CDC Traveler’s Health

When traveling internationally, it’s important to check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for a variety of information regarding health and safety in preparation for travel to your destination as well as while you’re in-country. The website is here.

• You’ll discover crucial information on which vaccines are required and recommended for the country you’re visiting as well as suggested medications to take with you. Be sure to schedule vaccinations far in advance since some require a series of shots to be completed within a certain number of days prior to departure.
• Check out their dos and don’ts regarding food and drink so you know what to avoid. Many developing countries don’t have safe drinking water which impacts a lot of other things.
• This is where you’ll also find any Travel Health Notices that have been issued for your destination.
• This site also links you to a Healthy Travel Packing List for the country you’ll be visiting. It’s a super helpful checklist.
• You’ll find several other random points of information that may be helpful to you. For example: “If you wake in a room with a bat, seek medical care immediately. Bat bites may be hard to see.” This one terrified me! Yikes!

Credit/Debit Cards

When traveling abroad, remember these 3 tips pertaining to your credit and debit cards:

• Alert your credit card companies and your bank that you will be traveling internationally. They’ll add a ‘travel notification’ to your account so that it won’t be tagged for fraud when you try to purchase those incredible Swarovski crystal earrings in Vienna for your mother. It takes just a quick conversation with a representative and some companies have this option right on their website or mobile app.
• Don’t forget to make a copy of the front AND BACK of all your credit/debit cards traveling with you. In the event that your card(s) is lost or stolen, you’ll be able to quickly reference your copies for the phone number of your credit card company or bank to report the incident as quickly as possible.
• Many credit card companies charge a foreign transaction fee (around 3%) when using your credit card for purchases abroad. A quick tip to avoid this fee is to ask the merchant to charge you in US Dollars instead of the foreign currency of the country you’re in. If they’re able to, you’ll be able to bypass this extra charge.