The Ultimate Study Abroad Travel Checklist

Preparing for international travel is exciting – but can be daunting. Especially when you know you are flying abroad to study and don’t know when you’ll be back. There’s so much you need to do before travelling and so many things to pack.

In this article – we’re giving you the ultimate study abroad travel checklist to study abroad. To help you with planning, we are writing this article in countdown fashion – starting 3 weeks before your scheduled date of departure.

Three Weeks Before Travelling: Plan for Travel

Before you actually begin packing or preparing to travel, you need to first make a checklist of things you need to do. This includes the following tasks:

• Confirm if you have taken all vaccinations needed to enter the destination country

• Confirm your accommodation abroad/span>

• Purchase travel insurance.

• Identify how much foreign currency you will need.

• Check the airline’s instructions on how much baggage you can carry – read and understand the difference between check-in and carry-on baggage.

• Arrange transport from the airport to your accommodation.

• Upload important documents to the cloud – include academic, passport, visa, financial documents

• Internal / External Auditor

• Get a prescription for medicines from your doctor. This will be useful in case you need to buy medicines while travelling or abroad.

At this point, you may also want to meet relatives one last time before you fly abroad.

Two Weeks Before Travelling: Start Packing

You should start packing at least two weeks before you travel abroad to give yourself sometime to gather everything before you travel. Here is a standard checklist of things you may want to consider carrying:

Travel Documents:

• Passport (valid for at least six months)

• Student visa & related documents

• Admission letter from the university

• Flight tickets

• Travel insurance documents

• International driver’s license (if applicable)

• Photocopies of all important documents

Financial Essentials:

• Sufficient local currency and some US dollars for initial expenses

• Debit / Credit Card

• Forex card

• Bank account details and relevant documents

• Scholarship / financial aid documents if applicable

Electronics:

• Laptop or tablet

• USB drive / portable hard drive

• Smartphone and charger

• Power adapters and converters as per your destination’s electrical standards

• Portable power bank

• Headphones / Earphones

• Camera (optional)

Clothing:

• Warm weather clothing if applicable: sweaters, hoodies, sweatshirts, jackets

• Top Wear: Shirts, T-Shirts

• Bottom Wear: Chinos, Jeans, Shorts

• Formal Wear: Formal Shirts, Business Slacks

• Foot Wear: Socks, One pair of formal shoes, casual shoes and slippers each

• Accessories: Belts, Scarves etc.

Personal Care:

• Eye-wear: Spectacles, contact lenses and solution

• Toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, tissue paper, towel

• Medication: Prescription and over the counter medicines

• Sunscreen and insect repellent

• Grooming Essentials: Nail clipper, comb, deodorant

• First aid kit

Miscellaneous:

• Travel pillow and blanket

• Bed sheets

• Travel locks

• Umbrella

Remember to check the baggage restrictions and weight limits imposed by your airline. Also, consider researching the local culture and customs of your destination as there could be additional items you need to pack based on your personal preferences and needs.

Along with a list of things to carry, here is a list of what NOT to carry when flying abroad:

Books
Books are very large and heavy. Most airlines only allow 23 – 25 kg of check in baggage. Thus carrying books occupies unnecessary space which should instead be used for other essentials.

Food
Most countries have stringent restrictions on the food which can be brought from other countries. Rather than going to your destination country’s tedious rules, its best to not carry any food at all. We guarantee you will find a wide variety of snacks at the airport and most of your favorite food at a supermarket abroad.

Liquid
Liquid is not allowed on flights. Instead, you can drink water at the airport or can ask the cabin crew in flight to give you water. Other liquid items such as sanitizers, oil or shampoo too are not allowed when travelling. If you must carry them, take small-sized ones and store them in the check-in bag – NOT in your carry-on luggage.

One Week Before Travelling: Get Ready for Departure

One week before your travel, do the following:

• Login to the airline portal and get your boarding pass, select your seat and update your meal preferences.

• Weigh your bags and ensure they are within the airline’s permissible limit

• Create / Purchase baggage tags for all your bags and attach them

• Organize printouts of all documents into a file / folder

• Stop eating food from hotels – you don’t want to fall sick at the last moment

On the Day of Travel

On the day of travel, you should aim to reach the airport at least three hours before the scheduled departure of your flight. Don’t eat anything heavy on the day you travel.

Before you leave your house, make sure that you have carried your passport, tickets and phone. Do fully charge your phone before leaving and take your mobile charger and portable charger with you.

That’s it! You’re set to fly now.

If you have additional questions about travelling abroad, need help with arranging a travel card or have any questions regarding the study abroad process, feel free to contact us. Our counsellors would be happy to help!