So, you’ve booked yourself a little holiday. You’re all excited and can’t wait to go off on your adventure. But there are still so many things that need doing before you depart. In all the excitement it can be easy to forget about some of the essential items that need ticking off. Thing’s like transportation to and from the airport and travel insurance are just some of the things that you should make sure you organise well before you depart.
As a Melbourne coach hire company, we want to make sure you have everything together before you leave so you’re not rushing around the morning of. So, we’ve put together a checklist for you with 6 essentials you’ll need before getting on an aeroplane.
1. Passport
In the majority of cases, you’ll only need photo I.D when flying domestically, but if you’re heading outside of the country then you’ll definitely need a valid passport. A passport can take up to three weeks to be delivered so it’s best to sort this out as soon as you possibly can. You can opt for a five-year or ten-year passport – which cost $148 and $293 respectively for people aged 16 and over.
You will need passport photos taken, which are typically taken at a post-office as they must meet strict guidelines. If you don’t have a passport when going overseas, you won’t be going overseas, so make sure this is top of the list.
2. Travel insurance
Travel insurance can be bought for both domestic and international flights and can be quite important. You’re probably thinking that it’s a waste of time and money since the chance of something going wrong and you needing to claim on the insurance is quite small, but if something does go wrong then it’s better to have it than not. As well as insurance companies, you can also purchase travel insurance from airlines, so browse around to get the best price.
3. Foreign currency
If you’re travelling domestically then obviously, you’ll be fine with the cash and debit/credit cards you already have on you. But if you’re heading over the water then you’re going to want to do a small amount of research to make sure you’re as prepared as possible. Firstly, get yourself a travel money card that you can load up with the foreign currency you’ll be needing. Travel money cards can be purchased from a variety of different places including any bank – either in-branch or online – or at the post-office.
You’ll also be needing some cash, so go around to the many different currency exchange places and try and find yourself the best rate to change some cash over. Bringing some cash in your home currency with you isn’t a bad idea either, in case you need to exchange some cash whilst you’re there, it will most likely be cheaper than the banks’ exchange rate.
4. Toiletries
Now that you’ve got the important stuff out of the way you can start looking at the essentials that you can pack the night before. Make sure you’ve got your toiletries bag ready and that it’s sizeable enough to fit everything you’ll need in there.
If you’re travelling with just carry-on luggage, then make sure that any liquids, gels or aerosols you’re carrying are all in containers under 100ml in size and fit in a 1L sealable lock bag. This rule only applies for carry-on luggage and is irrelevant if your toiletries bag – or any other liquids, gels or aerosols you may have – are in your checked-in luggage.
5. Clothes
Know the environment you’re going to be in. Make sure you pack the appropriate clothing and have enough undergarments. If you’re planning on going shopping, then try not to overpack as you’ll ideally want some room for the extra stuff you’ll come back with. Make sure to keep an eye on how heavy your bag is as well so it doesn’t exceed your allocated weight limit.
6. Home
Do you live alone? Who’s going to collect your mail? If your house is going to be unoccupied for the duration of your trip, then it’s a good idea to get a good friend to check up on it every few days or so to make sure everything’s ok. If you have a pet, you might want to consider having a friend look after them depending on what sort it is.
Do you need to hire a coach in Melbourne?
Melbourne On The Move is a leading Melbourne coach hire company that specialises in coach hire for transportation to Melbourne airport. We offer a wide variety of coach hire services in Melbourne both private and shared.
If you’re looking at coach hire in Melbourne to take you to the airport for your next adventure, then please give us a call on 1300 55 86 86 or send us a message through our website.