If your work doesn’t demand you to pack your things up and catch the next flight to another city, country, or continent, then your personal life might. After all, there’s nothing better than traveling around the world when you don’t have to!
So what do you pack when you plan a business trip or a personal vacation? You’ll pack clothes, toiletries, your technology and other personal belongings, like you have always done. But once you hit 50 and beyond you may want to consider these things to make your travel worry free for you and the people you may be leaving at home.
Travel Insurance – Essential for International Travel
When you’re traveling, it’s time to call your health insurance company and ask what kind of coverage they can give you for international travel. If you can’t be covered in the country you’re visiting, then you should buy a travel medical insurance policy. Make sure the policy covers emergency evacuation and trip interruptions. Various credit cards provide this coverage for your convenience.
Prescription Medicine
Make a simple calculation of how much medicine you will need on your trip and make sure you carry that quantity.
Don’t depend on buying your medicines from wherever you’re going. In fact, carry a few extra, in case you have to extend your trip. If you have any allergies, then it’s best if you to pack some antihistamine. If you have a chronic joint or muscular pain then don’t forget to pack the knee or elbow braces that you may keep somewhere you normally wouldn’t look when packing your bag.
Extra Eyewear
This is a must I can tell you because I’ve experienced this myself. Carrying an extra pair of contacts, specs, and even sunglasses (especially if you use the powered ones) is the wisest decision you can make. Maybe you’re vacationing on a remote island or village and you lose or break the only pair you had, you can only imagine the kind of nightmare your vacation will turn into. So, be sure to carry one or two with you and pack the others in another bag.
Contact List
You don’t know what kind of a situation you might run into the place you’re visiting. It’s best you have all the numbers of the people you would like to contact in an hour of need. Your contact list must not only include the numbers of your family members, relatives, and friends but also your lawyer and doctor as well. This is a great card to have in the glove compartment of your car as well.
Comfortable Shoes
Women aren’t the only ones who need to consider walking comfort when choosing travel shoes. If you’re traveling to Europe, you will enjoy long walks. If you’re traveling to a country that has amazing white sand beaches, then you would love to walk around those beaches barefoot. If you have a business trip in Manhattan I can warn you, that walking in the city is terrific, if you have the right footware.
In either case, you would hate yourself if the only thing you packed were joggers or dress shoes. Yes, you can buy comfortable shoes and slippers anywhere you go but it’s always best to have shoes that are already broken in and feel good.
As for the other stuff, like your contact list and travel insurance, you will have to remember those on your own. It’s a matter of experience. Once you get used to traveling with these things, you won’t plan another vacation or business trip without them. Check out this video for more tips on how to pack!
