Travelling abroad? The ultimate guide for first timers

Whether you are travelling abroad for the first time on work, or for your honeymoon, these hacks will definitely help you. If you are a seasoned traveller, you probably use many of these that I have listed below, which in my opinion are a 'must-do' before boarding the flight.

Buy a Travel Card

A Travel Card is a pre-paid foreign currency card that makes your foreign trip totally hassle-free and convenient. You can load this pre-paid card with foreign currencies in India by paying in INR. It’s a smart alternative to paper based instruments like Traveller’s cheque or currency notes.

The super cool multi-currency cards

A cool new thing in travel cards is that some banks also offer a multi-currency card. So if you are travelling to let's say Germany (Euros), United Kingdom (Pounds) and the US (US Dollars), a single card works for you and you don't need multiple cards for multiple currencies. Be sure to ask your bank whether they offer this.

Advantage of re-loading

The added advantage is that you can load additional foreign currency onto it even when you are abroad (make sure your bank supports this and you have activated internet banking) and happen to fall short of currency. This has been a boon for someone like me, who travels for a longer duration than most people and estimating exactly how much you need at the start of a trip is a little difficult.

My Tip - Make sure you are aware of the charges for getting the card, ATM withdrawals abroad, reload of currency etc as banks typically do not reveal the same unless you ask for it. For example, ICICI Bank charges 1.5 Euros/USD for every withdrawal from an ATM but does not charge for online payments or payment at point of sale using your card.

Buy foreign currency

This is also needed in addition to the Travel Card. Travel Cards are useful if you are buying flight/train tickets online or booking accommodation online in a foreign country.

However, cash is handy for smaller payments and some outlets may not even accept cards (for example, Amsterdam Coffee Shops accept only cash). So you can split your total foreign currency needs 50:50 or 75:25 between the card and currency or in any other ratio which suits your spending pattern abroad.

Activate International Roaming for your phone

Now, this is something most people ignore as they think they will not make/take calls abroad as the international roaming charges are extremely high (don't even think of using your Indian number abroad for calls or sms)

But let's say that you are trying to make an online payment using your travel card and it's not going through. You want to try making the payment using your Indian Debit/Credit card.

If you do not activate international roaming, you will not receive the One Time Password sent by your bank to pay through your credit/debit card. I had not activated international roaming and my travel card being a debit card was not accepted (the italiarail site accepted only credit cards). So I could not make the payment and finally had to get someone else to do the booking for me.

Carry original driving licence

You will need this if you wish to drive in a foreign country. Remember that copies of it will not be accepted. In addition, keep in mind that in some countries you can drive by just carrying your original Indian Driving License (UK allows you to drive with your Indian License for up to a year from the date of your entry into the country) and in some others, you will also need an International Driving Permit (IDP). 

An IDP is not a license by itself, it is just a translation of your driving license details in a few foreign languages (needed in countries like Spain, Portugal etc which are primarily non-english speaking). So you will need both the Original Driving License as well as the IDP to drive in some countries.

A Driving License also works as an ID proof to get into a Pub (It so happens that they ask for confirmation whether I'm above 25 all the time)

Buy 2-3 padlocks

This is especially useful if you are planning to stay in hostels abroad. While some hostels have a key-card lock mechanism for the lockers, some do not have that and you will need to spend extra to  buy a padlock (could be anywhere between 3 Euros to 6 Euros depending on the country). So it may be wise to just carry a couple of them from India.

Carry your Passport and make sure details on your visa are correct

This is quite obvious but what I wish to highlight here is that you need to make sure that the visa is valid for the entire duration of your stay and possibly for a few days even after your planned return date (in case your flight gets cancelled or you miss the flight etc). You do not want to be stuck in a foreign country with an expired visa.

Carry a copy of your air ticket and preferably check-in online

Some airlines accept an e-ticket on your phone but it is safe to carry a photocopy of the ticket (both to and fro). Stow one copy away in the corner of your carry-on baggage and keep one in your hand while travelling.

Why should you check-in online? 

Checking-in online gives you the advantage of choosing your seat preference. I have noticed that almost everyone checks-in online especially for international flights. So if you want to be spoilt for choices in seating on the flight, make sure you check in as early as possible. If you check-in online, a copy of the confirmation would be sufficient.

Keep a scan/photograph of your most important documents on your phone

This is useful if you happen to lose your passport or wallet and some of your identity documents are in there (Driving License for example). These are the following you should ideally have a back up of (preferably on your phone and email/dropbox/google drive):

1. Passport (Front and Back pages)

2. Visa

3. Driving License

4. Air ticket

5. Booking confirmations for accommodations

6. Contact details of friends/family (if)

Keep details for immigration forms handy

When exiting India and entering another country, you may need to fill up immigration forms as per customs regulations. Avoid removing your passport multiple times during your journey and take your passport out only when absolutely necessary.

So type these out on a word document and print a copy before you leave. You could simply use this to fill out any immigration form. You could also keep a copy on your phone.

1. Name on Passport

2. Date of Birth

3. Address on Passport

4. Passport Number

5. Validity dates (From ____ to _____ )
6. Place of issue

Pack a few sandwiches in a Ziploc

If it's a flight longer than 10-11 hours, you will most probably have a layover in a foreign country. The food in airports are ridiculously expensive, more so abroad, and you wouldn't want to spend your life savings eating a barely enough meal at the airport in Dubai or Paris .

It's good to pack a couple of sandwiches plus an apple which will prevent your tummy from making noises and disturbing your fellow travellers waiting with you at the airport. 

These are what I do every time I travel, so if you do/did anything different, feel free to share.

Plastic Bath Mug

Especially for Indians who hate using toilet paper (for obvious reasons). Take a small one which fits in your bag. I believe in the saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", so I never carry this but if you are particular about washing your ass well, by all means, go ahead and carry your own personal plastic bath mug :)


(Image credits Pixabay)

• Gaurav Rajaram is a photographer from Bangalore who is passionate about travelling, teaching and writing. 

He teaches Accounting and Direct Tax to students pursuing the Chartered Accountancy (CA) Course. You can read more about him and what he does for a living here