How to prepare for an international trip – 11 practical tips

Understand everything you need to know to prepare for an international trip, including tips on documentation, vaccinations, money and more!

I love planning my own trips. Sometimes I even go to an agency to ask for some guidance, such as visas or documentation, but in general I research everything on the internet.

I confess that at the beginning I was afraid, afraid of forgetting something important and being stopped before even getting on the plane (I've seen it happen to other people a few times). After I got the practice, however, I realized that doing everything on your own is no big deal, especially with the amount of information available online.

Thinking about my initial difficulty, I decided to write this post with tips that can help you if you are going through the same situation. I've gathered everything you need to know to prepare for an international trip. I didn't talk about itinerary and accommodation as this is characteristic of Qualquer adventure, and I preferred to focus on important details for those going abroad.

Either way, you can take the opportunity to read other blog posts such as:

• How to calculate a travel budget (with a spreadsheet!)
• How to put together a travel itinerary – Tips and apps;
• How to assemble a suitcase;
• GUIDE: How to use Booking to get the best prices for hotels!

How to prepare for an international trip

1. Passport

The first step in preparing for an international trip is to provide documentation. Check if your destination requires a passport for Brazilian tourists.

For countries that are part of Mercosur, such as Argentina and Chile, an identity document (RG) is enough. Be aware that although it is not valid, ideally it should have been issued in the last ten years and have a current photo. A driver's license is not useful for traveling abroad.

If you need a passport, You can make a request on the Federal Police website. There you can check which documents are needed to place the order, fill out the form and generate the payment GRU. Currently the price is R$257,25.

After filling out the information on the website, just schedule a date to deliver all the papers, take a photo and register your fingerprints at the nearest unit. The estimated delivery time is 6 working days.

If you already have a passport, pay attention to the expiration date. Many countries require a document valid for at least six months, and airlines do not even allow passengers who do not meet this standard to board. Check if this is the case at your destination and, if necessary, schedule a new passport on the Federal Police website.

2. Visas and Fees

A visa is a document that authorizes a foreigner to enter another country. The types of visas vary from place to place, the most common being those that need to be arranged in advance, and those that are granted to tourists when they pass through immigration.

The need for such an authorization also depends on both the destination and the traveler's origin. With a Brazilian passport, there are 153 countries you can visit without needing a visa. The Digital Nomads website has a list of them all.

The United States, Canada and Australia, however, as well as other places, require visas for those traveling with a Brazilian passport. As each of these countries has a different process for obtaining such authorization, the ideal is to search the consulate websites to find out how to proceed.

Don't leave it until the last minute, as some of them require you to make the request in person, and they can take up to months to be issued.

Cynara, from the blog Cantinho da Ná, has a super complete post explaining How to get a United States visa. This was one of the only ones I took PULL a travel agency, and I found it very easy to fill out the form. If you speak English, it's not difficult to learn on your own.

Some countries do not require visas, but charge a fee tourism tax, as is the case of San Andrés in Colombia or Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. In the second case, payment is made at immigration, but in the first case you need to pay in advance. Research whether this is the case for your destination.

3. Vaccines

This is an item that is often forgotten when planning an international trip. Despite this, it is very important, and your adventure could end before it even begins if you don't have the necessary vaccinations to visit your destination.

The most common is Yellow Fever, which is available free of charge at health centers. If you took the fractional dose, distributed during outbreaks here in Brazil, be careful because it not valid for travel! Check out the blog Malas para que te Quero a list of all countries that require vaccination against yellow fever.

For other vaccines (or to find out those specific to your destination), you can consult the ANVISA website.

After taking the necessary dose, it is important to do the international vaccination certificate. It serves to certify to other countries that you took the vaccine, and on what date. It is issued free of charge through ANVISA posts, and you you just need to book an appointment on the website and bring an identification document and proof of vaccination. If possible, also bring a document that shows that you will be traveling to a country that requires such a vaccine, such as ticket confirmation.

For the COVID-19 vaccine, now required in practically all countries, you must have taken all the recommended doses and issue the certificate in English or the language of the destination country. You can issue the certificate through the ConnectSUS app. During the pandemic period, check whether you need to take a test to enter the countries you are traveling to.

4. Travel Insurance

Accidents can happen at any time, including when you are traveling. When preparing for an international trip, it is important to take out good travel insurance, which will help you in any emergency..

In some countries, such as those that are part of the Schengen Treaty (France, United Kingdom, Spain, Greece...), The insurance is mandatory and may be required when you pass through immigration. It's not worth risking the trip to save on this expense, especially since prices are usually affordable.

For places like the United States, where health is very Dude, insurance is not required but highly recommended. A quick visit to a clinic to pick up a prescription for antibiotics, for example, can cost hundreds of dollars. With insurance, you call the center and they tell you where to go, in addition to resolving all the bureaucracy and financial aspects for you. Most of the time, you don't have to pay a penny during the consultation.

Current Travel Insurance also offers coverage for cases such as lost luggage, or flight delays and cancellations.

I usually buy with Seguros Promo, which compares prices between the main insurance companies. Prices start at R$9 per day for international destinations, and you can pay in up to 12 installments via credit card. Blog readers still have a special discount using the code “ALYSSAPRADO5".

Questions about travel insurance? I have a page here on the blog that will answer all your questions, as well as explaining how to use it, the best insurance companies, and more.

5. Local Currency

As Brazil is the only country that uses the Real, you will need to exchange money for the currency used at your destination.

The easiest way to do this is through an exchange office. Cash has a lower tax rate, and tends to have better conversion than those practiced by banks. You can also exchange just a part of your budget and use credit cards, prepaid cards or even open a digital account on sites like Wise, where the exchange rate has a better price. There's a post here on the blog where I talked about the advantages and disadvantages of each of these options.

For some destinations, such as Santiago de Chile or Buenos Aires, the exchange rate is more advantageous abroad. In these cases, I recommend exchanging only a small amount of reais here, if you need to pay for a taxi to your accommodation, for example, and leaving the rest of your money to exchange when you arrive. Preferably avoid exchange offices at airports, as they tend to have the worst prices.

For those who have strong currencies, such as the US dollar or Euro, it is best to exchange your money before leaving the country.

Personally, I carry little cash, and use a credit card whenever possible. Despite the IOF of more than 6%, I like this option for accumulating miles (This is one of the tips I showed in this post on the subject).

6. Language

Don't despair, you don't accurate know the language of your destination.

Of course, it is better to know how to speak the local language, but it is possible to get by even just speaking Portuguese. In places that speak Spanish, for example, just ask them to speak slower and most of the time the proximity to Portuguese makes it possible to understand what they are saying.

For countries with very different languages, it is interesting to write down some useful words and phrases such as “please”, “thank you”, “I am lost”, “I need help”. For those who like to buy “how much it costs”, it is also a good option.

If you have time until your trip, There's a post here on the blog that talks about how to learn English for travel (no course and free!)

If you like technology, you can also download some apps like Google Translate. With it you can type a sentence, take photos of signs or packaging and even draw words if the alphabet is very different (I can't find the symbols on the Greek or Thai keyboard, for example).

Those who are more traditional can buy pocket conversation guides, made especially for travel. The ones from Publifolha are great, and are available in languages ​​like English, Spanish e French.

7. Security

When preparing for an international trip, it is important to research your destination and the attractions you want to visit. 

If you are traveling alone, without a group or friends, also remember to find out about the safety factor. It's better to find out in advance whether it's safe to go out alone at night, for example, or whether it's better to set aside part of your budget for transportation like uber.

Research neighborhoods, the region where you are staying and read reports from other travelers. Listen to someone who has experience and already knows the country you are going to visit. Remember that for many people travel alone seems super dangerous, while we know that reality is much calmer in most cases.

The ideal is to find out in advance which places you need to pay extra attention to. I also recommend reading about scams, which are very common in European tourist cities like Paris.

8 Weather

If Brazilian states already have different climates, it is not surprising that this is also the case in other countries. 

When preparing for an international trip, research the climate in your destination. Don't think that just because it's summer it's going to be 40ºC just because that's the temperature here. On more than one trip I experienced temperatures of 10ºC in the hottest season of the year.

A great website to discover information, not only about temperature but also about rainfall and other phenomena is AccuWeather. In addition to the forecast for the next few days, it also shows what the thermometers were reading in each month in previous years, so you have something to base yourself on.

Pack your suitcase accordingly and don't miss out. This post has tips on what to pack in both checked and carry-on bags.

9. Laws and Manners

You probably already knew that the legal drinking age in the United States is 21 or that you can't drink on the street... But outside of luxury resorts, women can't swim in the Maldives in bikinis because of Muslim laws? Or that gum is banned in Singapore?

In general, even if the destination's culture is similar to ours, it's a good idea to find out before boarding if there are any laws that are very different or even what gestures are offensive. Imagine trying to ask where the nearest restaurant is and ending up offending someone?

The Loucos por Viagens website has a post with 10 gestures that are often misinterpreted abroad.

10. Air transport and immigration

If you have never traveled by plane, or never flown outside Brazil, it is interesting to pay attention to some rules that come into force only for international destinations.

To begin with, the ideal is arrive at the airport 3 hours before your flight time, to make sure you can check in (some destinations do not allow online check-in), check in your bags and go through security.

In your hand luggage, you cannot take liquids in containers of more than 100ml, and all liquids must fit inside a transparent ziplock bag. Many airports don't charge for this part of the ziplock, but if you go through a stricter one, like London, you may have problems with this part. Better not to risk it.

At immigration time, depending on the destination, you may only need to scan your passport and visa, or you may need to go to a counter with an employee. Keep calm and have all the proof on hand that your trip is for tourism, such as hotel reservations, return tickets and travel insurance. Don't worry as they are used to people who don't speak the country's language.

If you enter your destination country through an airport, but are still connecting to another city (for example, you arrive in the United States via Miami but take a flight to Orlando), you will need to pick up your bags and check them in again. If your connection is in another country, not the destination, the bags will go directly to the final airport.

11. Script

You don't need to follow your script exactly, and it's good to go knowing that you probably won't even get follow all your planning, as unforeseen events happen. However, I recommend putting together an itinerary to learn what is unmissable at your destination, get an idea of ​​how you get from one attraction to another, and what to do each day of the trip. Believe me, coming home and later finding out that you missed out on something amazing is terrible.

I usually put together my itinerary in a Google Sheets spreadsheet, first writing down the main attractions and then grouping those that are nearby on the same day. I don't plan much and I like to leave time to just do what I want too. Here on the blog there is a post about how to put together a script.

Also, don’t be afraid to let go of your script. Sometimes, especially when we're traveling alone, another cool program comes up with the hostel staff, or something that you didn't find in your research. If you feel like it, leave the script aside, there's no problem. The important thing is to enjoy it.

And that's it, now you know how to prepare for an international trip! The important thing, like almost everything related to adventuring around the world, is to do a lot of research 🙂

Do you have any questions? Do you think there was something missing from the list? Share in the comments!

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