Travel Prep: Then and Now
When you’re younger
Grab an old backpack, stuff a couple of t-shirts in there and an extra pair of socks, find your Lonely Planet guide, jam it into the back pocket of your jeans, get moving
When you’re older
Buy travel insurance, mainly for the medevac option.
Ask your doctor if it would be wise to hike Mount Etna.
Carefully plot out the itinerary. Leave enough time — say, six to eight hours — between connecting flights, just to be sure.
Send your itinerary to your kids and your neighbors so they can reach you in an emergency, either yours or theirs.
If you are traveling internationally, register with the State Department, so if there is civil unrest where you are going you can get an email reminder that there is civil unrest where you are going.
Book all lodgings in advance so you can use your AARP discount.
When booking hotels or AirBnBs, check to see if the places have elevators or will you have to schlep the luggage up four flights of curving stairs.
Consider buying a fanny pack or pickpocket-proof pants.
Try to remember where you left your passport. Check to see if it has expired.
Make copies of important documents, like passport, driver’s license and Medicare card. Leave copies at home with people you trust.
Go to the pharmacy to make sure you’ll have enough pills for the duration of the trip. Remember to check before the day you are supposed to leave if you’ll need new prescriptions for the meds that have run out of refills.
Buy a pair of compression socks for the flights.
Pack earplugs.
Remember the sunblock, bug repellant, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Claritin, Tums, Pepto, maybe Imodium.
Take out the weekly pillbox and meticulously fill each day with the full regimen of your meds. Then, since you’ll be gone more than a week’s time, find or buy another weekly pillbox and do the same thing.
To be sure, always take an extra two or three days’ worth of pills in case your flight is canceled or there is civil unrest or you miss your flight and you are gone an extra day or two.
Make a list of all those medications and the names and contact info for all your doctors. Good idea to add your Medicare info, too.
If you are traveling internationally, figure out, with the time difference, when exactly you should take your morning pills and when to take the night-time ones.
Remember to pack all your meds in your carryon where you can access them easily and they can’t be lost by an airline.
Bring a hat if it could be sunny and bring an umbrella if it could be rainy.
Bring clothes for hot weather, cold weather and anything in between.
Don’t forget your reading glasses.
Print out all boarding passes because if you download them to your phone, you may not be able to find them when you need them.
Copy down instructions on how to change the time zone on your smartphone so you don’t think your return flight is taking off at 3:30 in the morning.
Make sure you are carrying your emergency contact information and identification so anyone providing emergency assistance will know whom to contact.
Don’t forget the orthotics.