Preparing for International Travel: What Should You Do?

International travel is a modern convenience, and an inextricable part of our lives – whether for holiday travel with family and friends, or professional travel on behalf of a business. After two years of restrictions made international travel largely impossible from the UK, the summer of 2022 is the first summer free from international flight restrictions.

If you are set to travel abroad this summer or in the coming months, it stands to reason that the process may feel new again to you. Two years of no travel can make one feel rusty when it comes to planning an international trip. With this in mind, what steps should you be taking to prepare?

The first step to take, before beginning to plan an international trip, is to check that your passport is valid. Passport validity in the UK centres largely around expiration. Passports have an expiry date, which is typically ten years from the date of issue. If your passport is expired, you will not be able to travel before replacing it. Or, if you live elsewhere, in America for instance, and need to know how to Renew Your British Passport in USA, you need to do this ahead of your travel date to ensure you have the documents ready in time. 

But validity is a little more complicated than the mere expiry date. Different countries have different expectations for your passport, with some expecting it to remain valid for up to three months after the end of your trip. As a result, if your passport in date but soon to expire, you may have trouble completing your travel plans. Obtaining a replacement passport is a slow process, taking up to 10 weeks to clear. As such, you should check your passport as early as possible.

Having ensured the validity of your passport, you should check if your proposed destination country requires a visa. Some countries, the USA included, have strict controls on who can enter the country, and grant authorisation through the issuing of a visa. Without a visa, you may not be allowed entry.

After ascertaining whether or not you need a visa, you can apply for one via the foreign embassy or application centre of the country in question. Visas can also take time to organise, so this should be done at your earliest convenience.

Travel can be prohibitively expensive, especially when it comes to flights to farther-flung countries and locations. But there are ways in which cost can be mitigated. You can search for deals with holiday bookers or using other means to cut costs.

Airlines will commonly offer discounts to travellers. Some of these discounts are evergreen; if you are a key worker for the NHS and intending to travel with TUI, you may be able to take advantage of the TUI NHS discount. Otherwise, platforms like Skyscanner enable you to search out significantly cheaper flights, albeit at shorter notice.