The days before a holiday involve more than packing, with documents to check, arrangements to make, and your home to prepare. A before-you-go checklist makes sure nothing important is missed. This guide is a before-you-go checklist of the jobs to do before you travel. Work through it in the days and weeks ahead, tailoring it to your trip, so you set off with everything sorted and can relax knowing you are properly prepared.
Check your travel documents
Make sure you have all your travel documents in order: your passport, any visas, tickets or booking confirmations, and travel insurance details. These are the essentials the trip depends on, so check them early. Gathering and checking your documents well ahead, rather than the night before, gives time to fix any problems. Ensuring your passport, visas, bookings and insurance are all sorted and to hand is the most important part of any before-you-go checklist, so deal with these first.
Check your passport validity
Check that your passport is valid for your destination, as many countries require a certain period of validity beyond your travel dates, and rules vary. An out-of-date or soon-to-expire passport can stop you travelling. Our guide on checking your passport is valid for your destination explains. Verifying your passport meets the requirements for your destination, well in advance so there is time to renew if needed, avoids the serious problem of being turned away, so make this an early priority before you travel.
Sort your travel insurance
Make sure you have suitable travel insurance in place, covering your trip, activities and any medical needs, ideally arranged when you book rather than just before travel. Insurance protects you against cancellation and problems abroad. Our guide on whether you need travel insurance explains the cover. Having appropriate travel insurance sorted before you go, and knowing what it covers and how to contact the assistance line, is an essential before-you-go job that provides important protection for your trip and your finances.
Organise your money
Organise your travel money, whether cash, cards or a travel card, getting a good exchange rate in advance and ensuring you have a sensible mix and a backup. Sorting money before you travel avoids poor last-minute rates. Arranging your holiday money ahead, with the right combination of payment methods and a backup, means you are ready to spend abroad without scrambling at the airport for a poor rate. Getting your money sorted in good time is a key part of preparing for a trip.
Sort out health matters
Address any health matters: check whether you need vaccinations, arrange enough medication, get or check your GHIC, and consider a first aid kit. Some of these need doing well ahead. Our guides on travel vaccinations and the GHIC card cover these. Sorting your health preparations in good time, as vaccinations and medication in particular cannot be left to the last minute, ensures you are protected and prepared for any health needs on your trip, which is an important and sometimes overlooked part of the checklist.
Check travel advice
Check the official travel advice for your destination, covering safety, entry requirements and any warnings, before you travel and again shortly before departure. This keeps you informed and your insurance valid. Our guide on checking FCDO travel advice explains. Reading the current travel advice for where you are going, as part of your preparation, ensures you are aware of any risks or requirements and have not missed anything important, so include checking it in your before-you-go jobs and again just before you leave.
Confirm your bookings
Confirm all your bookings, including flights, accommodation, transfers and any activities, checking the details, times and any changes. Having confirmations to hand avoids problems on the day. Double-checking that your bookings are correct, confirmed and accessible, and that you have noted key details like flight times and addresses, ensures the trip runs smoothly. Confirming everything in advance, rather than assuming it is all in order, catches any errors or changes while there is still time to address them before you travel.
Prepare your home
Prepare your home for your absence, including security, sorting post, dealing with appliances, and any other jobs to leave it safe and ready for your return. This protects your home while you are away. Our guide on preparing your home before a holiday covers this in detail. Taking care of your home before you leave, so it is secure and looked after, gives you peace of mind on holiday and ensures you return to no unwelcome surprises, making it an important part of your before-you-go preparations.
Arrange pet and plant care
If you have pets or plants, arrange their care while you are away, whether through a sitter, boarding, or a trusted friend or neighbour. Sort this well ahead, as good options get booked up. Our guide on what to do with your pets while you are away covers the options. Making proper arrangements for any pets and plants, so they are cared for in your absence, is an essential job for pet owners and gardeners, and one that needs organising in advance rather than at the last minute.
Notify the right people
Consider who to notify before you travel, such as checking whether your bank needs to know, letting a trusted person know your plans, and arranging any work or other matters. A few notifications smooth your trip. Letting the relevant people know you will be away, and sorting any arrangements that depend on others, ensures things run smoothly in your absence and that someone knows your travel plans. Thinking about who needs to be informed is a simple but useful part of preparing to go away.
Pack and do final checks
Finally, pack using a list and do your final checks, ensuring you have documents, money, medication, chargers and everything essential. Our guides on the ultimate packing list and the day-before-you-fly checklist help. Completing your packing methodically and running through final checks of the essentials brings together all your preparation. Doing this carefully, rather than rushing at the last moment, means you set off confident that everything is sorted, which is the goal of working through a before-you-go checklist.
Start your preparations early
Begin working through your checklist in good time, as some jobs, such as renewing a passport, arranging vaccinations or booking pet care, need doing well in advance. Leaving everything to the last minute risks problems. Our guide on planning a holiday step by step shows when to do what. Starting your before-you-go tasks early, and tackling the time-sensitive ones first, ensures there is time to sort everything properly, so the final days before your trip are calm rather than a stressful rush to fix things.
In short
A before-you-go checklist covers checking your travel documents and passport validity, sorting travel insurance and money, addressing health matters like vaccinations, medication and your GHIC, and checking travel advice. Confirm your bookings, prepare your home, arrange pet and plant care, and notify the right people. Then pack from a list and do your final checks. Work through it in the days and weeks ahead, tailoring it to your trip, so you set off fully prepared.
Find more in our Packing & Before You Go guides.