Pre-Travel Checklist
 
House

Mail 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.
High Speed Data Plan Activate an international High Speed Data Plan. (Very Important)
Know International Dialing Prefixes Make note of the International Dialing Prefixes of the countries you may be calling from.
Know Country Calling Codes Make sure you know the Country Calling Codes of countries you may be calling.
Know How to Dial Internationally 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.
 
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