Being prepared allowed us
to embrace our adventure with confidence.

Here’s what we did prior to leaving for our
European Historical Tour (3+ weeks):

4 to 5 months before departure:

      • Decide dates of trip and countries to visit.

      • Order travel/tour books — read through tour books to identify places to visit and things to do.

      • Write an itinerary including where you will be sleeping and places you will be visiting.

      • Begin a master packing list  (you will add to this over the next few months).

2 to 3 months before departure:

      • Get passport

      • Order any gear/clothing you need

      • Get any necessary vaccines for countries being visited 

      • Make plane reservations

      • Make reservations for any high-demand or reservation-only sites you plan to visit — this can save you having to wait in very long lines

      • Make lodging reservations (hotels, bed & breakfast, AirBnB, hostels)

      • Look into international phone/data plans and credit/debit cards with no international fees (see Helpful Tips for additional information about this)

      • Research phone apps to download
        • I downloaded the AirBnB, youth hostel, train schedules and booking app, as well as apps for the local transportation in the major cities we were going to be visiting.  
        • The most valuable app I had was Google maps – this took the place of many other apps (see Helpful Tips).

One month before departure:

      • Make reservations for trains requiring reservations (for us this included high-speed, overnight, and international trains). 

You can make reservations in advance for most of your train trips, but this will significantly decrease flexibility with your schedule.  We liked being able to make spur-of-the moment plans and never had a problem getting on the trains at the times we wanted.

      • Order credit cards & debit cards with no international transaction fees, if needed.

      • Follow-up on passport if you haven’t already received it (they generally arrive in 4 weeks).

      • If you feel the need, get Powers of Attorney and update your Will.

      • If traveling with minors, complete, sign, and notarize a Consent to Travel with Minors form if needed.   (This allows minors to travel out of the country with only one parent.)

Two weeks before departure:

      • Download travel apps to your smartphone.

      • Confirm all reservations.

      • Make final changes to itinerary.

      • Create list of important phone numbers; create emergency ID tags for minors  (see Helpful Tips).

      • Review final packing list (see my Packing List) — I would suggest doing a trial packing to make sure everything fits in your baggage.

Week of departure:

      • Email copies of important documents & phone numbers to self and trusted person back home (e.g., parent, spouse).     (See Helpful Tips for list of important documents to include.)

      • Download books to read to smartphone, tablet, or Kindle.  You can also download movies to watch on the plane.

      • Pack baggage for trip.

      • Switch phone to international mode or get international plan.

Day before departure:

      • Check-in for flights online.

      • Drink plenty of water to be well hydrated for the travel day.

      • Relax!!  

BON VOYAGE !!