What are THE absolute essentials before you leave for your trip?

Print out a checklist of EVERYTHING you'll need to do and take with you, then just start ticking items off. There are great checklists on this web site and many others. Enjoy you trip!

Moleskin!

Judey, I'd have to check my own list for "absolute essentials", but a few that come to mind are: - check the expiry date on your Passport, BE SURE that you don't forget that! - check the ensure that you have at least one ATM card (preferably two) and at least one credit card. Ensure that your travel funds are in a chequing account with a four-number PIN (someone recently told me that PIN's beginning with zero will not work in Europe, but I haven't been able to verify that yet) - if you're going to be gone for more than a few weeks, be sure that payment of utility and credit card bills is arranged. - ensure home & pet care arranged. - ensure transportation to airport arranged. Happy travels!

Judey, I know the feeling. First put the non-negotiables in one place: passport, drivers license, credit card, ATM card, medical insurance card, emergency phone numbers (bank, credit cards, family, doctor, etc), airplane and other tickets/reservations, some cash, and any essential medications. Make a copy of those crucial documents and stash it separately from them, in case something is lost/stolen. And call the bank and credit card companies to flag your account that you'll be making foreign transactions. Then relax... you can buy pretty much anything else. Next send e-mails to find hotels for the first and last nights, if you don't have them - and add the confirmations to your collection of items. Next, I'd suggest taking a packing list from this site or elsewhere and getting the essentials into your bag (I save my list from trip to trip). Settling an itinerary would be nice, although you could do that on the plane if necessary - maybe at least plan your first few days, so you don't waste those days. And you can read guidebooks on the plane also - so add the books or pages your take to your pile of things you're building. Ahd enjoy your trip!

In addition to making sure you have debit and credit cards, make sure your bank/credit card company know the dates you will be away and where you will be traveling. Make sure you have a 24-hour phone number for your cards, so you can call if there is a problem. If you have a cell phone you plan to use in Europe (AT&T or T-mobile), be sure to notify your carrier of your plans. We just returned from Europe and my husband's AT&T quad-band phone did not work for that reason. He has used it in Europe on previous trips, but AT&T had been notified on those trips.

Hi Judey- Though I've only been to Europe a couple of times, I travel ALL the time, & I'm guessing the principles are the same. Here's what I do: 1.Make a list of everything you need to do in categories(you already listed shop, pack, print- others I can think of are copy, close up house), filling in the specifics under each category as you think of them. 2.Lump things in each category together so that they make sense (& you only make one trip to each store, for example)3.Do the things farthest from your house first- for example, shopping. 4.Clear a large space, even the floor will do, to lay out everything you're going to pack. 5.Put everything on your list on the cleared space, checking it off as you go. 6.Once you have everything checked off the list,pack it, crossing it off the list as you go. 6.Print everything on the print list,then pack it. 7.Breathe-you have done the hardest part & COULD now pick up your stuff & go. 9.Close up the house. 10. Go to airport. 11.You already have the beginnings of your itinerary- Paris.Now,think of the next step- where will you stay the first night? If you have that, then you have time while sitting in the airport (because you'll get there early, right?) & on the plane to think of what you will do between landing & sleeping. 9.Read about the first day activities/places in your guidebooks. 10. Rest on the plane. //This is all you HAVE to do before you get to Europe. Once you're there, stop a couple of times to have a coffee/people watch/get your bearings/decide what to do next, & most importantly-revel in the fact that you're doing this IN PARIS! While doing this & thinking how lucky you are & how same/different Europeans are from Americans, you can plan day 2. Repeat as needed. Most of all- enjoy every minute & remember you will NOT see/do all you want on this trip. That's why our mantra is "I'll be back!"

Ken, one of my PINs starts with -00- (gives you 90 chances to guess it, 100 if you assume -0000- or -000n-). Cheers. . . . . . . ¶ Judey. If you haven't already, make a packing list. Look at it every day, add things as you remember them and take off what you don't absolutely need. I have been keeping the same list for 5-6 years. Now when I go to pack, I go by the list, and I know I have every thing. Takes the stress out of packing.

Clean out the fridge!! Nothings worse than coming home to a smelly fridge and no food.

Remember to turn off the water to your washing machine (or turn off the water main), turn down the hot water heater thermostat and the thermostat in the house. Did someone mention to copy your credit cards (front and back) and your passport and keep the copies separate from your originals? Keep your money and passports in baggies inside your money belt when not in use? Stop the mail, farm out the plants? Unplug everything except the fridge and a couple lamps? Have fun - Paris is fabulous!

Lee, thanks for the clarification on the PIN numbers. The PIN on one of my backup ATM cards starts with a zero, so I was wondering whether I should change it. The person that mentioned this was discussing Italy at the time, so maybe this is specific to country?

Don't forget to call your bank! I'm leaving tomorrow, and I just remembered about it this afternoon! Also, yes, make a detailed checklist and tick things off.

Passport (make a color photocopy), International Driving Permit From AAA (if you will be renting a car), Credit Cards, Airline Tickets, Hotel Reservation Confirmations, Museum/Tour Confirmations, Rental Car Confirmations, ATM card(s), Cash, Prescription Medications, Pet Care (if needed), Stop The Mail, Water The Plants, Tell Your Neighbors To Watch The House While You Are Gone, Leave A Couple Of Lights On (timers), Buy Cheap Throwaway Underwear That You Can Dispose Of Instead Of Having To Repack The Dirties (ewwww), Money Belt or Neck Pouch, Travel Umbrella (very tiny), Travel Insurance (with medical), Turn Down The Thermostat, and yes Empty Out The Fridge Or It Will Smell Like A Morgue When You Return.

You have already received a lot of great advise, don't forgot to leave room in your suitcase for souvenirs, and take a great attitude- "I'm going to have a great time, and will roll with the punches when things don't go as planned!" I was disappointed when we first entered our hotel room, since the furniture was a bit scruffy- I looked at my husband and decided that I was not going to let it spoil my trip. We ended up having a great time and loved the staff at our hotel- so it was a good thing I decided not to fuss about the furniture. Hope you have a great trip.

Rick's got a good list. I had my own for a long time but when I saw his what I did was I printed it off and then crossed off everything I knew I wouldn't need. Then I thought for a while and crossed of things I could live without and things I could buy while away if I needed them. Then type it out on your computer and save it so you adjust it easily for each trip. I also keep as much as I can that I take in my bag at all times except to check things out and make sure they're okay. Let's see, I pick clothes out steadily as I do my wash going into it and I make one trip to a Wal-Mart or Target and I'm ready.

Passport. Plane ticket. Debit card (call your bank in advance) or money. Money belt. The clothes to wear on the plane......Beyond that it's all optional. Everything you need can be purchased in Europe. Why not travel and buy your wardrobe there? Even luggage is cheap and easy to find.....I can imagine a trip where I arrive in Paris, find a hotel, check in and then go shopping for a toothbrush, shampoo, underwear, pajamas and....

Stop the mail. Cancel garbage pickup. Put garbage cans in garage/shed. Call credit/debit card companies to alert to overseas use. Set up someone to check in on the house. Unplug nonessentials in house. Make sure a trusted person at home has copies of your passport/card information.

I started making a list of things to pack and to do two full months prior to my trip to Italy, mostly because I was just so excited about the trip and I wanted to plan ahead. I found that I actually did significant editing of the list right up until a week before traveling. Not saying you have to start so far ahead of time, but it makes me wonder how I would have managed if I hadn't started so early. Happy travels!

Make sure your guide book is specific to Paris. I took a France book because we also travelled to Normandy & Brittany, but there was a RS Paris book in the apt where I stayed. He has neighborhood walks that look really interesting(unfortunately discovered the book at the end of my stay). You need a backup plan in case you get hit by a strike(which closes down transportation & museums) like we did. We did his Historical Paris walk(w/ iphone app)when things were closed then walked through Marais, Latin Quarter, St Germaine. Research the archives one last time. I found out about open air markets including flea markets in Paris. We went to 3 and found great jewelry to bring home as gifts. I took 3 pairs of shoes thinking it may be excessive, but ended up rotating them daily due to the horrible blisters I got. Bring lots of bandaids. Make sure you have a good map. TIs were not as easy to find as I expected. Have a fantastic trip!

Don't forget your camera, memory card(s), battery (and spare if necessary), and charger. If you're taking your cell phone (and charger), call your carrier and tell them the dates and country(-ies) where you'll be. -An adapter and converter for electronics -Journal and pens (if you keep a journal) -Book(s) to read -Bring addresses for any postcards you plan to send -Small notebook to carry around during the day (write down anything you want or need to remember, like train times, addresses, directions, etc.)

Debit card for getting cheap cash - 0 pins work. Several credit cards. My friend and I both had ours declined recently b/c apparently some do not have a chip that European machines like. So, take a back-up one or two. Iphone maps are great (and expensive) if you have that. And don't forget an adaptor for camera charging!

Great advice from everyone. Now, Stop Researching/Planning! Draw an artificial line in the sand - from now on, you simply have to pack and take care of the concrete household things. Get Very Quiet; start making a list of the bare essentials, and add only the nearly-necessary things afterwards. Carry that list with you everywhere so you can write things down as they come to mind, or you can see if you've already put an item on your list (this eliminates stress). Make one trip for any last-minute errands. Then, pack ASAP. You need your passport, money/credit cards/ATM cards, clothes, toiletries, guidebooks, perhaps jewelry (simple) and that's it. Maybe a journal (lightweight), camera, iPod, umbrella, etc. - Creature comforts. Print out hotel/train confirmations. Print out train schedules, if applicable. Print out airline itinerary/receipt. Be ruthless when packing. Ruthless. Don't leave out something like that one special facial cleanser that doesn't cause you to turn red as a beet; DO leave out something like those sweatpants that MIGHT be comfy while lounging in the hotel room. Don't need 'em............ How much still needs to be done on your itinerary?

I haven't read through all the responses yet (I will ASAP). I have a question[INVALID]when Rick talks about carrying several hundred dollars in the money belt as an emergency stash, is he talking about euros or dollars?

Dollars, but I only carry about a hundred, and have only broken a twenty once in a gazillion trips.

So on Icelandair's website it says the carry-on baggage restrictions are one bag weighing no more than 13 pounds, and in addition you may carry on one handbag. Do you think this would count as a handbag? http://www.pacsafe.com/www/index.php?_room=3&_action=detail&id=135 It's not very big.

Judey,, regardless of what "Rick says" I have never carried hundreds of dollars in my moneybelt for emergencies.. see, if the emergency happens at night, or on sunday or a holiday,or in a small village, etc etc,, the dollars are not useful. I always have at least 100-200 EUROS in my moneybelt ,, often more, or I have it in the hotel safe. Euros can be used immediately,, and if not used can be used next trip, or I use up most on last day or two of trip. I really think dollars are a waste of time, I do carry about 20 dollars for a snack at the connecting airport in North America, but thats it.

I also carry about $200USD in my money belt in case of emergency. In case of said emergency, it typically isn't a problem changing it on the weekends or holidays. Most change bureaus are open seven days a week, and most full service hotels will exchange money as well.

Absolute essentials: Your passport and access to cash/credit - everything else can be replaced pretty easily...........Really good to have: A list of hotel/rental car/flight reservation, with contact phone and reservation confirmation numbers. Another list of emergency contacts for people at home and financial institutions (remember 800 numbers don't work from Europe). Your health insurance info may come in handy too.

I have to say that emergency $100 would have come in handy years ago. My friend and I got back, our plane was delayed and we were put up in a hotel, but we had less than $20 between us. We split a chicken sandwich and someone took pity on us and bought us each a beer. Even on domestic trips I try to hide a little cash from myself for such problems.

Thanks for your help. I have most of it done now, but there are still some things to do. I have a hotel and the Paris guidebook and a phrasebook, I'm partially packed, have copies of important documents, talked to my bank, etc. I'm really glad someone mentioned the thing about PINs starting with 0, because mine does (did, I changed it). As far as the moneybelt goes, I'm not sure how I'm going to wear it. It would look ridiculous if I tucked my shirts in, so I tried wearing it really low on the hips and it creates bulges in my pants. I also heard that you can wear it on the small of your back, but I would think that it would show under the shirt. Suggestions? I also have the RS neck wallet, has anyone tried this? Did you feel secure? One more question-I will need a good walking map of Paris. Should I just wait until I'm there to get one? I live in an urban area, but I'm not sure I would be able to find one. I can look at my local bookstore, I guess.

Ah...how to wear the money belt. Also one of my problems. I have the waist-type and don't like it. I bought the RS neck style. It was too long for me (I am vertically challenged)...plus it was obvious that I had something under my shirt that didn't belong! I tried wearing it cross-body, messenger style. Nope, that didn't work either. I ended up buying another brand of the neck pouch that was not as long as Rick's. I shortened up the strap and wore it over one shoulder. I used a safety pin to keep it on my bra strap so it wouldn't slip. Not ideal, but the best I could come up with. Good luck and have a great trip!!

Thanks for the tips about the money belt/neck wallet! Thankfully, I have both, so I can experiment with that today. I found the Streetwise Paris map-so relieved! It looks great. I have one more question-at what point do you put on your money belt? Obviously when I go to the Seattle airport I wouldn't want to have it on then because I'm going to have to show them my boarding pass and passport 1000 times. The most logical point to me would be when you leave the Paris airport to get on the public transport or taxi. But how do you do that discreetly? Just go to the bathroom and put it on? Thanks.

When to put on your money belt... I'll start, but hopefully you will get more responses as well. We do not wear them through security, as this has caused a problem in the past, plus as you said, you need to have your passport out anyway. After security, we put them on leaving the passports out to show on arrival in Europe. If you are changing planes in Europe, you will probably have to go through security again (at least that has been our experience). When leaving the final airport, we use the bathroom to put our security wallets on, passport included. P.S. I asked a similar question to a RS employee one time: if you are never supposed to access your security wallet while out and about, how do you make an ATM transaction? Her answer was, assuming there is another person traveling with you, to be discreet at the ATM. One person takes out the ATM card from their security wallet while the other blocks the view. This has worked well for us. Plus, we only go to ATMS at banks while the bank is open, in case there is a problem. And, we do not use ATMs with a crowd of people. Hope that helps!

Look for a Streetwise map of Paris in your local Borders or B&N......It's ok if someone can see slight evidence of a money belt. Most thieves will not say, "Ah Hah, got you now!" You want it to be secure, so pinning it to clothing is ok as well. That deep storage of cash and passport is vital.

Hi Judey, I also had trouble finding a money belt that was comfortable, until a read a tip here on the helpline. Take a neck wallet (I use the RS one) but instead of wearing it around your neck, wear it around your waist so the wallet is hanging on the side of your thigh. The strap adjusts wide enough to slip over your body and then you can tighten it around your waist. It might be visible when you sit, but it is so much more comfortable. have a wonderful trip!

I am a woman traveler who travels alone most of the time. I always wear my money belt starting from when I leave home to go to the airport. I keep my boarding pass and passport handy in a compartment of my messenger bag, then after I've boarded the plane I immediately put the passport back in the money belt. The money belt is around my waist and I never have a problem discreetly accessing it for the few times that it is necessary. I think there would be too many chances for error or loss of the money belt if I were actually taking it off and putting it back on all the time...that kind of defeats the purpose of a money belt. That said, I always arrange it so that I access it as few times as possible while out in public. I just don't feel comfortable unless my passport is in the money belt and the money belt is on me.

Ditto Gwen. Have a great time!

Most definitely everything mentioned, but above all pack spirit of adventure, ability to be flexible, sense of humour, an open mind, resilience and patience to deal with the taxis (the lack thereof when desperately needed) and their drivers, the ability to go with the flow. Paris like all big cities can do your head in. Have in mind what you really want to do and see without running yourself. into the ground. If you don't see it on this trip, it will still be there in a 100 years time! Regarding money belts. I have always worn the waist one. I wear it so the pouch is in the small of my back. I was totally unaware I was wearing it.

I wear a waist moneybelt for large amounts of cash, passport, and atm cards. I keep smaller amount of cash for daily use in my wallet that I keep tucked into my bra. I would keep my wallet in my pants pocket if women's pants were made with deeper pockets. On travel days only, I wear a separate neck wallet with passport, ID, tickets and boarding pass. I can keep it outside my clothing before boarding, and then tuck it into my shirt during flight. At the hotel I empty the neck wallet and put it away until the next flight.

I'm sure Judey has left on her trip already. Happy travels. But I thought I'd add something to the list for others to read. I always pour 1/2 cup of household bleach in each of my sink drains and each toilet just before I close up the house. Keeps the house smelling fresh for you return.