Ultimate Travel Essentials: 3 things you can’t forget for your next trip

We know it can be stressful before that trip you have been anxiously waiting for. Packing bags and checklists… Guess what? You’ll probably forget something like we always do! But you know what? It’s gonna be OK!

After years of traveling, we plan close to ZERO before our trips. We love spontaneous travel, and almost everything we need (or we think we need) can be solved during the trip.

If you are looking for how many t-shirts do you need or what type of accommodation to choose in your trip, this article is not for you!

In this article, we share the ultimate travel essentials. The only 3 things you really can’t forget to prepare before traveling regarding Health, Money, and Documentation.

1 – Health: ALWAYS in first place

Read carefully…

Your health is obviously the most important and you must do everything to protect it. ALWAYS! Unless you are a cat and you have 7 lives. Let’s assume this is not your case…

Every trip requires different precautions, it depends on many things! Visit CDC (CDC- Center for Disease Control and Protection), a health protection organization, and search for vaccines and medical advice for the countries you are visiting.

Something we seriously recommend you to do, regardless of where you’re going, is GET A TRAVEL INSURANCE. We never cared about this, but after going to the hospital almost 15 times during 2 years, it’s OBVIOUS for us! And it should be for you too!

Now seriously… Things may not go as planned and, in case of an emergency, the last thing you want to be worried about is how to get a good treatment that doesn’t explode your wallet. Plus it gives you extra confidence and security to enjoy your adventures and your travels!

Don’t risk and get travel insurance that meets your needs! Our best recommendation is Heymondo: Specially made for travelers, affordable plans, high medical and equipment coverages, no excess (covers from the first €), and without payments upfront. We love it!

>> Get a 5% discount on any plan for your next trip <<

Read also: Travel Insurance: Everything you need to know

2 – Money: Use it globally without taxes

This one radically changed our travels and we bet it will change yours too! Basically, we now use the Revolut card and we love it! Let us explain why…

With the Revolut card, you can make limitless payments in 150 different currencies and get up to 200€ (free plan) in local money from ATMs without taxes and at the official rate! You manage everything from a mobile App where you can top up your card in seconds. Super safe, and easy to send or request money! It’s A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. and saved us so much money!

>> Get your FREE Card here for the FREE plan <<

Before starting to travel in Asia we had no idea it was going to be so expensive to get our money. ATMs were crazy expensive as we were taxed by both banks (ours and the local) and the conversion rate was also far from the official. We had to ask our parents to send us money every month by MoneyGram or Western Union but still, we ended up paying like 5€ for each 100€ we got plus all the time involved. Not cool…

We needed a better solution! So we did some research and we found Revolut card. We tried it and we have been using it ever since. It’s perfect and has saved us so much money! If you need more than 200€/month there are also other plans with other perks!

Revolut is only available for European Union citizens. If this is not your case, take a look in Transferwise.

3 – Documentation: You have to be legal!

This can seem obvious, but every day there are people with blocked entries all over the world due to unregulated documentation!

As a European Union citizen you only need a valid national ID card to travel inside the Schengen Area. But, for the rest of the world, you need a valid Passport (some countries may even require a 6 months validity after your return date).

Last but not least, some countries require an entry VISA. Some allow the VISA to be made on arrival but others require a valid VISA in advance.

Anyway, we advise you to do proper research before flying to a country. There’s for sure information online for you.

Extra tip: keep a copy of every important document in your email or on a cloud!

So, that’s pretty much it! If you are traveling anywhere soon just make sure you have your health covered, you are legal to go wherever you’re going and you can get local cash without paying crazy taxes!

Anything else, we know you’ll be able to solve on the road! Ah, and one extra thing… Do us and yourself a favor and don’t forget to relax, have fun, and enjoy your travels!

With love,
Matilde & Miguel