Pre-Trip Checklist: What to Do 7 Days Before, the Day Before, and the Morning of Departure

• 7 days before: anything that involves waiting or a third party (documents, entry authorisation, insurance, money, medication, mobile data).
• The day before: things only you can do, but that are unreliable if done early (flight check, online check-in, weighing bags, final packing).
• The morning of departure: a last pocket check and working out when to leave for the airport.
• After the trip: settling up, insurance claims and receipts — the longer they wait, the harder they get.

Documents and entry

• Passport validity: many countries require your passport to remain valid for a period beyond your arrival or departure date. Six months is a common rule of thumb, but requirements vary by destination, so check your destination's official government site. If you need a renewal, a week may already be tight.
• Visa or electronic travel authorisation: some visa-free destinations still require an online authorisation before you travel, such as the US ESTA, Korea's K-ETA or Europe's ETIAS once it applies. Check your destination's entry requirements on the official site and apply only through official channels, not look-alike agencies that add fees.
• Everyone travelling with you: check each companion's passport, including children's, not just your own.
• Arrival forms: some destinations offer an online arrival or customs declaration. Find out whether you need one and when it opens.

Insurance and money

• Travel insurance: confirm when the policy starts and what it covers (medical, delays, lost baggage). Some cover depends on which card you used to pay for flights, so read the terms before you buy.
• Currency: decide how much cash to carry and how much to put on cards. The currency converter gives you a quick sense of rates.
• Cards: make sure overseas transactions are enabled, limits are high enough and no card expires mid-trip. Save your bank's overseas lost-card number somewhere offline.
• Backup card: keep your main and backup cards in different places so one lost wallet does not take both.

Health, bookings and connectivity

• Medication: pack enough regular and prescription medicine, plus a few extra days. Some ingredients are restricted in certain countries, so check your destination's official rules and carry a copy of the prescription or a doctor's note in English.
• Accommodation and bookings: reopen every hotel, transport, restaurant and ticket confirmation. Check dates, guest count and name spelling, and deal with any prepayment or missing details now.
• Mobile data: choose between an eSIM, a physical SIM, a pocket Wi-Fi or roaming. Confirm your phone supports eSIM; if a SIM or router has to be shipped or collected at the airport, order it a week ahead.
• Luggage plan: decide how many bags, checked or carry-on, and who brings shared items (adapters, hair dryer, first-aid kit) so nobody packs duplicates.
• Weather: check the forecast for your destination and pick clothes now.

Flights and check-in

• Reconfirm your flight: check departure time, terminal and any schedule-change notices on the airline's site or app.
• Online check-in: most airlines open online check-in and seat selection some time before departure; the window depends on the airline, and the day before usually works.
• Boarding pass and booking reference: save them to your phone and take a screenshot in case the airport signal is poor.

Bags and packing

• Weigh your bags: compare against the checked and cabin allowances on your ticket. Rebalancing at home beats opening your suitcase at the counter.
• Run the packing list: tick items one by one, especially chargers, adapters and power banks (power banks generally have to go in cabin baggage).
• Liquids and restricted items: cabin liquid limits and banned items follow your departure airport and airline rules.
• Copies and cloud backup: photograph your passport data page, visa or authorisation, insurance policy and hotel confirmations. Save them to the cloud or email them to yourself, and keep a printed set separate from the originals.

Home and you

• Utilities: turn off the gas, unplug what you do not need, take the rubbish out and clear perishables from the fridge.
• Doors and mail: lock windows and doors; for longer trips, ask someone to collect mail or pause deliveries.
• Charge everything: phone, power bank, headphones and camera tonight.
• Alarms: set two, one ten minutes earlier than planned, and have travel companions set their own.
• Itinerary: re-read how you get to the airport and the first leg after landing, and make sure your plan opens offline (see offline trip planner apps compared).

Last 5 things before you leave

• Passport (plus a printed visa or authorisation if your destination needs one).
• Wallet: credit and debit cards, some foreign cash and a little home currency for the ride back.
• Phone and charging cable, with the power bank in your cabin bag.
• Boarding pass or booking reference saved on your phone.
• Home: gas off, doors locked, keys with you.

The three things people forget most

• The charger or adapter: left charging by the bed overnight, phone unplugged, charger stays behind.
• Things in the fridge or bathroom: contact-lens solution, skincare, medicine that needs refrigeration.
• Your house keys: so focused on the passport that you lock yourself out.

• Settle up: total the shared costs and who covered what, then agree once on who owes whom. For tools that work without an account, see best split bill apps with no sign-up.
• Insurance claims: for delays, damaged luggage or medical visits, check the claim deadline and required documents in your policy, and keep the evidence (delay letters, medical receipts).
• Expense receipts: for work trips, photograph and file invoices and receipts with dates and purposes.
• Connectivity and cards: return any rented pocket Wi-Fi, turn off roaming you no longer need and scan your card statement for unexpected charges.

How to turn it on

• Open the trip, then turn on Trip reminders from the trip menu. Each trip is set up separately, and you can pick only the checkpoints you want.
• The trip needs a start date (and an end date for the settle-up reminder) so the reminder knows which day to send.
• Reminders arrive on a fixed schedule in the Taiwan (UTC+8) morning; in other time zones they will land earlier or later in your day.
• It is free: no Pro plan and no account needed.

iPhone, iPad and privacy notes

• iOS needs version 16.4 or later, and TripBoard must first be added to your Home Screen from Safari (Share → Add to Home Screen). Open it from the Home Screen icon and turn reminders on there; a regular Safari tab cannot receive notifications.
• On Android and desktop, Chrome, Edge and Firefox work directly. If you previously blocked notifications, re-allow them in your browser's site settings.
• Reminder settings live on this device only, so a new phone means turning them on again.
• To send a notification, only the trip name and each reminder's send date are uploaded. Places, expenses, members and photos never leave your device.