Documents
Buying Plane Ticket
Immunizations and Health Assessment
Packing
In order to leave your home country and enter a foreign one, you need a passport. A passport is issued by the government of your country and is used to verify your identity when you are roaming the earth. To obtain a passport, contact the passport department of your country for the necessary application and information.
Your passport also holds you visas, which are stamp(s) issued by the country(s) you are traveling to, granting you permission to enter that country for a certain period of time. Before you get your visa(s), though, you need a plane ticket (and usually proof of return ticket and/or sufficient funds) to your destination. The foreign government(s) needs proof that you have a return ticket home or enough money in the bank to buy one if you somehow lose your money (which happens more often than we like to think).
Getting a good deal on a international flight involves a combination of skill and luck. If you start looking as early as possible, you have a better chance of getting lucky. However, you need to be careful, because sometimes you get what you pay for (as outragously cheap tickets could be sold by poor quality airlines, or with inconvenient "fine print" limitations. For international trips, it is very valuable for you to use the services of a travel agency. The travel agent can aid you in several important areas of international travel (ex. flight ticket, obtaining visas, immunization information, etc.). For domestic flights, it is usually efficient to just purchase the cheapest flight you can find from one of the reputable online travel agencies (ex. Cheaptickets.com).
The best procedure in using a travel agenct is to look up the names and addresses of reputable agencies in your area. You should visit them in person, since they often have a lot of information that they can provide you with at their office. Ask the agent for an approximate quote for a round-trip ticket to your destination, supplying him/her with the month in which you plan to leave. Write down that quote on the back of the agent's business card and hold onto it. If the quote sounds too high, give the agent your phone number and the minimum price you are willing (or able) to pay for a ticket, and ask that the agent call you if/when they find a deal which fits your requirements. If you do the footwork and take your time, you will find a deal which meets your requirements.
One disabling problem which people often encounter is anxiety resulting from the general high cost of tickets. The best way to overcome this is to weigh out the potential benefits of your trip versus the cost of the ticket. Ask youself and make a list of the things you will gain from your travel experience. The answer will depend on what you plan to do at your destination. The benefits you will from exploring a different culture is priceless, and should far outweight the cost of the ticket. The more experiences you can plan into your trip, the higher the benefit will be. If you can also figure out a way to profit from your travel experience (ex. travle writing, photography) then the cost of the ticket is simply an operating/business expense, which will be recouperated at some point in the future. (see artistic development and promotion tutorial)
IMMUNIZATIONS AND HEALTH ASSESSMENT
Once you have purchased you ticket you should visit your physician to get the necessary immunizations and a general health assessment. Your physician should have a list of the immunization requirements relative to your destination. Other resources for this info are : your travel agent, the local library, or various sites online such as the Center for Disease Control.
Travel in a foreign country poses many health risks, and so you want to be aware of your general health condition so that you can make any necessary adjustments to your plans and selection of gear (medicines, first aid tools, etc.). When you visit your doctor, he/she can provide you with an International Health Certificate, which is a card on which you record all of your past and future immunizations related to travel. You keep this certificate with your passport in order to provide proof of immunizations when you apply for visas.
Now that you have taken care of the formalities, you are ready to organize your gear and take off. This process should occur mainly during the week before you leave.
The primary goal of the packing process is to fit the most amount of necessary equipment in the least amount of space, with the least amount of weight possible. This requires careful planning