You’ve booked the flight. You’re going abroad for the first time. Now what?
If you’re like most Americans traveling internationally for the first time, you’ll spend the next few weeks Googling “international travel checklist for first time travelers” and getting back the same vague advice: “Don’t forget your passport!” Thanks, very helpful.
Here’s the thing. Nobody forgets their passport. People forget to check that their passport is actually valid long enough. They forget to tell their bank they’re leaving the country. They land in a foreign airport at 11 PM with no local currency, no working phone, and no idea how to get to their hotel. That’s the stuff that ruins trips.
This is the checklist that covers all of it — the obvious and the not-so-obvious. If you’re putting together your first time international travel checklist, bookmark this page and work through it section by section. Whether you’re heading to the UK, France, or anywhere else, these steps apply.
And if you want a tool that handles a lot of this planning for you — destination research, itinerary building, on-the-ground guidance — Convierge does exactly that. But more on that later. Let’s get you packed.
This section isn’t glamorous, but it’s the one that will save you from a meltdown at the airport. Handle these things to do before traveling abroad weeks (ideally months) before your departure date.
Check your passport expiration date right now. Not tomorrow. Now. Many countries require your passport to be valid for at least six months beyond your planned return date. That means if your passport expires in seven months and your trip is two weeks long, you’re technically cutting it close — and some border agents won’t let you in.
Research visa requirements for every country you’re visiting. Americans get visa-free entry to most of Western Europe, but that’s changing. The EU’s ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) now requires Americans to apply online before traveling to Schengen Zone countries. It’s cheap and usually approved quickly, but you need to do it before you show up at the airport.
If this is your first trip to Europe, we’ve written a much more detailed guide on everything Americans need to know about traveling to Europe for the first time.
Buy travel insurance. This isn’t optional advice — it’s the single best $50-150 you’ll spend on your trip. A medical emergency abroad without insurance can cost tens of thousands of dollars. A canceled flight without coverage means you eat the cost.
Look for a policy that covers:
We’ll go deeper on the health insurance angle in the health section below.
Register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at step.state.gov. This is free, takes five minutes, and means the US Embassy in your destination country knows you’re there. If there’s a natural disaster, political unrest, or a family emergency back home, they can reach you. It also makes replacing a lost passport abroad significantly easier.
Call your bank and credit card companies to set travel notifications. If you skip this, there’s a decent chance your card gets frozen the first time you try to use it in London or Paris. Your bank sees a charge from a foreign country and assumes fraud.
This is where a lot of first-timers get tripped up. You remembered your phone charger. Great. Can you actually plug it in when you get there?
Buy the right power adapter for your destination. Different countries use different plug shapes and voltages. The UK uses Type G (those big three-pronged plugs). Most of continental Europe uses Type C or Type F. Australia, Japan, Brazil — all different.
We wrote a whole deep-dive on what power adapter you need for the UK, which also explains the difference between adapters and converters (spoiler: you probably don’t need a converter for modern electronics, but you absolutely need an adapter).
Our recommendation: Buy a universal travel adapter. Get one with multiple USB ports built in. One good universal adapter replaces the need to research plug types for every country. Brands like Ceptics and EPICKA make solid ones for $15-25.
Pro tip: Bring a small power strip or multi-port USB charger. Hotel rooms abroad often have exactly one outlet in a convenient location. One adapter plus a power strip means you can charge everything overnight.
This section is critical. Read it, do it, and do it before you leave your house. Not at the airport. Not on the plane. Before you leave.
Why? Because airport wifi is unreliable, airplane wifi is expensive and slow, and roaming data charges can hit you like a freight train if you haven’t set up an international plan. Download everything you need while you’re still on your home wifi.
Google Maps offline areas: Open Google Maps, search for your destination city, tap the city name, and select “Download offline map.” Do this for every city you’re visiting. Offline maps include street navigation, points of interest, and basic directions — even without cell service.
Convierge: If you want a single app that handles destination research, builds your itinerary, and gives you on-the-ground tips once you arrive, Convierge’s Dream Board and Itinerary features are built specifically for this. Download it and set up your trip before you leave so everything is ready when you land.
Your bank’s mobile app: Make sure it’s installed and you can log in. You’ll need it to check transactions, find ATMs, and verify that your travel notification is active.
A translation app: Google Translate lets you download language packs for offline use. Download the language pack for every country you’re visiting. The camera translation feature (point your phone at a menu or sign) is genuinely magical, and it works offline if you’ve downloaded the pack.
Your airline’s app: For mobile boarding passes, gate change notifications, and rebooking if something goes wrong.
Messaging apps your contacts use: WhatsApp is the default messaging app in most of the world outside the US. If you’re meeting anyone abroad — or want to message your hotel — you’ll need it. Download it and set it up before you go.
This is the section most people skip and the one that matters most if something goes wrong. Building a solid international travel checklist for first time travelers means confronting the boring-but-important medical stuff.
Check the CDC’s destination-specific health recommendations at wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel. Some countries recommend or require specific vaccinations. Even for Western Europe, make sure your routine vaccinations (Tdap, MMR, etc.) are current.
This varies wildly by country and catches a lot of Americans off guard. In most of Western Europe, tap water is perfectly safe (and often better quality than what comes out of your faucet at home). In other parts of the world, drinking tap water can land you in a hospital.
We’ve got a detailed breakdown of tap water safety across Europe that covers this country by country.
General rule: If you’re unsure, drink bottled water. It’s cheap almost everywhere and not worth the risk.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most US health insurance plans provide zero coverage outside the United States. Medicare? Nothing abroad. Your employer plan? Check the fine print, but probably nothing meaningful.
This is why travel insurance isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s essential. A broken ankle in Paris can easily cost $5,000-10,000 out of pocket without coverage. An emergency evacuation (medical flight home) can exceed $100,000.
When comparing travel insurance policies, prioritize:
You’ve done the big-picture planning. Now it’s the night before your flight, and you need a final sweep. Here’s what to pack for international travel in terms of last-minute prep — print this list and check it off.
This is the section that separates a smooth trip from a stressful one. These are the things that experienced travelers do automatically and first-timers learn the hard way.
Withdraw or exchange a small amount of local currency before you leave. $50-100 worth is plenty. When you land at 11 PM and the taxi doesn’t take cards (or the card machine is “broken”), you’ll be glad you have cash. Airport exchange rates are terrible, so get cash from your bank before you leave or use an ATM at the airport (ATMs give much better rates than exchange counters).
Figure out your phone situation before you board the plane. You have three options:
Whatever you choose, do not just land and turn on roaming without a plan. International roaming charges without a plan can hit $5-15 per megabyte. One hour of casual browsing could cost you $200.
Write down the generic (chemical) names of all your medications, not just the brand names. Brand names vary by country. What you call Tylenol is called Paracetamol almost everywhere else. Advil is Ibuprofen. Your prescription medication likely has a different brand name abroad too. If you need a refill or a pharmacist’s help, the generic name is universal.
Make a small card for your wallet with the following:
This card exists for the worst-case scenario: your phone is dead or gone, and you need help. It takes five minutes to make and could be the most important thing you pack.
Here it is, everything in one scannable list. This is your first time international travel checklist in its most portable form:
Documents:
Money:
Electronics:
Downloads:
Health:
Day Before:
That’s it. That’s everything. Work through this list and you’ll land in a foreign country more prepared than 90% of the Americans getting off that plane.
The first time traveling internationally is exciting, overwhelming, and a little terrifying. But the anxiety mostly comes from not knowing what you don’t know. Now you know. Go have an incredible trip.
And if you want help with the planning side — building your itinerary, researching destinations, getting real-time guidance once you’re on the ground — check out what Convierge can do for you. It’s built for exactly this moment.