The Pre-Departure Checklist We Give Every Traveller: Visas, Insurance & Vaccinations

Make a coffee and give this fifteen minutes — it’s the same checklist we run through with every Pack Ya Bags traveller before departure, and it prevents essentially every avoidable travel disaster we’ve ever had to untangle. Work through it at six weeks out and nothing on this list can hurt you.

Passport: the six-month rule

Most countries require six months’ validity beyond your travel dates, and airlines enforce it at check-in — the saddest phone calls we receive start at the airport counter. Check every traveller’s expiry today, including the kids’ (children’s passports expire faster — five years, not ten). Renewals in Australia and New Zealand can stretch to six weeks or more in peak periods.

Visas: check even the “easy” countries

Visa-free rarely means paperwork-free anymore — electronic travel authorisations now cover much of the world and are genuinely quick, but only if you know they exist. Requirements also differ between Australian and New Zealand passports more often than people assume, and transit countries can have their own rules. When you book with us, your itinerary comes with the requirements for your actual passports and route — if you’re booking elsewhere, check every country including connections.

Insurance: buy it when you pay your deposit

Not the week before departure — the day you pay for the trip. Cancellation cover starts from purchase, and the months between booking and flying are precisely when knees, parents and employers produce surprises. Check the policy actually covers your activities (skiing, diving, even quad bikes), declare pre-existing conditions honestly, and confirm the medical evacuation limit is serious — evacuation is the cost that ruins lives, and travel insurance is not the place to economise.

Health: six to eight weeks out

Some vaccinations need multiple doses or time to take effect, and some destinations require proof (yellow fever certificates for parts of Africa and South America). Book the GP or travel clinic visit six to eight weeks before departure with your itinerary in hand. Carry regular medications in original packaging in your hand luggage, with a doctor’s letter for anything prescription or injectable.

Money and phone: ten minutes each

Cards: tell your bank nothing (they’ve stopped wanting travel notifications) but do carry two cards on different networks, stored separately. A small amount of arrival-country cash still earns its keep for taxis and tips. Phone: decide between an eSIM (buy before you fly, activate on landing) and your carrier’s roaming pack — and download offline maps and your airline’s app either way.

The last 72 hours

• Check in online; screenshot boarding passes.
• Copy passports and insurance certificates to your phone and to someone at home.
• Confirm airport transfers — the vouchers in your Pack Ya Bags documents pack list every pickup time and local contact.
• Weigh the bags. Excess baggage is the world’s least enjoyable purchase.

Your questions answered

When should I check passport validity?

The day you decide to travel, and again when you book. Six months beyond your return date is the safe universal rule.

Do Australian and New Zealand passport holders need the same visas?

Often but not always — never assume one covers the other. We confirm per passport for every itinerary we issue.

Is travel insurance really necessary for short trips?

Yes — the medical and evacuation risk doesn’t know how long your holiday is. Short-trip policies are cheap; helicopters are not.

Booking with us? This checklist arrives with your itinerary, personalised to your route. Not yet? Talk to the Pack Ya Bags team — the planning conversation is free.

Image: Alisa Anton / Unsplash