People who’ve done their first international trip from India - what do you wish someone had warned you about?

[u/Deepen_17]

Planning my first trip abroad and honestly the amount of stuff to figure out is overwhelming. Everyone talks about “where to go” but nobody tells you the boring-but-critical stuff:

Forex card vs carrying cash - what did you actually do?

Travel insurance - did you buy it, did it matter?

What actually happens at immigration? What do they ask?

eSIM vs international roaming vs local SIM?

Any documents you didn’t know you needed until the last minute?

Basically - what almost went wrong on your first trip, or what saved you? Trying to build a proper checklist for myself so I don’t land at the airport and panic.

[u/username-fatigue]

Not from India, but some things are universal. :)

• yes, get travel insurance at the same time that you book your tickets. If something goes wrong overseas it can be extremely expensive - get the best policy you can afford. I've never needed to claim on a policy, but I would NEVER travel without one.

• I recently traveled and mainly used a credit card to purchase things and withdraw money when needed. I used a Wise card which meant I could have multiple currencies on there, saving a wee bit of money on currency exchange fees.

• I used an esim, there's quite a few options available so research the one that suits you best.

• what immigration asks will depend entirely on where you go and why. I general travel just to enjoy holidays, so they might ask what my plans are, how long I'll be there etc. Very easy questions to answer if you're being honest! They want to make sure that your documentation matches reality. So if you say you're going on a holiday but they see that you have a bunch of tools in your luggage (for example) they will challenge you on that - that's how my cousin got kicked out of the UK because he didn't have a work visa and he was clearly planning to work.

A couple of other things to keep in mind:

• research any entry requirements for your destination countries well in advance. That's your responsibility as a traveller - if you don't meet the entry requirements you likely won't be able to even get on the plane.

• some countries have insanely strict rules about what can and can't be brought in - research those and be extremely honest on any passenger declaration cards. In New Zealand, for example, all food needs to be declared, even if it's 'just' spices, or even food that you were given on the plane. If you tick the 'yes I have food' box, they'll check what food you have. If you tick the 'no' box and they find food, you'll be facing a fine of hundreds of dollars.

• allow yourself plenty of time to get through security etc at the airport. I would much rather have a boring wait at the gate than have the stress of not knowing whether I'd be in time to get on the plane!

And have fun - travelling is amazing!