So, all the night outs you had to say no to just because you’re trying to save up for your dream vacation has finally paid off, congratulations!

But before you embark on that journey, we’ve drafted a pre-travel checklist for you to ensure that you have everything covered.

Here are seven of the most important things that you should take into consideration before heading out:

1. Buy travel insurance

During a trip, we want anything but an unexpected turn of events.

Having a safety net and protection from anything travel-related, including canceled flights due to inclement weather or your luggage turning up in a remote town in Turkey instead of having it right with you in Istanbul, is a great sigh of relief knowing that you’re covered and you have nothing to worry about.

That’s because one, that canceled flight will be reimbursed in the form of travel credits or money straight to your bank account and two, you’ll have your luggage back with you in a jiffy. 

Securing travel insurance before your flight should be a must. There is a wide spectrum of travel insurance policies ranging from business types, medical coverage, and a lot more. You just have to find what suits you best.

2. Have extra pages available in your passport

Having an up to date passport is important, sure, but double-checking that you have enough pages in your passport to get through check-in and immigration clearance is equally important.

You have to check your passport before you even book a flight because most visas require one full page in your passport for it to be a valid application. But that’s not it, some countries would even require more pages to be used for a visa!

When immigration officers stamp on a new page even though they could always just use a page that’s already been marked is a different story, not to mention even more stressful, especially when you are well aware of the fact that your passport is running out of available pages.

But this could actually be the least of your problems if you know how to handle it.

Chris Chamberlin of Australian Business Traveler suggests that you leave a polite post-it note inside your passport to the immigration officer saying that you’re saving up space in your passport for a visa requirement. 

3. Be fully prepared during the visa application

There’s nothing more heartbreaking for a traveler than a rejected visa. It’s a huge lump in our throats every time we apply for one, but it doesn’t always have to be like that.

Being fully prepared to go through the process of a visa application could increase your chances of getting a yes from the embassy. 

If you’re honest with your intentions of traveling to a certain country, then there is nothing much to worry about. You only have to pray that the consul is in good spirits to approve your application!

Because sometimes, it’s really up to them whether they see you fit to visit their country.

4. Visit your doctor and take shots

There are countries that are strict about particular vaccine shots. And that’s a good thing because that means they want to protect their visitors as much as they want to protect the health of their locals.

Don’t shrug this one off because your health should never take the back seat. It’s imperative that you take recommended routine vaccines including measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, varicella for chickenpox, polio, and influenza, especially if the country you are visiting has a history or has a current health crisis related to the ones mentioned above. 

Do some proper research about the country and then ask your doctor what proper vaccine you should get before your flight.

5. Book a one-night accommodation in advance

If you already have a confirmed ticket and a complete itinerary for the trip, booking accommodation in advance should be in order.

Having a place to stay once your plane has landed should not worry you at all.

To avoid sleeping in the streets, or lounging at a cozy seat at the airport for hours because you have not planned this part well, make sure that you have booked at least a one-night stay in advance.

6. Print copies of your tickets

Printed copies of your tickets and airline itineraries are required when you arrive at airports in Asia.

Security checkpoints would ask passengers to show a copy of their tickets or boarding pass before they could let you in. Immigration officers also sometimes ask for a copy of it for proof.

While showing a screenshot of any of these documents on your phone could be a great option too, it might take a while to scroll through the thousands of photos on your phone or scour through your email to find that one mail from your airline.

It’s best to come prepared during times like this to avoid any hassle for you and for the others lining up behind you. 

7. Check the carry-on and luggage restrictions

Airlines are specific about the size and weight restrictions for carry-ons and luggage. You can try to look at their website to see the actual numbers that you need to take into consideration before picking what could be the best checked luggage to use for the trip.

Checklists are a huge help for almost everything that we do. If you must, create a pre-travel, travel, and post-travel checklist to make sure that you don’t leave anything out. Yet you also have to keep in mind that whatever it is that goes wrong is already out of your control.