Deciding to take a big international trip is both exciting and overwhelming. Especially if your days are already busy, the idea of figuring out what you need to do and actually get it done can be daunting. What really helps me in these types of situations are checklists. I sit down and brainstorm everything that I need to get done, and then organize it into a realistic timeline for myself.

But what if you don't know what you need to add to your checklist? This article has you covered. I'll go though each step in a timeline order. (Printable version of this Timeline Checklist here!)

More details about all of these steps are in my new book From Paper to Plane: A Step-by-Step Guide to Efficiently Plan Your Vacations Abroad, which you can purchase here.

On a train in Germany, 3 months preggers and feeling sick, but proud of my book!

4 Months or More Before Your Trip

While you don't need to make any bookings or detailed plans this far out, now is the time to make sure you have what you need in order to travel internationally. The two most important things to check on now are:

Apply for your passport. If you have one already, make sure your passport will not expire within 6 months of your trip - and get it renewed if it does.
Check your destination for any visa or immunization requirements.

This is also the time that you want to consider some options that could save you money or hassle later on. This is when you should consider the following:

If you want to apply for a travel-friendly credit card, apply early to make sure you have it available to use to pay for your bookings. If you want to utilize your points to cover the costs of your trip (like your flight), you'll need to apply about 6 months before your trip because it generally takes about 3 months to earn your sign-up allotment of points.
Look into your debit card. If you have overseas transaction fees and high ATM fees, now would be the time to shop for a different option. I like Charles Schwab, but also many credit unions are good options.
Research your options for your cell phone provider. I love that with T-Mobile I have free data abroad. Decide if you want to change carriers, purchase a travel plan, rely on wifi, or purchase a SIM card abroad.
Consider applying for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. If you want to take advantage of either of these programs that can save you time at the airport, now is the time to look into it.

Also, have fun dreaming and researching during this time. This is a great time to start thinking and maybe making clearer decisions about where you want to go during your trip. I like using Pinterest to get good ideas at this stage.

3 Months Before Your Trip

This is the time that you want to do the number one thing that will guarantee that you will take this trip:

Book your flight.

This is also a great time to get your plans and finances in order:

Make your itinerary. It doesn't need to be exact at this point, but you should at least have an idea of where you want to go, how long you want to stay in each place, and how you will get around. Start by setting up your organized digital itinerary.
Make your travel budget. Because you just had your first (and largest) expense of a flight, if you mean to travel on a budget, this is when you want to make it clear.
Consider traveler's insurance. Decide if this is something you need/want, find out how you are already covered through your credit card and/or health insurance, and then look into your options.

Travel requires a lot of emails, confirmation numbers, contacts, and more! Set up your systems to keep things organized once these start piling in:

Make a folder in your email specifically for this trip.
Set up a Google Drive or Dropbox folder for needed documents, PDFs, and your digital itinerary.

2 Months Before Your Trip

Finally you can start getting in to the nitty gritty of your trip:

Book accommodations.
Research transportation options.
Check anything that needs to be pre-booked (tours, museums, etc.)

1 Month Before Your Trip

Book transportation (rental cars, trains that need advance tickets, etc.)
Schedule any needed vaccinations. Remember at 4 months, you already researched this. You'll need to schedule them now because the vaccinations can take a couple weeks to become effective.
Make plans for pets/plants/mail. If you are going to be gone for a while, you'll need to make sure that your home is taken care of while you're away.

2 Weeks Before Your Trip

Decide what to pack.
Order any special currency you might need. Note: This is not commonly needed, but if you need a lot of cash right away in your trip, or if you are traveling to a cash-centric country that won't have many ATMs, you can order money from the bank.

1 Week Before Your Trip

At this point, you should be done with your planning. So now it's just about making sure that you have everything in place and confirmed before you leave:

Confirm reservations. If you are renting from Airbnb or similar, confirm your stay and make sure you have clear directions on how to find the home and how to get in. Also confirm with any small bed & breakfasts, as well as tours.
Alert your banks of your travel dates and locations. This is extremely important to do so that your money doesn't get blocked for fraud alert on your first day abroad.
Check the weather forecast. I like to start checking out the weather to make sure that what I plan to pack will suffice.
Confirm with house sitter. If you have someone looking after your home, make sure you confirm now, double check dates, and have all of the needed information ready to go for him/her.
Print any needed documents. I tend to wait until now to print off any of these PDFs that I've been saving in my Drive folder to print them all at once. I keep these documents in a document envelope with our passports and other needed paperwork.
Make 2 color copies of your passport, credit card, and insurance card. Keep one copy in a separate place in your suitcase. Keep another copy at home where a friend or family member can find it in an emergency. If your things get lost or stolen, having copies of these will make your life easier.
Clear space on your phone and camera for pictures and videos. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to take a photo and realizing that your phone is full!

1 Day Before Your Trip

Check-in for your flight online.
Pack! Separate everything that you want access to on the plane.
Download any movies, books, or podcasts you want for your flight.
Open up each of the documents saved to your Drive or Dropbox folder so that they cache on your phone (that way they won't need internet to open later).
Cache needed maps on your phone. You can do this in Google Maps or with a separate app like City Maps 2 Go. This way you won't need internet data to use your maps on your trip.

Day of Trip

If you're like me, in these last moments, I always feel like I will forget something important. Use this checklist to feel at ease. Obviously if you have an early morning flight, you should move some of these items to the day prior:

Prep the house by taking out the garbage, doing the dishes, cleaning the fridge, locking the windows and doors, etc.
Stretch or do some yoga. This helps me loosen up before getting crammed into an uncomfortable airplane for 10 hours.
Eat a big meal before the airport. You won't be getting fed well for a while.
Double check lists - this list or any others you've used to not forget anything.
Arrive at the airport at least 2 hours early for an international flight.
Have fun on your trip!

For this entire checklist on one beautiful printable page, download here.