💳 Money & payments
- Two payment methods packed: main card + backup card (different network)
- Cash for the first 48 hours — small notes, local currency or USD/EUR
- Bank notified of travel (or travel mode switched on in the app)
- Cards photographed and stored securely (cloud vault, never the camera roll)
- Local wallet apps installed if needed — Alipay, UPI, M-Pesa, GCash
- Daily ATM/pos limits checked and raised if needed
📶 Connectivity (eSIM)
- eSIM purchased and installed BEFORE departure day
- Data plan sized for the trip (1 GB ≈ a week of maps + chat)
- Home SIM data-roaming switched OFF (bill-shock insurance)
- Local emergency numbers saved in the phone
🛂 Documents
- Passport valid 6+ months beyond return date
- Visa / eTA approved and screenshot as PDF
- Proof of onward ticket — the #1 reason travelers get denied boarding
- Accommodation confirmation for the first night
- Travel-insurance certificate downloaded
- Printed copies of passport + visa in a second bag
✅ Final 24 hours
- Online check-in done, boarding pass saved offline
- Seat, terminal and gate re-verified the evening before
- Power bank charged (in hand luggage, never checked)
- House sit, plants, mail — handled
One box you can't tick yourself
Airlines and border officers increasingly demand proof you're leaving. A verifiable onward ticket in your inbox in 60 seconds solves it — $7, accepted by every airline that asks.
Get your onward ticket →