International Travel Tips & Guide
Going on any trip feels exciting and full of adventure, sparking our curiosity and growth mindset. However, when planning for trips, especially BIG trips, oversea’s one might be met with some anxiousness around a number of different things. Read on to best prepare yourself and find tips for you upcoming travels! Remember, travel is about having fun and exploring this EARTH! When you feel a bit nervous, take a pause, have a deep breath, and reset coming back to what brought you to your trip in the first place.
*Please note- this blog post is a bit more specific, you’ll find information suitable for ALL travels but this also is specifically for Bali, Indonesia.
MY RESEARCH / RECCOMENDATIONS:
Most of my recs. comes from thoroughly researching, experience, reading blogs and using a site called wirecutter. Wirecutter is backed with having the best answers to majority of questions we have in life :). Feel free to use wirecutter for any of your future needs or concerns. They’ve done the extensive research for us and come back with their top results on the given topic with links!
LET’S DIVE IN!
Travel Tips:
Things to do before departure:
Download Google Translate: Language conversion apps
Download Money conversion app: Xe Currency Converter & Global Money Transfer
Download your airline app - for flight info & easy check in
Notify your credit card company of your travels
General Tips:
Money:
Check your money situation. Does your bank charge international fees? What is their ATM fee situation?
Good credit cards for international travels: Charles Schwab debit card that offers zero international fees and refunds all of your ATM fees. Or the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card is best for earning points.
You’ll need to call your banks and give them a list of the countries you plan to visit.
1 USD = 15,000 Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) (at this moment this is the conversion)
You WILL want to take out money and have their currency on hand (taking out at an atm or at the airport atm once you land is good. I’ll share about how much might be good.
Phone / Wifi:
How to use your phone while traveling and not be charged an arm and your actual leg:
1. Use Wifi whenever it’s available. (Ex. at the Retreat center or a restaurant)
2. ALSO, What’sapp is FREE (from my understanding) to make phone calls internationally, even if off of WIFI
3. Also, you can of course, always pick up a Bali SIM card if you feel you may need it
Charging / Plugs:
The plugs in Bali are type C and F. The standard voltage is 230 V, and the standard frequency is 50Hz. (this is like a foreign language to me:))
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
I recommend buying a universal adapter (make sure it has surge protection) that you can use for any and all of your travels moving forward as well.
LINKED HERE
Safety:
Bali is one of the safest destinations for solo female travelers! The biggest thing you need to watch out for is road safety. Keep an eye out for scooters/tourists driving them!
Download map of Ubud / the Bali island region in your Offline Maps on google map:
This will come in handy when you are exploring around and don’t have wifi service. Your map will still work!
PLUS star our Retreat Center if you want, Naya Ubud. So you know where that marker is!
Things you make your long ass flight better:
Bring your essentials..these might include:
Eye mask (for darkness)
Eyedrops (have dry eyes? I know i get this from flying)
Water Bottle (Hydrate A-LOT while flying, it's a long ass flight and we don't realize how little we might be drinking.)
Charger - have your phone charger and back up portable charger (already charged) handy!
Clear storage space on your phone / delete old photos (you'll be taking a lot of these :))
Headset that plugs into the planes screen so you can watch & listen to shows (just in case)
Good book(s) - likely not paperback
Pre-downloaded music
Toothbrush / toothpaste
Snacks (bing the snacks! Airport food is SOOOO expensive)
No liquids will get through TSA
Wet wipes
Hand sanitizer