If you need to,
place your mail delivery on hold.
In some cases, you can do this on-line
at
USPS,
or compete a card at your local post
office stating it's a temporary hold
with beginning and end dates. You
may also have a neighbor collect your
mail every day.
Newspapers
If you have
newspaper delivery, either place a hold
on the delivery or have a neighbor
collect your paper every day.
Alarm
Don't forget to set
your house alarm and notify others of
the security code if necessary.
Empty
Refrigerator
Remove and discard
any food that may spoil during your
trip.
Trash
Empty trash from
inside the house to outside containers
and have as much as possible of your
trash collected prior to
your trip.
Garage Door
A good security
precaution is to unplug your garage door
when you leave so that it is not
possible to open electronically. Also remove the remote opener from your car and leave it at home, inside your house.
Laundry
Try to do all your
laundry prior to departure as you will
have additional laundry when you return.
Check
Doors/Windows
Check all your house
doors and winds to be sure they are
securely locked.
Turn On/Off Lights,
Set Timers
Makes sure your
lights are turned on or off whatever the
case may be. If you will be using
light timers, be sure they are set.
Activate Video
Surveillance
If you have a web
enabled video surveillance system, be
sure it's activated and configured to
notify you if necessary via email/app
notifications.
Unplug Devices
Unplug devices in
your house such as your computer,
toaster and other items.
Plants
Water your plants
prior to leaving and if necessary
arrange for someone to water them while
you are away.
Adjust Thermostat
Adjust your
thermostat to a reasonable temperature
so you are not excessively heating and
cooling your house while you are away.
Adjust Blinds
Adjust your blinds
appropriately to be open, closed or
partial.
Turn off Water
Shut off the main
water valve
coming into your house to avoid possible water
leaks that could occur. It may be possible to shut off the water to the house but leave the water to your sprinkler system if necessary.
Turn off Gas
Fireplace
If you have a gas
fireplace, you may want to consider
turning off the main value as you
probably would during the summer months
when it's not in use.
Friends & Neighbors
Ride
to/from Airport
If necessary,
arrange your transportation to/from the
airport.
Emergency Contact
Make sure all the
appropriate people have your contact
information and possibly a copy of your
itinerary.
Email Auto
Reply
If you want people
to know you are away, set your email
auto responder.
Public Trip
Profile
Share your
eTripCafe Public Trip Profile
with friends & family
Phones
International Mobile Phone Plan
You may need to
contact
your service provider to activate or verify your international mobile phone plan.
Make sure you know
how to dial other countries or your home
country when traveling internationally.
Phone Connectivity
to Google Photos
Review uploading
photos from your camera to your phone
with auto-update to
Google Photos.
Miscellaneous
Local Cash
Before your
departure day, obtain any cash you may
need prior to your departure.
Notify Bank of
Foreign Bank Card Use
You may need to
contact
your credit card companies ahead of time
letting them know you will
be using them internationally to avoid
any usage issues or holds on suspected
transactions that are noticed
internationally.
Gas in Car
Gas up your car
prior to your departure. It's one
less thing to worry about should you be
running late on departure day.
Bills
To avoid late fees,
pay bills that may be late if you wait
to pay them when you return from your
trip.
Fill Prescriptions
If you will be bring
prescription medications with you, be
sure you have enough to make it through
your entire trip. For certain
types of medications, you may need to
provide documentation proving you are
legally allowed to posses them.
Medical Records
It may be necessary
in some cases to bring copies of medical
records as proof of vaccinations or
other reasons
Foreign Currency
Values
Know the value of
the foreign currency you will be using
in various denominations compared to
that of your home currency helping you
make informed purchasing decisions.
Charge
Batteries/Devices
Make sure all camera
batteries, phones, notepads, etc. are
fully charged.
Practice with Camera
If you have a new
camera or have not used the features of
your existing camera in some time, spend
some time practicing taking different
photo types such as day, night and using
the self-timer. See
Tripod -
Selfies, Night & Zoom.
TomTom/Other
Navigation
Update with current
maps and optional security camera
information
Haircut
Get a haircut prior
to your departure
Fingernails
Clip or file your
fingernails prior to your departure
Clocks
If you have weight
driven clocks such as Cuckoo Clocks, you
may want to stop the pendulum movement
Electrical Plug Adaptors
Research the plug adaptor types required for the countries you plan to visit
Learn the Language
If you are traveling to a location where a different language is spoken, try to lean key phrases such as: Hello, Please, Thank you, Do you speak English, etc.
Pre-Trip Reservations &
Purchases
Complete Flight
Reservations
Purchase all flights
required during your trip.
Complete Hotel
Reservations
Depending on your
hotel, they may require pre-payment,
payment upon arrival and some may be
cancelled up to 24 hours in advance with
no cancelation fee.
Complete Rental Car
Reservations
If you plan to rent
a car, be sure to make your reservations
ahead of time.
Rail Passes - Eurail/Swiss/Other
If you are departing
from the US or other non-European Union
location, you must purchase your
Rail Europe or
Eurail passes prior to your
departure.
Point-to-Point Rail
Tickets
For short rides when
using a day on your rail pass is not
practical,
purchase a point-to-point tickets on-line
and print your pass ahead of time or
have it available on your phone.
Rail Seat
Reservations
Some high speed
trains as well as sleeper trains require
that you purchase an actual seat or
compartment reservation in addition to
your ticket.
Excursions
Purchase or reserve
any excursions you plan on taking during
your trip.
Airport Parking
Depending where you
will be parking, you may be able to
reserve and pre-pay for parking.
Accommodations for Pets
If you have pets, be
sure to make arrangements for them to be
looked after or stay somewhere.
Sometimes reserving a location to board
them needs to be reserved weeks or even
months ahead of time.
eTripCafe
Print Trip Summary
Always bring a hard
copy of your trip details. On
the Trip Summary page, select the 'Print
Preview' option.
Print Carry-on Checklist
Print a copy of the Carry-on checklist so you are prepared with everything you will need during your flight or train ride. Keep the list in your carry-on bag as a reference for each travel segment during your trip.
Print Trip Travel
Time
Bring a hard copy of
your estimated travel times. On
the Trip Travel Time page, select the 'Print
Preview' option.
Download Expanded Mobile Trip
View
Download your entire
trip to your Smartphone allowing you to
access all your trip details regardless
of mobile service or an internet
connection. See our
Mobile Trip Profile - Expanded page
for detailed information on downloading
and displaying your trip offline.
Download Trip
Travel Time
Download the Trip
Travel Time page to your Smartphone allowing you to
access all your trip travel time details regardless
of mobile service or an internet
connection.
Offline Maps
Ahead of time, from
a location where you have service, use
your phone to download offline maps of
locations you will be visiting.
See our
Offline Maps page for detailed
information on downloading and using
offline maps.
Mobile Subscription
On your 'My Account'
page, verify your Mobile Subscription
expiration date and days
remaining to be sure you have access
for the entire duration of your trip.
