Pre-trip Checklist
 

I'm leaving Tuesday for my next trip (yeah!), which will be a month in France, and since I was typing in my to-do list anyway, I decided to go ahead and add it to the FAQ section of my web site (wilhelmswords.com/faq/index.html). I figured I'd post it here as well in case someone else might find it useful - and so you can point out all the things I left out!

Select guidebook(s) and cut out selected sections. (Or buy and download chapters from Lonely Planet and print selected pages.)
Borrow books on tape from library and load iPod. (Include any podcasts related to the trip.)
Buy international SIM for unlocked quad-band cell phone, or check that old one is still working. (Or plan to buy country SIM on arrival.) Charge battery.
Find camera and charge batteries.

For a trip less than a month, tell post office to hold mail. For longer trips, have mail forwarded to a friend, and write checks so said friend can pay credit card bills. (Can now tell post office on-line, but it costs $1.00.)
Prepay any monthly bill not on bank draft (yard maintenance) or write checks and stamped envelopes and add to credit card checks
Get nice new $100 and $50 bills from bank for emergency stash and move enough money into checking account to cover expected ATM withdrawals
Tell bank and credit union I’ll be using my ATM cards abroad, and confirm non 1-800 contact phone nos.
Call credit card companies to tell them I’ll be using my cards abroad, confirm non 1-800 contact phone nos.
Deal with taxes if I’ll be gone over April 15th

Confirm reservation at first hotel
Check flight reservation and seat selection
Make copies of list of important numbers, passport, ATM, credit and insurance cards (both sides), airline tickets, rail tickets, etc. and put copies in backup money belt

Suspend newspaper delivery
Return Netflix DVDs and put membership on hold
Return library books and put any orders on hold

Give house and car keys to the friend who’s keeping an eye on the house and taking the car out occasionally (to keep the battery charged and the tires from going flat)
Set thermostat
Throw circuit breaker for electric water heater
Turn off water at meter (the town says I’m not allowed to do this myself, but they charge to turn it back it on!)

Check I’m carrying passport, airline ticket, ATM and credit cards...

I have a pet/house sitter, so I don't worry about the mail, water heater, etc.

Don't forget to download camera memory cards to computer and then erase them so you have maximum space.

Instead of tearing up my guidebooks, I write the pertinent information on sheets of note paper and put them in my "Travel Packet", which is really a 6-pocket coupon holder. I just write the name, address, phone number, admission fee, and hours of each "things to do" I'm interested in (or might be interested in). I also write up directions to/from hotel, airport, etc. that I know I'll be driving or walking. I'll write any self "walking tours" down also. I don't need the "description" of the sights as I'll be there to learn about them, so the guidebooks aren't really necessary.

I keep enough cash for airporter and/or taxi fees for my return in my travel packet also. That way I don't have to worry about finding an ATM when I get to my home airport because I didn't have enough cash left.

All my hotel, transportation, and other confirmations are kept in my travel packet as well as any tickets. I also keep a simple "budget breakdown" so I can keep track of what I'm spending as I go (as well as what expenses are still coming up). As I'm on a strict budget as I go, this is a lifesaver for me.

Take out garbage and clean fridge.

Thanks toedtoes - I upload my photos when I get back from a trip - and this time I'm taking a "baby" computer, so I can upload on the road, but otherwise, yes, you'd need to do that.

I don't have a pet, so no house sitter, so I do worry about shutting the house down. I have friends who drive me to and from the airport, and I travel with emergency dollars, plus enough to cover getting stuck in an airport for a while.

I use the maps in my guidebooks, and I usually travel for at least a month, so that would be too much writing for me!

"Take out garbage and clean fridge." Good points! (Plus remind friends to bring garbage can back in after it's been collected.)

I realized that I forgot:

If traveling outside North America and Europe, call travel clinic to check on inoculations and anti-malarials.

Renew medical evacuation insurance if it won’t be valid for the whole trip.

I email myself copies of backup papers and important numbers. (passport,insurance etc) I also inform my neighbors and local police of my trip plans.

Kencolian - where do you live? When I was growing up in England my parents would let the police know they were going away, but I've never heard of anyone doing that in North Carolina.

Scan travel brochures and guides and download PDFs to Pocket PC
Scan travel documents (tickets, reservations, contacts) and download PDFs to Pocket PC
Scan credit cards and passports, encrypt and download PDFs to Pocket PC
Rip music CDs and download MP3s to Pocket PC
Decode DVD movies and download MPGs to Pocket PC
Obtain leisure reading material and download LITs to Pocket PC
Cull maps from online sites and brochures and download PDFs to Pocket PC
Cut and paste relevant Fodors columns and download TXTs to Pocket PC
Get latest public transit routing data from nanika.net/metro and download PRCs to Pocket PC
Clip detailed GPS city maps from AutoRoute and download MPSs to Pocket PC

<RED>MAKE BACKUP COPY OF POCKET PC MEMORY, DUMMY!</FONT>

Do I detect a love affair with a Pocket PC? Brand? (I'm taking a Lenovo S10 notepad computer this trip, giving up on internet cafes for the first time.)

"MAKE BACKUP COPY OF POCKET PC MEMORY, DUMMY!" - love it! Is there a story here?

And another one I forgot:
Get hair cut (and colored, if you do that).

Setting up a lamp with timer, so it goes on and off each day.
Set timer on sprinkler system as needed.
Figure out how your indoor plants will survive.
Remember to carry Chapstick or whatever you like for dry lips on long flights.

PPCs I have had:
iPAQ 2215
iPAQ 6510
HTC Wing
Google G1 (not Windows)

Never needed the backup SD.

Have fun with that Lenovo (I expect you will!)

I already love the Lenovo! I've been taking it to the coffee shop, and sitting around the house with it on my lap - the old laptop was really too heavy, and certainly too hot, for that. Between the Lenovo and the iPod, I won't be taking any novels on this trip, so the weight should cancel out a bit.

<i>Get hair cut (and colored, if you do that).</i>

Also in that category - get legs waxed!

thursdaysd - My husband gave me the same mini laptop (Lenovo S10) over Christmas and I LOVE it! May I ask which laptop bag/protective cover did you get for it?

yk - I ordered a protective sleeve from Lenovo, but they weren't going to ship it in time for my trip, so I canceled. I do have a new day pack that has one of those suspended sections for carrying it around. (North Face Borealis) Of course, it's intended for a much larger laptop, we'll see how it works out.

Make sure any papers with personal info, keys and any cc I'm not taking are safely locked away in the file cabinet.

Let neighbors know if anyone is coming over while were gone. Don't want them to call the police on the friend who I told could grab the chainsaw from the shed on Sat.

Try not to pick a fight with my husband, thereby ruining the first few hours of the trip.

No matter how well-organized I am, I can't avoid off-the-chart pre-trip stress levels -- so I need to find somebody else to pick a fight with.
Preferably somebody I'm never going to see again.

LucieV - just don't pick the TSA people at the airport, lol!

Leave the husband at home and take the best friend, to avoid fights on the trip :)

Pack duct tape, you will find a use for it.

I usually end up buying a roll of neon green, or road worker orange and re-rolling a portion onto a small strip of cardboard. It hardly takes up any space or weight, and I've used it on every trip I've been on. Mailing things home, packing large items to take as carryon, fixing ripped butt seams in pants, fixing a suitcase where the zipper tore out just before the flight home. That suitcase was sure easy to spot coming down the conveyor, and everything inside made it home safely.

Check doors and windows, including garage doors and out buildings, to be sure they are secure.

Check other food storage areas in addition to the fridge. A loaf of bread left in the breadbox grows mold quickly.

Turn off and unplug things that use electricity and are not used while you are traveling.

Also, in winter, turn off taps and disconnect hoses that might freeze in your absence.

Freeze a cup of water and put a penny on top in your freezer. If the penny says on top, your freezer has not lost power in your absence and the food is still safe to eat.

Saige--Million thanks for your very helpful tip about freezing a cup of water.
Just this afternoon I was thinking how to be sure whether the power was off while we are on a trip as I have some special food in the freezer. Now I can use your tip.
You are the best!

ileen, You're welcome. Have a great trip! Saige

instead of telling police that you will be away, tell Neighborhood watch people, if you have one in your neighborhood.

Arrange for shuttle to and from home/airport.

Make up list of phone numbers, including vet's, for pet sitter, and leave feeding/care instructions in pertinent places - eg. fish info taped to fish tank. Buy enough pet food to last the whole time and a few extra days for pet sitter to use, and leave in prominent place.

Robes, what if you lose, or break the pocket pc?

Thursdaysd

Thanks for all your contributions thus far. Two followup questions for you, please:

1- Above, you mentioned medevac insurance. Whose did you purchase?

2- In your April trip report about Nice you mentioned purchasing a bus pass at the airport. Can you give me more details about that? What areas does it cover? Can you get off and on in Monaco too? I assume you can get a weeklong pass.

1. tenweb.com

2. Am traveling with minimal net access - google Nice transport.

thursdaysd,

The police in my town in Georgia will cruise by and even check doors and windows when we are out of town--part of the small town, high service environment we pay taxes for. One time the day before a trip I was sitting in my family room eating a bowl of cereal, watching the morning news when I looked over and saw a man peering in the glass beside the front door! I saw the uniform and my heart slowed to normal. He said the clerk must have written down the wrong date of departure and he was doing the first day gone check of my doors and garage to make sure they were closed and locked. He thought if I was a burglar, that I was certainly making myself at home.

As for the list, I now try to clean the house, do laundry, and put some food in the house that will be easy to heat/eat upon return (I am rarely gone more than 2 weeks). It makes the return home tired with suitcase of dirty clothes much more pleasant knowing I don't have to stop at the grocery or immediately do laundry.

You mentioned that you put your netfix membership on hold. I didn't know that you could do this. Can you provide more info on that like can it be done for only a one month time frame?

Netflix - don't remember off-hand - go to the account section and look around. Mine's currently on hold for at least two months.

We always input all of our hotel addresses into our GPS before we leave.

The Police Dept. in our little town will do a daily drive by at various times if you notify them you will be on vacation.

We notify the company that monitors our alarm system that we will be away.

Make sure you have enough of any prescription medications to last the duration of your trip or contact your doctor or pharmacy for a new prescription or refill.

Be sure to reset your AC/heater thermostat to an appropriate temperature if your house will be empty.

Run garbage disposal and deoderize.

Actually, if you can, make sure you have prescriptions to last a little longer than your trip. What happens if you're delayed a couple days? I know some insurance companies only give a particular amount per month - which has messed with my dad in the past. We went on a three week trip to Scotland last summer, and he was unable to get enough of his heart medicine to last the trip, as he was in the middle of a 'month' cycle, and the next time he was able to get more was in the middle of the vacation - when we would be up on the Orkney Islands, with no Walgreens :P However, we were able to work something out with the doctor before we left.

Lovely thread!
As soon as I have returned from a trip, I immediately launder and top up any items which I store in my suitcase, in readiness for an emergency or preferably a next trip. Includes a spare nylon lightweight foldable suitcase, a featherweight raincoat, one week's supply underwear, 5 t-shirts, travel plug adaptor, wash bag and contact lenses, a book, Euros for trips and Pounds for my return (taxi, parking, buying milk etc), travel diary. I have handy at home an open box of items such as camera chargers, spare mobiles/chargers, which may be needed at home or away (in readiness for a local weekend away). I create my personal Google maps with all details for museums (admission times, costs), restaurants, shops and other to-dos on my trip. Either I print what I need for that journey or log in at my destination.

In my desk I have two sealed packages: one to be opened in the event of a manageable emergency and one to be opened in the event of my death. The first one contains money, bank instructions and utility account details should my return be delayed. In the second one, as before and is also a full list of my investments and policy document details and whom to contact for the management of my affairs. We have three adult children who could benefit from knowing whom to contact and whom to trust in either emergency or death. I have had a package on the go since I married (26 years ago) and review it regularly.

I aim to never pack more than 4.5 kilos (plus luggage weight) so that I have spare space in my 10kgs overall allowance to bring home a tiny souvenir. I wear my heaviest items and use a smart backpack instead of a handbag.

These are all pretty extensive and great tips to add to a travel checklist. One of the things I do is I have an Excel spreadsheet with what I need to pack and what I need to accomplish before going on a trip. It has grown over the year as my travel experiences have added to the maturity. Being that it is a spreadsheet, it is always able to be expended upon. I leave enough blanks to allow for trip specific items or tasks. My spreadsheet also includes spaces for quantity of packed items so I can plan out the pending trip and what to pack.

One thing I would take off your list is turning off the water coming into the house... if you have an automated sprinkler system, if I turned my water off my grass would suffer

Greendragon, a lot of insurance companies have a one time per year vacation refill that will give you an extra 30 days of meds for the trip.

jmeyer43, that is why we don't turn off our water. I also will set some of my bigger plants around the backyard so they can get watered by the sprinkler system.

The smaller plants are arranged on the patio and my husband has a watering system set up on a timer that we put together from tubing, watering heads, etc., we purchased at Home Depot. The plants always seem to thrive while we are away!

If you are like us and can't turn off the water to the house, then do turn off the faucets connected to your washing machine.

We leave the water into the house turned on because the cat-sitter needs it, but we do turn off the water line to the washing machine. It failed one time (fortunately I was in the next room), and the quantity of water was amazing.

I don't have a sprinkler system, so don't need the water for that. Plus, although the pipes inside my house were replaced under a class action law suit, the pipe from the city's meter to the house was not, and is liable to fail...

Angeline - it may now, but at the time (2 years ago), they didn't, or at least the plan my dad was on. It was worrisome, because he has VERY high blood pressure, has already had one heart attack, and going without his heart meds was a scary thought...

hair cut/colored, legs waxed, and nails done.

We got an Asus Eee PC, which we took to Belize, and loved it! Downloaded all important trip info, and set up remote email access - husband has gmail, I have through ISP. Remote access is great since we could easily access all trip info that we emailed. The eee is too small to be an everyday computer, but is a great travel toy, and back up.

U.S. citizen going out of the country: Inform the State Department so they know you are overseas.

Instructions for the house/pet sitter re: pets, garbage, etc.

If you are going out of the country, check on medical services/providers - International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT)

Buy international calling card, especially if you are not using a cell phone with international service.

You're really going to tell the U.S. government you're headed to Italy? I did think about registering while I was in Lebanon, but the site was down for maintainance! Haven't bothered for Syria. Only reason is in case emergency requires evacuation.