Packing lists for multiple types and durations of trips, as well as some items we recommend for all types of trips (Eg: Your backpack / personal bag). Click the buttons below to see our recommended packing lists.