In this series, aimed at (wannabe) road warriors, I’m sharing my experiences and best practices, so your tech conference experiences may end up on a higher level. (perhaps even the level of a free holiday abroad)

In the first part of this series, I shared my tips on booking the best tickets, the best hotels, while not burdening your company with excessive expenses. Today, I’ll share my tips on preparing for the trip, specifically the weeks before you leave.

Preparation tips for your trips

Check your travel documents

Depending on the country where the tech conference is hosted, you might need to apply for visa. Take note, that actually getting visa might take up to eight weeks and might even require you to pick it up in person in the capital city of the country you live in. Also note, that your journey might not be a straightforward A to B flight, and might require you additional travel documents for your lay-over.

Some destinations might also require a minimum remaining validity period for your passport, require a booked return flight, etc. The TravelCentre website for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has always helped me get prepared.

Check the vaccination requirements

A few months before I travel, I check the website for my local health authority, whether they recommend certain vaccinations for my destination. I haven’t been to a destination, thus far, that actually required vaccination. I’m actually pretty scared of needles, so knowing I don’t need another shot for five or ten years after getting two in a certain timespan, makes me more relaxed about them.

Print important documentation

It’s convenient to have the information of your trip with you in situations where the person in front of you doesn’t know what you’re talking about. This person might be a hotel clerk, but on trips to the US, most definitely, it will be the person interviewing you as part of the boarding process. My recommendation is to have your ESTA approval, hotel information, conference information and information on your family at home printed. Personally, it has always helped me to bring an A4 copy of the face of my daughter with me.

Put this information in your carry-on luggage. Don’t keep copies of important travel docs in check-in luggage. When you arrive at your destination, store these papers in the hotel safe, because they contain data that can be used for identity theft.

Bring only necessary cards and keys

Optimally, I don’t take my home keys with me when I travel. Also, the day before I travel I clean out my wallet, so I don’t bring any (loyalty) cards with me that are of no use abroad. It also helps me inventory the cards I do bring with me, which is an important step for the next preparation.

Know what to do when you lose devices, cards and identification

Let’s hope it never happens to you, but people have lost devices, cards, keys and identification while travelling abroad. Some even got mugged. As a rule of thumb I store the information with steps to take on my phone (behind a lock screen), my PC and on paper. This way, even when I lose my luggage and even when I get mugged, I still know what to do.

Note:
When you do get mugged and/or lose your phone device, make sure you’re able to block its use within 8 hours. PINs on SIM cards can be circumvented and you might end up paying for the numbers dialed, if you don’t report you’ve lost the device within 8 hours…

Let your credit card company know you’re travelling abroad

Credit card fraud is a big problem and this is why credit card companies will not hesitate to block your credit card when they feel a fraudulent payment has occurred. The same number you dial when you lose a credit card, can be dialed to tell the credit card people you’re going to be travelling abroad for a certain period of time. Other credit card companies even offer this service through an online service, which is even more convenient.

Don’t announce your trip on social media

Unless you want your house broken into, it’s a better idea not to announce your trip on social media, like twitter, facebook and myspace. At least try to make sure you don’t mention your travel dates and/or the conference name. Checking in on foursquare to show off your amazing travel destinations, might also not be the brightest idea.

If your family stays home, of course, you might not have this challenge.

Update the software on your devices

When travelling, your devices are your lifelines to the outside world. You don’t want them hacked into, so install the latest security updates for your operating system and your important applications and agents. Also, this way, on 3G/4G connected devices, you don’t have to worry about excessive phone bills due to background download processes.

Also, when you bring navigational devices, like the Nokia Lumia 920, don’t forget to check for updates to maps prior to your trip. Map updates can be significant downloads.

When you decide to install an app(lication) specifically for this conference or destination, make sure you run it at least once.

Encrypt important data on your devices

When you have important data on your device(s), encrypt it. It’s easy to lose a device and when it’s not encrypted, everything on it is up for grabs.

Set an Out of Office message for your colleagues

As a courtesy to your colleagues, configure an Out of Office message. There’s no need to configure it for anyone outside of your organization; this might even send Out of Office message to the many distribution lists you’re a member of, which is equivalent to posting on social media in terms of reach.

Make sure that when a colleague needs your help, he or she knows who else to contact. Make sure this person knows when you’ll be back again. Consider granting this person access to your agenda.

Concluding

Be prepared.