Hey there, Hannah here!

I've been on the move for over 18 years. You'd think by now the pre-travel prep would be second nature, autopilot, even. And in some ways it is, yet I've still been burned. Not literally (well, once in Morocco, but that's a different story 🌶️), but by the small things I thought I had covered.

A friend of mine missed a connection in Istanbul last year because of a transit visa requirement she had no idea about. Another got off a 12-hour flight to find her phone plan didn't include data roaming, and she was completely offline in a city where the apps she needed were totally different from anything she'd downloaded. I've been scammed more than once. These aren't dramatic travel disasters, but they are stressful, sometimes expensive, and yet fixable-if-only-I 'd-known moments.

So today I want to share the 5 things I do every single time before I travel.

On today's notice board:

🛂 Visa & entry requirements
📶 eSIM sorted before you land
🏳️‍🌈 Safety for women & queer travellers
📱 The local apps you actually need
🌦️ Weather & what to actually pack

1. Visa & entry requirements

This is the one that still stresses people out, and rightly so. Visa rules are not static, they shift with politics, bilateral agreements, and sometimes seemingly overnight policy changes. The number of stories I've seen in nomad Facebook groups about people getting stopped at the gate, or even turned around at immigration, is wild.

ETA, ESTA, eVisa, visa on arrival, different names, different approval times, different costs, and different consequences for getting it wrong. I always check entry requirements specific to my passport, not generic travel blogs written for a broad audience. Because what applies to a British passport holder absolutely does not apply to someone traveling on a South African, USA, Colombian, or Filipino passport.

Not doing this check is simply not an option. 🙅‍♀️

2. eSIM sorted before I land

If you are still relying on airport SIM kiosks or hoping your carrier's roaming plan won't be extortionate, we need to talk.

I've been using eSIMs for a while now, and Airalo is my go-to. The fact that you can set it up before you even board, so the moment you land and turn off airplane mode, you've got data, is something I'll never take for granted again after the one humbling time I tried to navigate arrivals in a country where I spoke zero of the language with no internet and no downloaded offline maps. Never again. 😅

Get your eSIM sorted before you travel. One of the easiest wins in the whole prep process. Here's $3 of your next Airalo plan.

3. Women & queer safety research

This is one I feel strongly about, and one that generic travel content consistently fails at.

As a queer woman who has traveled to dozens of countries, including some where being out is not safe, I do not skip this step ever. The cultural landscape, legal context, and general vibe around gender and sexuality vary enormously from country to country, and sometimes city to city. What's accepted in Lisbon may be completely different from a smaller town just two hours away.

I look for: Is same-sex affection in public risky? Are there areas that are more welcoming? Are there known issues around harassment for women traveling solo? What do other queer travelers actually report, not just what the tourist board or fear-mongering government sites report?

This research takes time, and knowing where to find accurate, community-sourced info matters. 🗺️

4. Download the local apps BEFORE getting there

Uber doesn't work everywhere. In many cities, it barely exists, or it's wildly overpriced compared to the local alternative. In some countries, food delivery, payments, transit, all of it, runs on apps you've never heard of.

Bolt over Uber in much of Europe. Grab in Southeast Asia. Yango in parts of Africa. KakaoTaxi in South Korea. And that's just ride-hailing, never mind food delivery, local transit, or city-specific navigation.

Downloading these before you travel, while you're still on reliable wifi and can set up accounts without stress, is a lifesaver. The alternative is standing outside a train station, squinting at your roaming data, trying to create an account for an app you've never heard of in a language you can't read. NOT fun, trust me haha.

5. Weather & packing list

I've packed for the wrong season more than once. I arrived in Canada in spring in sandals to find it was absolutely freezing. I've landed in what I assumed would be dry season only to be greeted by a tropical storm. 🌧️

I now check specifically: What's the weather actually like at the time I'm going? What's the temperature range, day to night? Are there seasonal patterns, public holidays, or local events that affect what I need to bring or how I should dress? A good packing list isn't just about clothes, it's about being prepared for the actual destination, not your imagination of it.

This newsletter is sponsored by TravelReddi

Here's the truth: I used to do all of the above by crawling through Facebook groups, Reddit threads, Google rabbit holes, and even ChatGPT, and none of it gave me a consistent, passport-specific, up-to-date answer in one place.

That's why I'm super excited to share TravelReddi with you...

Sponsor Spotlight: TravelReddi ✈️ One thing I do believe is that when we choose to travel, we have a responsibility to do it thoughtfully. TravelReddi creates a free, personalized pre-trip checklist based on your passport and destination, covering visas, safety information, cultural insights, local customs, scam alerts, airport transfers, money tips, local apps, packing lists, and more. It's a simple way to arrive better informed, with a little more context and a little less assumption, so you can engage with the places you visit more respectfully and confidently. 🌍 → Check it out at travelreddi.com & download the app now!

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I really do believe that preparation is an act of self-respect when you travel. Not paranoia, but being thoughtful about where you're going so you can actually be present when you get there, rather than troubleshooting in arrivals. ✈️

Big love from (currently) Canada 🗺️

Hannah

PS. TravelReddi is completely free to use.

Just pop in your passport country and destination and see what comes up, it took me less than two minutes and it already flagged something I hadn't thought about for my next trip. 👀 → travelreddi.com​