Everyone knows to book flights, hotels, and maybe transportation before embarking on an adventure, but what about all of the other things you should do before an international trip? Often times these little tasks are forgotten and fall through the cracks, which could end up causing some big surprises - like a huge cell phone or having your bank cards blocked.

If you know me, you know that I’m a big fan of making organized lists. Well thought out to-do lists help me prevent these types of catastrophic moments. I created a complete Travel Planning Timeline checklist that includes all of these tasks, plus everything else you need to do, so you don’t need to create your own to-do list from scratch. Just download and print so you don’t have to worry about forgetting anything! But if you already have your to-do list started, check to make sure that you don't leave out these small but important items.

Here are the 6 most commonly forgotten trip-planning tasks:

Alert your banks.

For every credit and debit card that you plan to pack on your international trip, you'll need to alert the bank before your trip. If you don’t, the bank will see an attempted use on your card in an unexpected country and place a block on your card for fraud alert. To avoid this, call the number on the back of your card(s) or log in online to set up a “travel notification” or “travel alert” or whatever your bank calls it. They will want to know dates and countries of your trip. Most banks are now making this very easy to complete online. Take care of this a week (or even a day) before you leave.

See if you need vaccinations or visas.

Depending on where you are traveling, you may need a visa and/or some vaccinations. If there are required vaccinations, you will need to carry a document that proves that you are vaccinated. Go to travel.state.gov, click on International Travel > Country Information > and the destination country to get the most up-to-date information on any required visas or vaccinations. You can also look at cdc.gov to get more information about any other recommended vaccinations, even if none are officially required.

Check your passport.

If you've had a passport for many years, you may forget to even think about when it’s time to renew. Check the expiration date to make sure that it will not expire within 3 months after your trip. If it will expire soon, get it taken care of right away. Some countries will not let you enter if your passport is going to expire soon, even if it’s after your return flight. Do this as soon as you decide that you want to go on a trip, so you have plenty of time to take care of it.

Print needed documents.

While most online pre-purchased tickets can be accessible by phone, there are still some that require a physical printed copy. Check the fine print of any tickets ahead of time so that you aren’t stuck without a printer. I made this mistake domestically, as my Broadway tickets in NYC needed to be printed. We had a last minute panic with the concierge at our hotel, but finally got the tickets printed in time.

Have a plan for your phone.

Decide how you want to use your phone during your trip. Do you want to text and make calls? Do you want to use the internet while you are walking around, or do you want to rely on wifi alone? For more information about

I go into a lot more detail about this in my book, From Paper to Plane: A Step-by-Step Guide to Efficiently Plan Your Vacations Abroad. But here is a quick overview of your main options regarding your cell phone. 1. Use T-Mobile or any other provider who has free international data. 2. Buy prepaid SIM cards wherever you go. 3. Buy a burner phone. 4. Rely on local wifi and apps. 5. Purchase a data travel plan.

Cache information on your phone.

Even if you will have data abroad, your internet might still be slow or spotty. If you have important information that you will need to be able to access - like tickets, maps, itinerary, etc., open and cache these pages before you leave the country.

You can find all of these to-do items plus everything else you need to do on this free printable Travel Planning Timeline. Just download, print, and hang on your fridge so you can check off important tasks as you go! 

If you need more details about how to best accomplish all of the items on the list, you can find everything listed on the Travel Planning Timeline explained further in my book, From Paper to Plane: A Step-by-Step Guide to Efficiently Plan Your Vacations Abroad. This book is a must if you are newer to international travel, but it's still very helpful for frequent travelers looking to be more organized and efficient.