1 - The passport
The passport is the essential document to travel outside Europe. It is important to keep your passport up to date and, if necessary, to start the renewal process as soon as possible, because the delays can be quite long. Often, countries require that your passport be valid for another 6 months after your return date, so you should not only rely on the expiry date of your passport, but also on the requirements of the country and have it renewed as soon as possible to avoid any unpleasant surprises. In addition to the passport, depending on the country of destination, it may be necessary to apply for a visa, or a travel authorization, such as the Esta for the United States, or the AVE for Canada.
2 - Vaccines
Some destinations require specific vaccines, such as yellow fever. These vaccines are not easy to obtain, as you often have to make an appointment in centers that only deliver this vaccine a few hours a week. Depending on the number of applicants, delays can quickly become problematic, as they often take months. It is therefore advisable to consult the requirements of the countries concerned. Moreover, this list of vaccines may evolve, as with the Covid for example, whose vaccine has now become a necessity for travel to a large number of destinations.
3 - The International Driving Permit
If you plan to drive in the country, chances are you will need an International Driving Permit in addition to your national driver's license. This permit, which is in fact a translation of your license into other languages, is valid for a variable amount of time depending on the country of destination. Here again, the process can be lengthy and it is best to make arrangements in advance.
4 - Means of payment
Finally, it is important to check with your bank that your cards are unlocked for use in the destination country. In addition, some banks have partnerships with banks located in other countries, it is always interesting to know them, it could save you bank fees and facilitate withdrawals.
I hope these tips will help you prepare your trip properly, they are even more useful when a last minute offer to fill a stay comes up, it would be a shame to have to refuse it because of one of these missing formalities.
