Before Departure
- ☐ Confirm passport validity (most countries require 6 months remaining validity beyond your stay)
- ☐ Confirm visa-free stay length for the destination and note the exact day-count rule (consecutive, cumulative, or rolling — see Visa and Stay Limits)
- ☐ Set up or confirm travel/international health insurance coverage
- ☐ Arrange adequate prescription medication supply, with copies of prescriptions
- ☐ Notify bank/card issuers of travel dates if applicable
- ☐ Set up a no-foreign-transaction-fee card and/or a multi-currency account
- ☐ Book initial housing (consider a shorter trial booking before committing to the full stay length)
- ☐ Arrange mail handling (forwarding service, or a trusted person to collect mail)
- ☐ Register with the State Department's STEP program if available for the destination
- ☐ Share itinerary and emergency contacts with someone at home
- ☐ Research the local emergency number and nearest hospital/clinic to planned housing
- ☐ Set up an international phone plan or confirm a local SIM/eSIM option
- ☐ Make digital + physical copies of passport, insurance card, and key documents, stored separately from originals
During the Stay
- ☐ Track every entry/exit date in a dedicated log, especially for Schengen or multi-stop circuits
- ☐ Confirm prescription refill options locally before running low
- ☐ Check in periodically with your at-home contact per the shared schedule
- ☐ Keep receipts/records of major expenses if budgeting carefully or relevant for any future tax questions
Before Extending or Repeating a Stay
- ☐ Re-check visa/day-count math before assuming an extension or repeat visit is automatically fine
- ☐ If a stay is starting to look more like relocation than travel, revisit the Slow Travel vs. Moving Abroad page and consider whether tax-residency questions now apply
Where to Go Next
→ Sample Slow Travel Itineraries — seeing this checklist applied to actual trip structures.