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FIVE Things We Always Do Before an International Trip
As we get ready for another 40-day trip to Europe, we've been deep in the travel prep stage. Flights booked, housesits confirmed, and Everly already talking about airplanes nonstop ✈️
But before we even think about packing, there are a few things we always do before any international trip. These small steps have saved us stress, money, and a few travel disasters over the years.
Here are the five things we always double-check before leaving the country.
1. Check Your Passport and Driving Documents
Passports expire more often than people realize, and many countries require six months of validity beyond your travel dates.
In fact, I (Alex) had to get a brand-new passport for this trip because mine would have expired while we were in Europe.
Frankie also needed to get an international driver's permit since we'll be hitting the road once we arrive.
If you're planning to rent a car overseas, this step is easy to overlook but incredibly important.
We shared the whole process in this video:
https://youtu.be/n7Ho-enkLMI
2. Double-Check Your Credit Cards
Foreign transaction fees can quietly add up while you're traveling abroad.
Before we leave the country, we always check which card will cost us the least in fees.
The card we’re bringing on this trip also includes rental car coverage, which meant we didn’t have to pay the expensive insurance offered by the rental company.
This is the card we use:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/252t/78UJ86GIOM
If you're traveling internationally, it's worth checking what benefits your credit card includes—you might already have coverage you didn't realize.
3. Download Offline Maps
Even if your cell phone plan works internationally, service can still be unreliable.
Before every trip we download offline maps so we can navigate even without signal.
Here’s what we usually download:
Our arrival city in Google Maps
The countries we're visiting in iOverlander
The same areas in Park4Night so we can find campsites and overnight parking
Having these maps ready has saved us countless times when we're driving through areas with poor service.
4. Backup Important Documents
Losing access to your documents while traveling can turn a dream trip into a stressful situation.
Before we leave home, we create digital backups of everything important, including:
Passports
Driver’s licenses
Travel confirmations
Insurance information
We store copies in both cloud storage and our email so they’re easy to access if something gets lost.
This simple step takes just a few minutes and can make a huge difference if anything goes wrong.
5. Buy Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is one of those things you hope you never need—but if something happens while you're overseas, you'll be incredibly grateful you have it.
Because we travel internationally for longer stretches, we use SafetyWing travel insurance. It’s designed for travelers and digital nomads and works well for the kind of trips we take.
If you're planning an international trip and want to look into coverage, you can check it out here: https://safetywing.com/?referenceID=fnavanlife&utm_source=fnavanlife&utm_medium=Ambassador