Travel Safety Checklist: Everything You Need Before You Go

Most travel safety problems are predictable. Not "act of God" predictable — "you should have done this two weeks ago" predictable. This checklist covers the things US travelers forget until it's too late.

Six weeks before you go

1. Check the advisory — but don't overreact. Go to travel.state.gov, find your destination, read the country information page and the current advisory. Level 1 and 2 are normal. Level 3 means "think hard about whether this trip is essential." Level 4 means "don't go." If your destination is L1 or L2, the question isn't whether to go — it's how to go well.

2. Get the right visa and check passport validity. Your passport needs at least 6 months validity past your return date for most countries. Check entry requirements on the official embassy site, not a third-party visa service. Many countries now require e-visas (Kenya, India, Australia) — apply at least 4 weeks ahead.

3. Buy travel insurance. This is the one item travelers most often skip. Good travel insurance covers medical evacuation (a medevac from Southeast Asia can cost $200,000), trip cancellation, lost luggage, and emergency medical. For 2026, look for policies with at least $100,000 medical coverage and explicit evacuation coverage. World Nomads, SafetyWing, and Allianz are the standard options.

4. Make two copies of your passport and itinerary. One on your phone, one physical copy in your luggage, one in your email. If your passport is lost or stolen, having a copy at the embassy cuts replacement time from days to hours.

5. Register with STEP. The State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. Free, takes 5 minutes, and the embassy can contact you in an emergency (natural disaster, civil unrest, family emergency back home). Especially important if you're traveling to a country with L3 or L4 in adjacent regions.

6. Get the right vaccines and medications. CDC's traveler health page is the source of truth. Most countries don't require anything for US travelers, but recommended vaccines include Hepatitis A and Typhoid for most of Asia and Africa. Talk to a travel medicine clinic 6 weeks before you go. Some vaccines (Japanese encephalitis, rabies) need multiple doses.

7. Set up a no-data-needed phone plan. For most destinations, you can either:

• Get a local SIM at the airport (cheapest, but you need an unlocked phone)
• Add an international day pass to your US plan (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile all offer these)
• Get an eSIM via Airalo or Holafly (good for 7-30 day trips, activates instantly)

Have at least one communication option that works on landing.

The week before

8. Tell your bank you're traveling. Otherwise, the first foreign charge may trigger a fraud block. Most bank apps have a "travel notice" feature. Do it.

9. Notify your credit card company too. Same issue, same fix.

10. Get small bills in the destination currency. $100-200 in local currency for arrival. ATMs at the destination airport are usually the best rate, but you want enough cash for the taxi, the first meal, and a tip on arrival.

11. Download offline maps. Google Maps and Maps.me both support offline downloads. Download the country, the city, and any specific regions you're visiting. Maps work without data and with airplane mode.

12. Download the key apps for the destination.

• Grab or Gojek for Southeast Asia
• Careem or Bolt for Middle East and North Africa
• WhatsApp (universal)
• Google Translate (download the language pack)
• The country's official emergency app (Safety Tips for Japan, MyGuichet for Luxembourg, etc.)

The day of travel

13. Email your itinerary to a friend or family member. Include: where you're staying, your flight info, and a check-in schedule. The "I'll text you when I land" protocol is great — but a written itinerary with your hotel address and phone number is the fallback if your phone is dead or stolen.

14. Photograph everything important. Passport, visa, credit cards, driver's license, insurance card. One photo roll, organized. The day you lose your wallet is not the day you want to start looking up phone numbers.

15. Charge everything to 100%. Phone, power bank, headphones, e-reader. Bring a multi-port charger. The power bank is your backup phone battery in the airport.

The first 24 hours on the ground

16. Get a local SIM or activate your eSIM at the airport. Don't rely on airport WiFi for the rest of the trip. You'll want a working phone number in case the hotel booking has issues, the airport taxi is a scam, or you get separated from your group.

17. Confirm your hotel booking in person. Show the booking email to the front desk. Discrepancies (wrong dates, no room) need to be flagged immediately, not 2 AM after a long flight.

18. Walk around your neighborhood for 30 minutes. Get oriented. Find the nearest convenience store, ATM, pharmacy, and restaurant. Note the address of the nearest hospital. Take a screenshot of the local emergency number.

19. Save key local numbers in your phone.

• Local emergency number (112 in most of EU, 911 in Americas, varies in Asia)
• US Embassy or Consulate in country
• Your hotel's front desk
• Your travel insurance hotline
• A local taxi company or rideshare app

20. Check in with someone at home. "I landed, I'm at the hotel, the address is X." A 30-second text that becomes critical if something goes wrong.

On the ground

The 20 items above cover the predictable stuff. The unpredictable — earthquakes, civil unrest, medical emergencies, lost passports — is where the 6 weeks of prep pays off. You have insurance, you have the embassy number, you have an offline map, you have a copy of your passport. Most problems become manageable when the foundation is set.

Print this checklist, screenshot it, whatever works. Travel safe.