Travelers Checklist?

Click on Plan Your Trip and then Travel Tips, and browse around there, there are some checklists. For discussions of what to do before you go, use the search box, upper right corner, to search on prior discussions. Or check out his book ETBD.

Try the universal packing list at
http://upl.codeq.info/ You tell it when you're going, what kind of weather, etc. and it generates a list, including what to do before you go from the household oriented (wash dishes, put garbage out, water plants) to call the bank stuff. Make sure you click on "I want to see descriptions" on the right side so you get some detail on the steps.

On the board Travelers to Go (http://p099.ezboard.com/beuropetogo) there is a section on top travel tips, including packing lists and suggested things to do before you go.

I've created my own "before I go" checklist based on these two sites. I have refined it after every trip and feel like I have almost everything covered (I added things like "get new watch battery").

That hint about the watch battery is fabulous! My watch battery died while sitting in an ICU for days with my father............

Any other wonderful ideas?

Thanks all,
No real stressing as this will be our second international trip, but instead of writing down a list as I think of stuff (or doing it when I remember), I figured if there were an already established list - I could just go off that (laziness factor). Most of what Karen has listed is what I've been thinking, but haven't bothered to write down yet.
Regarding packing, I'm planning on carrying on. I'm pretty used to packing light at this point. And we've got a plan for doing laundry our last evening in Rome before heading off to Venice/Verona for the last four days. Luckily there are plenty of REI's local, along with Rick's ETBD shop. I plan on picking up his convertible carry-on during the Travel Festival next weekend, when he has bags on sale.

Some of the things I do before leaving - I call all credit cards and banks to let them know I will be making international purchases and the dates of my trip, call my health insurance company to verify my coverage while overseas, check my cell phone plan to make sure I have my international plan activated, give both sets of parents all travel info and copies of passports and credit cards, have our mail held, make sure all bills are paid that will be due while gone, confirm all reservations, double check my wallet or bag to make sure I have GA drivers license, passport, IDP, medical insurance cards, cash, credit cards and we always let a neighbor know we will be gone and usually give either our number or the closest parent's number in case of emergency. I also have a checklist for items to pack and double check it before leaving. Don't stress about it, just have fun.

I was looking for a checklist and found this site: http://dontforgetyourtoothbrush.com/
It's obviously a british website based on some of the lingo used, but I found it useful. You create your own checklist based on this huge list. Then you can print it off. It also has optional email reminders of things to do before you leave. (i.e., day that you leave: turn down your thermostat, print boarding passes, etc.)

Ricks is one of the best and most practical guides... check "Ricks Packing List" in the search on this page. Also www.onebag.com is great! I also call all my Creditcards Im taking (2) and my ATM-bank card and let them know (usually 1 week before and again the day before). I also give copies of all the info to my family. And I also either mail them or put them on my unlisted website just while im away - then delete when I return. The rest is trial and error- we all have extras (like the watch batter I also bring one).

I see several posts advising calling all of your credit card companies to tell they you are taking their "plastic" to Europe. I do this every year when I go there in the summer. However, this year one or our cards would not work in Ireland (good thing we take 2) so inquired when we returned to the states what was happening with that card. The bank (WaMu) said that we didn't tell them we were going to Ireland - well my wife and I both called separately since our cards are in our own names, but on the same account. Bottom line: ask the person you are calling to repeat the country list you give them.

Thanks Charles,
That's actually good advice. My wife called one of our CC companies yesterday. It was regarding several things, one of which was notifying them of our upcoming trip. Since the person on the other side of the phone talked to her for quite a while about Italy, I think she got the point. We've got a few credit cards between us and a few debit cards between us. So the hope is that we'll be OK with all of them.
We're also planning on traveling without bringing 'native' cash with us. Since our layover in CDG (from SEA) is 3h40m, we'll get some Euros before hopping on the flight to Rome. Since we'll be paying in cash for the hotel, which is a pretty large discount over 6 days, we'll need to make a few withdrawals over time to have the necessary amount.

You might also check out the US Customs brouchure "Know Before you Go" available for free (PDF) at: http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbox/publications/travel/knowbeforeyougo.ctt/knowbeforeyougo.pdf for a quick primer on Customs rules/other tips.

Just curious...Is it really necessary to call your credit card company to tell them of your travel dates and locations?
I've never done this but am now wondering if I should?
Wouldn't they think I'm a bit off to call each week for a different part of the world every few days?

Or should I just get them to flag my file that I travel for a living and accept all charges abroad as legit?
Any thoughts or ideas?

When we went to London and Paris in March of '06, I called them to notify. They didn't need the exact dates, but at least the month that we'd be travelling. That way they wouldn't block any unexpected charges (which often are large when traveling). It's been a while, but my CC company (Cap'l One) has called me before when I did mail-order purchases from out of state for large amounts. If you're not home to authorize the purchase when they call, it could get blocked.
Basically they're doing it for your own protection regarding identity theft.

I notified before our trip last year, because I read it was the thing to do. Many, many years ago I lived in a very remote place and rarely used my card and then had a trip to town. I made full use of the fantastic plastic, was within my credit limit and then all of a sudden - transaction declined. The shop rang the bank and it was because I rarely used the card and then all of a sudden it was getting a hiding. It was so embarrassing, but was sorted out on the spot - maybe with some additional ID - I can't remember. I would hate to be out of my comfort zone and have it happen to me, so think it's good to let them know. I had to indicate which countries we were going to visit as well.

Flight Attendant, I believe a computer blocks what it thinks are UNUSUAL charges. Since you travel all the time, I'm guessing your charges don't appear unusual. However, with the rise of identity theft, perhaps computers are being programmed to block any charges that MIGHT be fraudulent. It certainly wouldn't hurt to call your company and explain your pattern.

In my experience, if you have a history of making charges overseas, your CC company's computer remembers this and it won't any block charges. I haven't bothered to call my CC company before any of my trips to Europe in about four years; never had any problems. Having said that, notifying your bank is harmless, and if it gives you peace of mind then by all means do so.

Just remember, Europe (especially western and central Europe) are not Siberia or the Sahara. If you forget something you can probably find it to buy somewhere. If you forget an article of clothing, H&M, Karstadt and other stores are everywhere. And they sell toothpaste and watch batteries in Europe. The only thing it will cost you is a small amount of time to find what you need.

At the very top of what I call my "Pre-Departure Checklist" is to make sure I've said goodbye and I love you to my loved ones.

It can be a quick scribbled note left on my table to be found in a couple days, a text sent on the fly or even lipstick on the mirror...

We travel a lot so I've stopped leaving my itinerary with family. I do put our flight and hotel information as well as what cities we're in on what dates on my Yahoo calendar and then share that calendar with my family and friends. That way they have all of my travel info at their fingertips should they need it...and I have my flight information and hotel confirmations online in case I lose something while I travel! They need to log in with their Yahoo ID to access it so it keeps all of the information private to everyone except your shared list.