Travel Tips – ARMED FORCES VETERAN OFFICERS ASSOCIATION CHENNAI (AFVOAC)

Useful References /
Travel Tips

TRAVEL TIPS

OFFERS FROM HOTELS

If you are travelling abroad for the first time or need a refresher – here’s a list of 26 tips you should keep in mind before your trip

GUEST & REST HOUSES

Travel – La Vie En Rose.PDF

Travel Documentation

1. VISA Lead Time. The lead time for grant of VISA may take anywhere between 10 days to 2 months. Please plan your travel keeping the VISA lead time in mind.

Security & Health

2. Consult your Doctor. Please make sure that you have the proper vaccinations and renewed all essential prescriptions.

Guest & Rest Houses.PDF

Travel – Pride Plaza – Aero City.PDF

3. Consult Travel & Medical Insurance Service Provider. Avail travel medical insurance. Check if your Medical Insurance covers all emergencies during your travel abroad. If not, look at supplemental medical insurance.

4. Take Copies of your Passport. This is important in case you lose your passport while travelling abroad. Leave a copy of your passport at home or with someone you trust. Also make an electronic copy you can store in your email account.

Travel – Sainik Rest Houses.PDF

5. Register with your Embassy. If there is an unexpected problem in the country of your travel, this will make it easier for your Government to contact you and get you to safety.

Money

6. Get Familiar with Monetary Conversion Rates before you Travel. Make sure you understand the prevailing currency conversion rate before you undertake travel.

7. Make sure Your Credit Card will work in the Country you are Travelling. European banks have switched almost completely to the more secure chip-and-PIN technology, and fewer businesses abroad are accepting the outdated magnetic-strip cards.

8. Conversion Rates are generally competitive in a Bank / ATM in the country you are visiting. Unless you have an emergency, avoid the currency conversion centers in the airport and the ones around the city.

9. Always keep Local Currency. Not every place takes credit cards, especially public utilities like trains or buses.

10. Inform your Credit Card Provider about your Travel. It is not unusual for your Credit Card Service Provider to think that a fraudulent transaction is happening if transactions keep occurring in a place which is not your usual place / country oof residence. This may lead to blocking of your Credit Card.

11. Check the Country’s Entrance/Exit Fees. Some countries require travelers to pay in order to enter or leave the country. These fees are not included in the price of your airline ticket, and can range from $20 to $250.

Local Research

12. Buy Tickets now for Places you know you want to visit or see. This will avoid your spending much time on long queues.

13. Buy Guidebooks and Download Travel Apps in Advance. Guidebooks usually include maps, keywords or phrases, and give you enough detail on certain sites that you won’t need to purchase the pamphlet at the venue. And download apps before you travel.

14. Research Events going on while you’re there. This will help you make sure that you’re not missing the best events going on in the city — fun things like festivals, ceremonies and natural events.

Electronics

15. Take a Charger Adapter. Countries have different size plugs and voltage. So if you want to use your variety of mobile devices, make sure you can charge them.

16. Check the Voltage of your Electronics. You may have general purpose adaptor but you may still not be able to use some of your devices because the voltage isn’t high enough for that country.

17. Get a Local SIM or Activate your Phone’s Global Capabilities. With the latest Smartphones supporting dual SIM Cards, the former is a much cheaper option.

Luggage & Packing

18. Pack an Extra Set of Clothes in your Carry-on Bag. In the event of loss / late arrival of luggage, you will have nothing else to wear, that too in an unfamiliar foreign country.

19. To Check a Bag or not to Check Bag. Each airline has its own set of guidelines as to how many bags can be checked or carried on for free. Make sure to look up what your airline’s rules are to avoid any incremental fees. And, if you are connecting during your trip, know the luggage rules/fees for those airlines as well — especially for regional or low-cost carriers.

20. Carry Snacks. Traveling abroad is fun, but eating in a foreign country can sometimes become a task. Carry small snacks that will tide you over until you find that perfect restaurant or food cart.

21. Do not Accept Parcels / Packs from Strangers. There are very stringent rules when contraband items are found in your possession. Do not ( R ) not accept any parcel / pack from a stranger to be carried by you during your travel.

22 Carrying Prohibited Items. Most countries do not allow passengers to bring in animal meat, plants, soil, seeds etc., into their country. Carrying them will also be a punishable offence. If you are planning to carry any of these, make sure you are fully aware of the visiting countries’ import rules. Strict rules apply for carrying of sample merchandize too.

23. Delicacies Need Special Packing. The delicacies that you carry for your near and dear ones, like pickles, spices, ‘gun powders’ of different flavours, would need be packed and sealed in special foil, lest you run the risk of being asked to to dump them in the Customs entry point.

Long Term International Travel

24. Clothing for Long Term Travel. Depending on the time of the year and the place you are travelling to, carry suitable warm/light clothing.

25. Standing Instructions to your Bankers. You may consider leaving standing instructions with your Bankers for handling regular payments.

26. Statutory Compliances. Please make suitable arrangements for statutory compliances such as filing IT Returns on due date, payment of municipal taxes, submission of Life Certificates to your PDA etc.

NOTE : The tips presented above have been gathered from the web as well as through personal experience of regular international travellers. AFVOA acknowledges that a majority of the tips have been taken from www.travelzoo.com.