One of the things that surprised me when I first started travelling for vacation was how many hours I spent getting organized beforehand. Beyond booking a flight and accommodations, figuring out your itinerary, and packing, there are a lot of less fun parts of prepping for travel. This checklist is your key to a worry-free trip:

Get travel health insurance

It’s incredible to me that any traveller would cross a border without purchasing health insurance first. Some insurance company stats indicate that up to half of Canadians do so. Although the chances of needing medical attention abroad are in most cases low, this is no time to test your luck. Travelling from Canada to the U.S. for the weekend? Take a spill and break an arm and you could be looking at a few thousand dollars in medical expenses. Even travel within Canada doesn’t mean you’re fully covered under provincial health care. Get travel insurance!

Get someone to check your place

Also related to insurance, all homeowners policies have limitations. In Canada, some policies state that water pipe damage is not covered if the home is unattended for more than four days. Part of your vacation planning should include getting a neighbour or friend to check in on your place while you’re away in exchange for a duty-free bottle of their choice.  As an added precaution in winter, you can also shut off your water supply.

Don’t forget to have your house checker water your plants! There is nothing sadder than coming back from vacation to discover your dieffenbachia next to death from dehydration.

Do you need vaccinations or meds?

You might need a longer lead time (up to 6 months) for this prep step. Some vaccines require multiple shots over a period of time. Some destinations require that you have certain vaccinations, while others are recommended. The Government of Canada website has info by country at your fingertips.

Email vacation auto response

Most of us do this for our email at work as part of the routine of prepping for vacation. But, if you are one of those “quaintly odd” people who plan not to check your personal email inbox while gazing at the Eiffel Tower or Taj Mahal, consider doing the same for that account as well. Even if I plan to check email every now and again, I set up a notice letting folks know I might be slower to respond. That’s just good etiquette in my books.

Give your travel details to someone close to you

It’s always a good idea to share your travel itinerary with someone in the event something goes down at home that you should know about. Also, if you go missing, the authorities will know where to start looking (just kidding, but you know, it could happen).

We’ve eliminated this item on our checklist by sharing our travel plans automatically with friends and family (flights, hotels, activities) via the Tripit app.

Clean out your Refrigerator

Even if you’re only gone a few weeks, that box of take-out at the back of your fridge will not be pretty by the time you come back. A carton of milk? Forget about it. Avoid a smelly surprise and clean out the perishables the day before you leave.

Confession: I have a compulsion to completely clean my house, empty every garbage, and do all laundry before any length of travel. When I walk through that front door after vacation, I want my place to look and feel as good as the hotel room did when I first walked in. It makes coming back just a little bit easier.

Put your house keys in a safe, memorable place

There have been a few times I’ve returned from a trip only to be standing at my front door in a panic because I can’t find my keys. In my haste to get out the door, in a cab, and on vacation, I’ve forgotten where I stashed them. Bad. Very bad. Now, I have a standard place in my carry-on luggage that I always put them. Note I said “carry-on” luggage. Don’t ever put your house keys in checked luggage. What will you do if the airline loses your bag?

No longer required – Notifying your credit card company

Prior to 2015, it was a good idea to notify your credit card issuer of your travel plans to prevent false fraud detection and cancellation. Most banks have phased this practice out because of better fraud detection techniques and card technology that improves security. That’s one less item on your pre-travel checklist!

Is there an essential pre-trip task that’s a must for you that I missed?

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