We all love to travel: What to expect when you arrive.
For most of us travel to foreign countries is a long awaited and exciting event. Most of us try to get away for a vacation at least once a year and going overseas feels like an escape from our daily lives.
It is and escape, however, there are always things that turn up on arrival at new places that can be confusing and frustrating.
Let’s find out how we can take the pain out of these situations with things we should do and things we should not.
Be Prepared
Even if you have visited a place before, gone through and overseas airport before, checked into the same hotel or rented a vehicle from the same agency before, it always pays to check that everything your remember from before is still the same now.
Since COVID, many things have changed dramatically when travelling. Some countries are more complicated because of this than others. Whilst going through the airport in your home country is straightforward, remember you can communicate more easily at home.
Before your leave, check what you can and cannot take on the airplane and what you can and cannot take through customs at the other end.
Check that you have the right type of visas and make sure you do this at least 1 month before you are due to leave. Visas are not always automatic, and, of course, many countries now how electronic visas and machines that check your passport rather than an immigration official. These machines expect you to have filled in a landing form before your go through Immigration and usually there are electronic and filled in on computer.
The landing form is the one that catches me every time. I end up having to find a machine in the immigration area where I can fill in the form, work out how it is done, fill it in correctly and then somehow send it to the Immigration machine with all of this being in complicated English and little cartoon pictures that mean absolutely nothing. Gone are the days when you get cards to fill in on the plane. Check out the airports you are traveling to and look for the online forms to fill in before you leave.
Immigration
Now a lot of places have machine that take your passport and scan it and everything is automatic. There are usually officers patrolling these machine for people that get into trouble trying to feed the machine. Make sure your passport is one of the latest ones with biometric chip to get your through. If not you need to go to the immigration desk where an imposing officer will treat you with suspicion and generally make you uncomfortable for making him actually do something.
Be calm, wait your turn, take your time. Follow the pictures on the machines or simply ask the patrolling officer for her.
Everything will be in English and the local language. Some airports have other languages but this is where our “Travel Talk Classes” can prepare you.
Transport
Where possible I advise booking a hotel transfer if you are going to stay in a hotel. This way you can beat the Taxi hawkers and also beat the queues at the taxi booking stands.
Depending on where you go, organising transfers to your accommodation can be problematic and stressful. Beware of the Taxi hawkers as they are usually disreputable. Walk straight past them and do not acknowledge they are there, no matter how insistent they are.
Organise a taxi at the taxi counter outside the arrival gates as they are local and tended to be cheaper than the taxi booking kiosks inside the arrival areas.
Many airports have shuttle busses and a lot of airports have trains and undergrounds. I pays to check out the services at your arrival airport before you leave to be sure you are prepared. Getting directions to the places and buying tickets will all be in English so basic knowledge is required and the address of where your are going.
Checking In
Depending on the type of accommodation this is straightforward. You will need to show your passport and a credit card will be needed. Just show your reservation slip and let them ask the questions.
If you are using AirBnB you will have been given instruction. Follow those exactly to get into your accommodation.
Many of you will opt for budget villas and small resorts. Usually these places can arrange a pick up at the airport – as a cost – but make sure your have the exact address if you are getting a taxi of bus.
You will need English in it’s basic form for al of this. So make sure you can get around with some simple phrases.
Emergencies
We never want to consider this but accidents can happen. Make sure you have the contact details of your Embassy or Consulate readily available. You can contact them if you find yourself in trouble,
Make absolutely sure you have Travel Insurance. Medical fees in most countries you visit will be extremely high if you do not have insurance. Keep your insurance details on you at all times. Make sure you have a list of clinics and emergencies facilities with your insurance details. If you are in an accident usually the authorities will sort this out with you.
You may find that the local facilities will not accept your insurance card. They will however issue you a detail receipt that will be redeemable from your insurance cover policy. You will need to have enough cash or credit to cover the treatment so be aware of this. Or buy Local travel insurance at the airport when you arrive. Make sure the coverage is sufficient.
English
You will need at least a basic or intermediate level of English to get through all of this without frustration or stress. We cover all of this and more in our travel classes which you are welcome to join.
Happy landings.
