What’s more interesting than a work-free day? A mini-vacation, a staycation or a quick travel to your favourite city to spend an entire week experiencing the food, culture and people.
It sounds exciting until you book your ticket and are left with the daunting task of packing or preparing for your trip.
This article is a fast travel guide with all the details you need to know from; clothing, must-have gadgets and other super important information before booking the next flight to anywhere.
The quick travel checklist
Have you ever made a list before going grocery shopping? Great! You need a similar list for your trip. A list keeps everything organized, helps you track your progress and prevents the big mistake of forgetting essentials like your medication.
Benefits: Checklists are not only for “super-organized people”, think of them as the first step to a fun and chaos-free trip.
- Where are you going?
Spontaneity is fun and exciting but ignorance can be humiliating. Every place has a culture, a way of life, and acceptable and unacceptable practices but you won’t know this if you don’t Google or ask Alexa about the place you’re going to.
Scrap that! TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram have dedicated travel creators who dedicate their entire channel to travelling and recommending places to try out. Visit their pages, learn about the food and culture, and get a virtual tour before the actual tour.
P.S. Some creators can be sponsored to talk about certain places so it’s better to fact-check before deciding on social media.
If you’re confused about what to research, you should start with this list;
- Clothing
Some countries maintain a modest dressing culture and if your style is more revealing, you will get a backlash. You don’t want to become a trending TikTok video so research about the country’s culture and abide by it.
Others include;
- Food
- Lodging prices
- Weather
- Places to visit
- Reception to tourists
- Cultural practices
If you’re going to a country that speaks a local dialect, search for tour guides and interpreters. You can also learn common phrases to exchange pleasantries and ask for directions.
2. What is your fast travel budget like?
Team all-in or nothing! Read this.
Travelling is fun and spending a lot of money on what you love is worth experiencing, however, a budget makes your travel experience better.
Contrary to popular opinion, a quick travel budget is not for broke people. Budgeting before your trip saves you the stress of calculating every penny or wondering if you got robbed.
Sometimes, a country may be in an inflationary period and prices of things will be 3x -5x higher than usual. If you don’t know this, you might struggle a bit or cut your trip short because your travel finances are red.
Dear quick traveler, before leaving home budget for the following;
- Accommodation
- Food
- Recreation and sightseeing
- Tour guide(if applicable)
- Transportation
- Cell phone plans
- Miscellaneous expenses
Tip 1: If the country you are visiting has a higher currency conversion rate, it’s best to make your budget according to the country’s currency.
Tip 2: Inflate your prices, if your budget for food is 350 add an extra 50 for unforeseen expenses.
3. Where will you stay and when will your flight leave?
It sounds like the last thing to think about but that couldn’t be much farther from the truth. Just like grocery shopping and clothes have coupons, you can also pay less for plane tickets.
In this Money article featuring a study from Google, it shows that flights are cheaper on weekdays(Monday-Friday) than weekends(Friday- Sunday). This easy tip would save you some money.
If you always ask this question:
Question: It’s a quick trip can’t I book a hotel when I arrive”? There’s finally a perfect answer for you.
Answer: No you can’t, what if there’s a local festival and all hotels are booked out? Who is going to be stranded on their trip?
Planning your hotel or lodging ahead of your vacation sounds stressful but in reality it saves you time, energy and stress in the future. Before your trip, spend a day looking through different options, read customer’s reviews on Airbnb or hotels. You can also apply Reader’s digest tip by booking your hotel at night to save money.
4. Your travel documents are important
Imagine arriving at your travel location but you are sent back because you forgot a document?
To avoid this, ensure you have these documents in print and on your phone.
- Passport
- Driver’s license
- Plane ticket
- Insurance documents
- Other required documents…
5. Know what to do incase of an emergency
Your safety and protection is your priority. Researching every place you visit and moving around with a tour guide is a good step but it’s also important to set up emergency contacts.
If you’re an Australian citizen, read the Australian government’s International travelers’ safety tips and what they can do to help in case of a crisis.
6. Stay online and connected
The first thing you want to do is get a sim card or switch to an international phone plan. Unless you’re planning a trip to a monastery or a Yoga retreat with a strict “no-phone policy”, you need to communicate with your community.
Also, if you’re travelling to a developing country without constant electricity, a fully charged power bank is a Must-Have set.
7. Clothing and other essentials for a quick travel
What is a quick trip without quick-dry clothing and towels?
If you’re travelling light you may not have the luxury of space to pack 5-7 towels. What you can do is invest in a quick-dry towel and that’s all you need.
According to an experiment carried out by Good Housekeeping institute Textile labs, quick-dry towels are different from the usual towels because of the material used, the looping, micro-fibers and weight. You can easily find an affordable one from Amazon. The next fast drying essential you need are quick dry underwears. NewYork times Wirecutter reviewed 37 underwear for 6 years and they have ranked the fastest drying hand-washable underwear for men and women.
Quick-dry essentials are not the only clothing you need, you have to choose clothing to suit different weather conditions.
- Scarves
- Winter Jackets
- Sweaters / hoodies
- Beach wears
- Jeans, shorts, leggings(if you plan to hit hit the gym or go for morning runs)
- Dresses (short and long depending on the modesty culture of the country)
- Boots, trainers, slippers and dress shoes
If you’re travelling with kids, ensure you pay twice as much attention to their clothing choices.
8. Don’t experience the “declined card” embarrassment
Inform your bank of your travel plans before you leave. While this is not a requirement for all banks, some live by this policy. To avoid a declined card situation, give your bank a heads up.
9. Heard of a travel insurance policy?
If you have ever missed a flight due to an emergency, lost your luggage or incurred a financial loss on a trip, travel insurance was created to solve these problems.
Travel insurance covers financial losses incurred during a trip, it can be domestic or international and just like any other insurance plan it has certain benefits.
As you plan your quick-dry, it won’t hurt to cover up any potential loss with a travel insurance plan.
Final thoughts
A good checklist would make the strenuous process of preparing for a quick trip super easy. About to book the next available flight to your desired destination? Quickly read through this checklist to ensure you have everything necessary for the best trip yet.
