How to Travel Internationally

I have been to a few different countries and have had a lot of interesting experiences.  I wanted to set this post up just to talk about traveling internationally.  No specific country, just some tips and tricks to know for international travel.

1. Make sure you know where you are going.

When I traveled to Europe with my husband, we visited a few different countries.  We did not have any cell phones that worked in Europe and weren't sure what kind of access we would have to the internet.  So before we left, we loosely scheduled what we wanted to do in each city and printed out maps from Google maps so we knew where we were going and how we would get there.   Unfortunately a couple of the Google maps lead us on a wild goose chase, but because we had brought the name and address of our hotels with us we were able to find out where to go.  I found this extremely helpful in navigating the city without access to any kind of GPS or internet.

2. Make sure you have met all the requirements of the visiting country before you leave.

This may sound obvious, but I thought we had everything in order the first time we traveled internationally.  I'd gotten all the passports, visas, travelers insurance (a requirement of the visa), ID's, and confirmations together, but I actually did not know we needed to bring my husband's green card with us when we left the country.   The airline employee almost did not let us on the plane in New York.  He said that we could leave, but my husband couldn't come back without his green card. Oops.  Luckily we had just enough time to call a friend and ask her to mail us the green card to our hotel (another reason to bring your hotel's address with you) and it came without a problem.   So double check all the requirements, shots, vaccinations, visas (even US citizens need visas for certain countries), paper work, everything you need before you go.  You can check this US government website to know what is required for traveling to any country.

3. Don't be afraid if you don't speak the language


 I have visited several countries where I did not speak the language.  Luckily my husband speaks 4 different languages and could communicate in all the countries we've gone together.  But it is not vital that you are fluent in the language of wherever you are going.  It is definitely polite to try and speak the language, but there will always be people that get offended if you butcher their native language (cough-France-cough)  Do not assume that everyone speaks English, because they don't.  But the majority of people do try to help you if you are polite.  Most people that work in hotels, shops and transportation speak English, but it doesn't hurt to bring a language guide book with you.

4. Look up facts about the culture before you go

The bigger the hair, the more power the person had.  Yes that is hair, not hats

In my opinion most people understand you are a visitor and do not know the local customs, but there are some areas of the world that do not care about this and expect you to know certain things.  For example did you know in Afghanistan if you touch, speak or look directly at a woman in public it dishonors her?  And during the month of Ramadan no one, including foreigners can eat, drink or chew gum in public?  Okay, so you may not be traveling to the middle east, but I wish I would have known we planned our trip to Italy during a yearly strike. Apparently they have this "strike" the same time every year and there was no public transportation available during part of our trip.  Even if you just Google local costumes of where you're going before hand, it is worth it.  And who knows?  Maybe you'll learn something that will add to the overall experience of your trip.

5. Book tours

Our tour guide showing us what the Forum used to look like

I know a lot of people would rather explore the city on their own, at their own pace and on their own schedule, but I really recommend doing at least one tour of wherever you are going.  Usually the tours are only a few hours and in my experience I have always learned way more than I ever would have if I just explored on my own.   We did a walking tour in Rome and were granted access to the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.  We could have done this on our own, but it was included in the price of the tour and it was nice just not having to worry about it.  Besides, we went with an anthropologist and she told us mounds of historical facts and awesome stories that I would not have known otherwise.  Each time we've gone on a tour it has increased my appreciation for the area and enriched my overall experience.

6.  Be prepared for the unexpected

Even with as prepared as I felt whenever I've traveled, things have always come up.  Sickness, getting lost, losing wallets, planes getting cancelled, you name it, its happened.  I always tell myself whenever I'm going through something that I will have a great story for when I get home!  It helps put me at ease, and know everything will be all right.  Even when we forgot to bring my husband's green card he was making plans to stay in Europe with some friends he had there until we could get the green card to him.  It didn't come to that, but having a go with the flow attitude definitely helps.  And know you can always ask for help.  There is a US embassy in every country and there is usually someone who speaks English that can point you in the right direction.

7. Get travelers insurance

I'll be honest, we've only gotten travelers insurance once, and that is only because the visa required it, but I have heard a lot of horror stories from close friends who wish they would have had it.  Medical care in other countries is considerably cheaper than getting treated in the US without insurance, but it still can cost a lot.  Travelers insurance does not cost that much, I think we paid around $70 for my husband's insurance.  It usually cost around 5%-8% of your total trip expense, and it doesn't just cover medical emergencies, but also lost luggage, bad weather, and other unforeseen events.