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We’ve all been there. You think you’ve packed everything, done a thorough check, and then ten minutes after you’ve left for the airport you remember – that key item you meant to bring, that will now sit at home for the duration of your time away. Sometimes for me it’s even hours later that I suddenly realize in a panic what it is that I’ve forgotten.

Fortunately it’s usually some non-essential item I can do without. And after that one time in Washington, DC that I forgot my passport at home (and very luckily had time to metro back, retrieve it, and still make my flight), I always do a final check walking out the door that at a minimum I have my passport and ATM/credit cards so I have a way to buy anything else I may have forgotten.

But the danger area for so many travelers – and especially us frequent travelers – is that you get complacent and have this false sense of security that you know what you’re doing when booking travel. Which is of course when you make the most egregious oversights and end up stuck with an inconvenient travel itinerary or miserable hotel booking. Checklists may seem elementary, but even experts get better results by using them, as many doctors can attest to.

This past summer, when in the course of a week I had inadvertently booked a smoking hotel room & a friend who’s also a frequent traveler booked a flight for 6am instead of 6pm, I knew that I had to put up some booking checklists on the website, both for me and also for all those other travelers out there. Before clicking that “confirm” button to commit to a flight booking or hotel reservation, run through the relevant checklist now in the Travel Savvy Gal ‘Travel Resources’ section:

Travel Checklist: Booking Flights

Before purchasing your next flight, do a quick check of these items, especially if you’re comparing the costs of multiple itineraries

Travel Checklist: Booking Accommodations

Things to check to ensure you don’t have any unpleasant surprises when you arrive on holiday

Travel Checklist: To Do List (Pre-Trip)

Things to check or look into *before* you take your next trip

Travel Checklist: Packing Must Haves (everything else you can buy in a pinch)

Your last reality check before you walk out the door

 

What is on *your* travel checklist??