Most trip problems are small things that were easy to fix a week earlier: a passport that expires too soon, a bank card that gets blocked abroad, a missing visa or an insurance policy that does not cover the activity you booked. This checklist walks through the jobs worth doing at six weeks, two weeks, 48 hours and on the day you leave, plus a short list for when you land.
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How to use this checklist
Start at the section that matches how soon you leave and work down. If you are booking a last-minute trip, do the six-week items first anyway; passport validity, entry rules and insurance matter more than anything else on the list. Traveling with children? Work through the family travel safety checklist as well, because it adds the extra documents and the age-by-age prep this list leaves out.
The links next to some items go to official government pages or to our longer guides. Official pages always win when rules change, and they do change, so check them again close to departure.
Last reviewed: November 2026.