Pre-Travel To-Do List

Written by Lisa. Published on Wednesday, 10th September 2014
Our gigantic to-do list of everything we needed to sort out before leaving the country!

It's only 3 weeks until we finally depart so I figured it was about the right time to share our travel checklist.

We started planning back in February or March which is about 6-7 months ago. As we thought of more and more things that needed to be done before leaving, our to-do lists evolved and morphed in monstrosities that we couldn't even read when we went back to them. I decided then that we needed to combine all of our lists into one central place that we could both update and add to as required and so our Google spreadsheet was born.

It has been our main point of reference for everything travel related and a true lifesaver these last few months but it's rather frightening to see how much still needs to be done with only a couple of weeks left in the country!!

So here it is, everything we have done/need to do to leave the country and set off travelling around the world:

Travel Gear / Packing

Task Complete Notes
Buy backpacks Yes See our article about  how we chose our backpacks
Buy clothes Yes See  our packing list for more information
Buy toiletries Yes See  our packing list for more information
Buy other travel equipment Yes See  our packing list for more information
Buy packing accessories Yes See  our packing list for more information
Decide on a laptop Yes
Decide on sim cards Yes Changed to 'Three' and will get local sims in places where we can't roam with 'Three'
Buy camera Yes See our article on how we picked our camera for more information <link>
Buy electronic accessories Yes See our packing list for more information
Buy kindle Yes See our packing list for more information
Buy books for kindle Yes

Travel Bookings

Task Complete Notes
Flights to New Zealand Yes Included some complimentary stop offs. Check out  our itinerary for more information.
Organise getting to the airport No
First 2 nights accommodation in Auckland Yes
New Zealand Campervan Yes Read our article about  how we chose our campervan for more information
Book ferry between NZ islands No
Accommodation in Christchurch No We will book this as we travel
Accommodation in Sydney No We will book this as we travel
Australia Campervan Yes Read our article about how we chose our campervan for more information
Accommodation in Cairns No We will book this as we travel
Flights from Cairns to Melbourne Yes
Accommodation in Melbourne No We will book this as we travel
Accommodation in Singapore No We will book this as we travel
Flights around South-East Asia No We will book this as we travel as we haven't decided our route yet
Accommodation in South-East Asia No As above
Activities in each country No We haven't booked anything in advance; we will book this as we travel

Travel Documents

Task Complete Notes
Check if need New Zealand Visa Yes Not required for us
Check if need Australian Visa Yes E-visa required
Check if need Indonesian Visa No We will get it on arrival
Check if need Singapore Visa Yes Not required for us
Check if need Malaysian Visa Yes Not required for us
Get passport photos No
Sort travel insurance Yes We decided to use Insure and Go
Get electrical item cover Yes Included in travel insurance
Get International Driving Permits Yes Can get these from the post office
Find Yellow fever certificates Yes
Create folder of important documents online Yes We are using dropbox and google drive
Print important documents No

Finances

Task Complete Notes
Decide on best credit card Yes We decided to use the Halifax Clarity credit card  
Cancel bills and direct debits Partially
Get foreign currency Partially
Notify bank we will be travelling Yes

Medical

Task Complete Notes
Check vaccinations Yes See our brief vaccination guide for more information
Malaria prophylaxis Yes See our  brief guide about malaria for more information
Make first aid kit Yes See our article about the  contents of our first aid kit for more information
Get contact lenses No

Work Related

Task Complete Notes
Compile everything required for specialty applications for Lisa Yes  
Consider signing up for locums before leaving Yes  
Let locum agency know about travelling Yes  
Cancel BMA subscription Yes  
Renew GMC registration Yes  
Contact GMC about revalidation Yes  
Relinquish license to practice Yes Check out our article about  taking a gap year after the foundation programme for more information
Renew medical indemnity insurance Yes Reduced cover for the year
Alistair's tax return Yes  

Sorting Our Stuff

Task Complete Notes
Storage
Yes
Give notice to landlord Yes
Inquire about moving out procedure from estate agent Yes
Sell car / put it off road Partial
Decide what to take back to Northern Ireland Partial
Pack everything else Partial
Dispose or sell big furniture Yes
Change our address on everything Partial
Book ferry to Northern Ireland Yes

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