With most of us on extended travel hiatuses, we are probably quite excited and enthusiastic about an eventual return to travel. It’s hard to imagine that almost 18 months has already gone by, and it seems we may have to cope with pandemic related rules for a long time to come.
This month’s travel tip is a simple one. Take an inventory of your documents and travel essentials. Like many frequent travelers, we’ve probably become a little rusty with our travel preparations and planning. What used to be second nature and muscle memory have faded from lack of use!
The usual bag of travel-ready items may have been raided during the pandemic. And if you’re like us, you may have gained some pandemic weight and may want to check that you still fit into those travel clothes in your travel bag! My husband once tried on a suit the weekend before a big conference only to find that he needed an emergency tailor on a Sunday!
Not sure what to pack, check out our Packing List
Are your essential travel documents up to date?
Most importantly, make sure to dust off those old passports, travel insurance policies and ID cards to ensure they are not expiring (or have not expired already!). For drivers’ licenses, fortunately the TSA has extended its REAL ID enforcement date by 19 months, from October 1, 2021, to May 3, 2023. (For those that don’t have that yellow hologram star on their drivers’ licenses).
Keep in mind that with the pandemic, many agencies have a huge backlog and renewing documents may take longer than usual. Most countries demand at least 6 months of validity remaining on a passport for entry and no, an expired passport is not a valid form of identification and cannot be used for travel.
Related Post: Know Your Entry, Visa, Health, and Transit Requirements
These days, you’ll also have to supplement your travel kit with a few more new essentials. Aside from extra sanitizer and masks, covid antigen self-testing kits can also be added for peace of mind. We’ve used the Binax Now ones from Abbott labs. However, these can’t be used to reenter the US, for that you need the Covid-19 Ag card home test.
Be sure to keep extra copies of documents and your vaccination card! If you don’t have a vaccine card, you just have to go get vaccinated and you’ll get one!
More than ever, travel insurance is a must for any trip. Make sure to read the fine print as to what is covered (many exclude pandemics), and check which countries are included.
See our post: 6 Types of Travel Insurance for Peace of Mind on Your Next Trip
For sure it’s a little discouraging with the cases rising and what seem to be an ever-changing set of rules. Hopefully things will smooth out and those of us that are vaccinated can travel taking precautions to more and more places. Take this time to double check all those travel essentials so that when the opportunity arises you will be ready to go.