The night before you travel is one of the most stressful times for you. You’ve got to be sure you’ve packed everything you need – apart from any essentials you might be using right up until the moment you get your train or taxi to the airport. You need to be sure you have all the travel documents you need from something as simple as plane tickets and passports to more complicated items like visas or the appropriate visa waver.
Today we’re taking a look at your preparations to travel so you can rest assured everything is ready on your final night before you set off!
Carry On Carefully
If you’re packing light and planning to carry all your luggage with you rather than checking a case into the hold, double and triple check the airline’s requirements before you head to the airport. Even if you’re aware of most common sense restrictions, you could still be surprised by something on the day, and left with no option but to leave something vital behind at security!
If you’re a keen personal groomer, double check your kit, and make sure you have, for example, an air safe mens’ manicure set, rather than showing up to the airport expecting to take cuticle scissors onto a flight!
Tick Off Essentials
Long before your flight, before you’re prey to anxiety and irrationality of that last night, make a checklist of the essential things you need. Not clothes or toothpaste – if you a leave a t shirt behind, you can replace it at the airport – but things that genuinely cannot leave the ground without: phone, passport, ticket.
Write the list out, pin it to the front door and make sure every box is checked before you leave the house. It might be unsubtle but it’s better than getting to the airport and realising your passport is on your kitchen table.
Check Ahead
Talk to friends and google if you have to, to get some idea of what going through security will be like. Different countries handle it differently and if you’ve only travelled from the UK within the EU, you could be in for a bit of culture shock.
Security routines in American airports tend to be more thorough than in some other countries, and knowing this in advance can be helpful, and avoid surprises. Similarly, being ready to cross the border with documents showing you’re crossing legitimately and supporting the stated length of your stay (booked tickets for a return flight and hotel bookings for example!) help to keep delays to a minimum.
