15 Things to do Prior to Leaving for your Honeymoon

Checklist: 15 Things to do Prior to Leaving for your Honeymoon

It's Right around the Corner!! As your wedding day approaches you will want to be sure you are prepared. Following are some important points you need to review prior to your departure.
15 Things to do prior to leaving for your honeymoon
1. Use up all of the food in the fridge. A week or two before you leave, start to look at the perishables and plan around them.

2. Go through your purse / wallet and remove any extras you don’t need. There’s no need to bring extra credit cards, etc., especially should you lose your wallet / purse or have it stolen. Removing the items means less worry and hassle. Consider traveling with a money belt.

3. Remember to close your curtains/blinds. Lock all of your doors. Unplug any unnecessary electronics, etc. Let your neighbors know that you will be gone, so that they can keep an eye on your house.

4. Stop mail or arrange for a friend/family member to pick it up. Nothing says “I’m gone” like a back-log of mail in the box.

5. Stop deliveries, especially the newspaper.

6. Turn down your water heater, some people may want to consider turning their water off completely. Turn up/down your thermostat, no need to pay for heating or cooling if you aren’t going to be there.

7. Water your plants.

8. Arrange for a dog/house sitter, if necessary. It’s best to do this in advance, in case your pet needs additional vaccines before going to the kennel.

9. Remember your chargers. Pack cell phone and laptop chargers.

10. Do all your laundry ahead of time. That way, when you get home, you’ll have clean clothes while you are doing laundry from your trip.

11. Take out the garbage. Nothing says “welcome home” like stinky garbage.

12. Clean your house and do the dishes. Leave your house the way you want to come back to it. You already have to deal with unpacking, laundry, restocking groceries and a laundry list of other things to do.

13. Turn off computers and all electronics.

14. Make sure homeowner’s insurance is up to date.

15. Leave a trusted neighbor or family member with a number where you can be reached, in case there is an emergency with your home.
Relax and enjoy!!

Be sure to check our our next blog post for more helpful tips to prepare for your honeymoon.

More Helpful Tips of Things to do Prior to Leaving for your Honeymoon

Following are MORE important things you’ll want to do prior to your departure for your honeymoon.

Show me the money
Cash - Decide beforehand how you’ll get cash. If you want a little local currency to get you through the first day or so, convert your money at a major hometown bank. Airport converting counters carry fees and can be confusing if you don’t speak the language. A leftover coin or two is a fun memento, but $40 in leftover money? Not so much.
Credit - Do some research to see if most vendors in your destination take U.S. dollars. Either way, you can rely on a debit card and ATMs for the rest. Yes, there are ATM fees, but they’re usually less than the foreign transaction fees of many credit cards. These universal MasterCard and Visa ATM locators should prove helpful. If you insist on using your credit cards, double-check your issuing card company’s policy on overseas transactions.
Checks - Skip the travelers checks entirely, since they’re going the way of, well… non-travelers checks.

Set your away message
No, not on your work email—on your financial life. Let your banking institutions and credit card issuers know where you’re going and when. Fraud protection is great, until you learn that your credit card company can’t picture you on beach getaway and suspends your card mid-trip. Also take a few minutes to photocopy your passport, driver’s license, plane tickets, and credit cards, and leave those papers with someone not lucky enough to go with you (we’ve found Mom to be generally reliable!) You may also want to pay your bills early to avoid accidentally missing the due dates.

Phone home
Of course you’ll want to call your friends back in the states to mock them while they sit in their cubicles, but before leaving, call your cell phone service provider to ask whether your model of phone will work in the countries you plan to visit, what the per minute talk/text charge will be, and whether it makes sense for you to buy the traveler discount plan offered by some carriers. If those numbers still give you sticker shock, opt for a phone card so you can call from the hotel room instead of the top of the Eiffel Tower. Your friends will still be jealous. Getting online from your smartphone is a little more tricky—and a lot more pricey. It’s best to disable your data roaming while you’re on the road and stick to internet cafes.

Confirm necessary documents for traveling outside the country
What documents do I need to travel outside of my country of citizenship?
Each passenger in the flight itinerary must have the proper documents for entry/re-entry into a country (e.g., correct visa(s), valid passport). As of June 1, 2009, passports will be required for all U.S. citizens traveling to or from the United States via land, sea, and air--regardless of destination. Additional travel documentation requirements vary, based on the passenger's citizenship and country of residence. To determine the requirements, contact the embassy or consulate of all countries involved in your travel itinerary, including all countries through which you may be passing. You can also contact your international airline(s) for further information on travel documentation requirements, embargos, travel advisories and/or additional requirements that may apply to the country or countries in your itinerary.

You are responsible for ensuring that you have all necessary travel documents. Before you travel, please make sure you have the correct visa(s) and that your passport is up-to-date. A passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your intended period of stay. Since many international travel bookings are final, we recommend checking your visa and passport status to ensure they are current/valid prior to booking.

For U.S. passport requirements, application forms, where to conveniently apply, and other passport and international travel information, visit the U.S. Department of State's Passport Services at http://www.travel.state.gov. or visit for additional information http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/

E-Boarding
Why wait until you get to the airport? See how you can use an online process to print your boarding pass from home any time within 24 hours of your flight. Certain airports, will allow you to go completely paperless by having an E-Boarding Pass delivered to your mobile device. Here is a link or two that will help you along.
http://www.deltavacations.com/support/luggage-fee-policy
https://www.southwest.com/flight/retrieveCheckinDoc.html
http://www.united.com/travel/checkin/start.aspx
http://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/checkin.jsp?anchorLocation=DirectURL&title=checkin
http://checkin.usairways.com/
https://www.spirit.com/Default.aspx#check-in

Other important tips
• Leave a copy of your passport at home with someone who’s not traveling with you.
• Call your cell phone provider and inquire about adding an international package to your plan for the week or two you will be abroad Depending on your phone carrier you might be able to get this for free if traveling to Mexico or for a small prorated fee if traveling to the Caribbean. An international plan on your phone will allow you to communicate with family/friends or vendors without incurring enormous roaming fees.
• If you have a smart phone and do not have an international data plan, make sure you turn off your data while abroad or you could incur outrageous fees when your phone automatically updates email/text messages even if you don’t use your phone.
Call your phone company for details.

These are some things we have come up with to help. Remember this is simply a group of suggestions. Do your homework and carefully consider what you need to bring along. As always you can contact your travel consultant with any additional questions.