It's T-minus 5 days until I head off to London for fourteen days straight of music, music, and more music...with some blogging in between. But before I go leaving on a jet plane, there are a few things left to do. Traveling abroad is always exciting (and/or nerve-wracking: my travel buddy is already freaking out about the ten hour flight), but it seems like the best trips are the ones that offer the same comforts of home while experiencing new things. Here's one example: Let's say you use your credit card on your trip...but then the credit card company puts a block on it because they think someone stole your identity! No matter how great the rest of your day was, perhaps the one thing you'll remember is that you spent three hours on a phone being shunted to different branches of customer service to get your credit card sorted out. There are definitely ways--though not foolproof--to try and avoid situations like these to make sure your holiday abroad goes as smoothly as possible...
Travel Tips: Doing Research Before Going Abroad
Here are a few tips that might come in handy:
• If you've got a Capital One credit card, use it on your trip! Capital One is one of the few credit cards that doesn't charge a foreign fee when you use it (most cards charge around 1-3% per transaction which can really add up).
• Some banks offer no fees at certain ATMs. For example, if you have a Bank of America debit card, you can use it at any Barclays ATM in the UK or Deutsche Bank in Germany without charging you extra fees. Most experts claim that in the end, it's cheaper to withdraw money from no-fee ATMs and avoid using the credit card as much as possible. However, make sure to call up your bank or credit card companies and have them put a note on your account that you'll be abroad for a length of time so they can override any blocks or holds that may occur.
• If you're visiting a place that has excellent public transportation, consider getting a travel card rather than paying the fare each time. It's much cheaper (and an excellent way to do as the locals do). London has the Oyster card that you can reload for its Underground; Tokyo has the Suica card that is interchangeable with other railways.
• Study up on general hospitality and common phrases. Not only is it important to know how to ask for directions or order a drink, but it's also worth knowing the tipping customs. As one of my co-workers mused, "I tip everywhere. The world is my strip club! But what do I know? I've never been abroad!" However, that mentality is considered quite "American"...during a trip to Japan, a friend of mine told me how tipping is seen to be demeaning to the person being tipped.
Got your own tips? Share it with us in the comments!
(Image: Emsago)
Comments (11)
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Carry a photocopy (color if possible) of your passport in a separate pocket or bag- it can really help you save some time at the embassy of your passport is lost or stolen.
If you'll be in a place for a few days, check out the embassy website to register as a tourist- it can really help out if there is a coup or a natural disaster because it helps the USG to know how many people are in country needing assistance.
Keep a list of your credit card numbers and their assorted contact phone numbers to make reporting a loss or theft easier (remember that 1-800 numbers rarely work from overseas).
Call your credit card company ahead of time and let them know where you'll be traveling and when- this was a lifesaver for me on one trip where I hit four countries in three days and a fraud alert would have wrecked my trip.
view Colleen in DC's profile
Calling your CC issuing companies and informing them that you're traveling abroad so that they won't put a sudden stop on your card or reduce your credit limit while abroad is a must.
...and First Republic Bank of San Francisco allows you to use ATM's anywhere on the planet free of charge (Minimum account balances apply)
Finally - if you cruise, you can take cash from the casino on your shipboard account and not be charged a cash advance fee or the higher credit card rate on the credit card that you've posted to cover your shipboard charges.
view bepsf's profile
Grrrr, Capital One - I know this isn't the place to rant, but long story short, I've lived abroad for 5 years and have to call them about every second month to remind them of this fact. Still, my Visa card works about 50% of the time... it's life on the edge never knowing when it'll be accepted or declined!
So my travel tip: don't rely on credit cards. Bring cash, as much as you can. Find out if exchange rates are better at home or in country, and act accordingly.
Also, this goes along with hospitality and local customs - don't assume that the clothes you wear at home will be appropriate in a foreign country. Normal jeans and tee might be scandalously revealing in one place, and completely dowdy in another. Try to find pictures from the country, and look at what people in the background (locals) are wearing.
view Emika's profile
The best travel tip I've ever received (and I use it every time I travel) is to fold up a $100 bill, wrap it in a plastic bag (I use a ziplock type bag with the zip cut off) and duct tape it to the inside of your shoe (under your insole if you have one.) It's not uncomfortable, and if you're robbed, stranded or lose your bag it's a real life saver.
I travel a lot to developing nations where this comes in REALLY handy. Even in more developed countries it can't hurt. Best of all is if you make it to your last day without using it, it's like free money...so you can buy yourself a(nother) present.
view calamityayne's profile
You should copy your passport and then email it to yourself, same with your credit card info. That way you can access it when needed and don't need to worry about losing the paper copy.
view alexis's profile
2nd Grrr on Capital One what I headache I went through.
I have used my ATM Union Bank Everywhere from back hills of Mexico to Morocco.
I keep a scanned copy of my passport, credit cards and drivers license in my yahoo email account which you can access almost anywhere if needed.
I highly recommend getting a money and passport holder you can wear- not a fanny belt, but the flat kind you can wear around your neck and tuck it under your clothes. I have heard about so many people getting there wallets and purses lifted right off of them on crowded buses, trains and market places. Its the same thing anywhere but it could really shorten your trip when it happens abroad.
I highly recommend taking grapefruit seed extract along with oregano capsules before every meal both fight parasites and keep your immune system good.
view LoriSF's profile
if you're traveling abroad, check country entrance policies well in advance of your trip. i found out the hard way the greece requires over three months of clearance on your american passport before it expires - i had three months and two days for a four day trip and they wouldn't let me on the plane - at the gate. lucky for me, the american embassy in london is FANTASTIC.
which reminds me of another tip - know where your closest embassy is located!
view marri's profile
Travellers' checks. They can be a lifesaver.
view Alaricus's profile
Bring headache and stomach ache medicine. There are no 24 hr CVS stores abroad. I always find that my stomach gets upset or my head aches on the first few nights of a trip. Having a remedy at hand is key so you can get a good night sleep.
view mally313's profile
Some foreign countries change their money relatively frequently, so if you have older foreign currency hanging around, check and see if it'll still be OK to use before stuffing it into your wallet.
If you live in the US and do not want to stand out as a tourist, learn to lower your voice!On average, US citizens talk much louder than just about everyone else on Earth (at least one anthropologist has confirmed this), so if you don't want pickpockets thinking you're a distracted tourist, pipe down.
view Stiletto's profile
AND please don't wear those god awful shorts that go above your knee the cargo kind or any shorts for that matter unless you have long beautiful legs and they are the fashionable dresser kind and you are in your early 20's or near the beach.
Also, there are other walking shoes besides white sneakers the only people that can pull this off are rap or hip hop stars in Paris or Tokyo, etc. sporting the trendy expensive kind.
view LoriSF's profile