Heading Overseas on the trip of a lifetime?
An overseas holiday is a huge investment of your time and money and to make the most of your trip it is essential that you’re are super organised and prepared for the getaway.
Flat Iron building NYC
Holiday Planning
The Travel Research
I find this the best part of organising a trip – the research. I always buy a new notebook for the country we are heading to and I start researching. I borrow any travel books from the library and read, read, read. Any activity or place that I think we will like I will add it to my note book as I am kidding myself that I will remember. I also read lots of family travel blogs as I find other family’s travel tips are the best type of real information that I will need. Pinterest and Instagram is my go to place for inspiration. Many Instagram accounts will have a blog attached for more in depth information. My favourite travel Instagram accounts are:
- For European Castles – www.instagram.com/wyld_family_travel
- The Middle East – www.instagram.com/ourglobetrotters
- For Sydney – www.instagram.com/adventure.baby and www.instagrm.com/thekidbucketlist
- The Gold Coast – www.instagram.com/alittleatlarge
- of course we are also on Instagram – www.instagram.com/travelwiththegreens
We also like to start introducing the types of food we will be eating once we are away. This helps the kids get a feel for any new flavours and tastes for where we are heading. It also builds such excitement for the trip. We just had a wonderful meal at our local Vietnamese restaurant in preparation for our trip to Vietnam.
The Tedious (but essential) Paperwork List
This is possibly the hardest to get motivated about but it is the most important and needs to be completed before you leave. Here is a checklist to get you started:
- Valid passport with at least 6 months left before expiry
- Travel insurance as soon as you book your flights
- VISAS – do you require a visa to enter the country
- Travel Immunisations – are any injections needed to travel to your destination?
- Print a copy of all the flights we are taking
- Organise SIM cards for overseas. We love (not sponsored they are just really fab) https://www.usaprepaidsimcard.com.au/ and have used them many times when heading to the USA
- Take a photo of your passports and email this photo to yourself
- Collect items for your emergency medical kit
Medical kit supplies
Packing
Believe it or not I hate the thought of packing even though it means I am heading somewhere fabulous. The fortnight before we leave we clear a table in the house that becomes the packing table. Anything that we think will be needed goes on the packing table – not all of it makes it though. We have been given the most fabulous carry-on luggage bag from CabinZero which will be heading to Vietnam with us. The CabinZero bag is the perfect cabin luggage bag and has the correct dimensions for carry-on only luggage. The bag has many compartments like a large pocket for your laptop. It can be a backpack as well as carried by the handle. Since it is a soft but sturdy fabric it can be easily put into the overhead lockers.
The CabinZero bags are airline approved, ultra-light weight and come with a 10 Year guarantee. Find your perfect bag at www.cabinzero.com
CabinZero carry on luggage
A few days before we leave
This is when everything should be fully organised so you can walk out the door.
- 48 hours before our flight I check in online and confirm our flights.
- Confirm our hotel accommodation
- Email the car service that picks us up to re-confirm the time
- Cancel the newspaper delivery
- Take a bottle of wine to the neighbour as pure bribery to collect our mail
- Let our banks know that we will be using our cards overseas
- Exchange our money so we have some local currency on arrival and also put money on our travel debit card
- Start collecting snacks for the plane and any activities the kids may need on board.
- The kids start downloading any apps they may want onto their iPads and also movies that they can rent and then watch on board. We will be trying Netflix on our iPads for this trip and we learnt this trick from Raffles at Boy Eats World https://boyeatsworld.com.au/andy-yeatman-director-global-kids-content-netflix/
- Empty water bottles to fill up once we pass through customs
The night before the trip
I will be super excited and find it hard to sleep but I know that I must try to rest as I never ever sleep on the plane. All the clothes that will be worn on the flight are laid out and all the bags are packed ready at the front door. I put Passports and all travel documents in a special travel case so I know where they are at all times. If you need to know how to survive the flight with your little ones read HERE.
Safe Travels