Do Your Honeymoon Homework!

Ms. Peeptoe's post about vaccines reminded me that I have wanted to do a post about travel planning.

Disclaimer: I am not a travel agent or doctor, but I do know a little something because of the nature of my work.

If you are going to somewhere outside the country you are not familiar with (even places in the Caribbean or Mexico), please, PLEASE check the CDC's Traveler's Health website. I cannot stress this enough! I don't know how many people I meet on trips who never thought to check about vaccines or other preventative medicines and wonder why they got sick. Even seasoned travelers can forget.

If there are any warnings about your vacation locale, I'd see your doctor, or better yet, go to a travel medicine clinic. Almost every university has one, as do most county public health centers. I say this because diseases can be specific to a region in a country. For example, malaria is prevalent in Ethiopia, but if you will only be in the capital city of Addis Ababa, then you don't have to take malaria prevention medication. The mosquitoes that carry malaria can't live in an altitude as high as Addis Ababa. But don't take my word for it, double check with your doctor. :) Travel clinics will go through your whole itinerary and help you determine which vaccines are necessary, precautionary or just a good idea in general.

See your physician or visit the travel clinic early. Not only do you want to be bruise free on your honeymoon, but you want to insure that you can get your prescriptions. Last April there was a shortage of the Yellow Fever vaccine in Seattle. I called around for weeks to get a shot. Also, drugs like Malarone (malaria drug) aren't always stocked at your local pharmacy. It can take a few days to get them. Some preventative drugs need to be taken a few days before you arrive at you honeymoon destination to be effective.

If your on a budget, I would check on the vaccines needed to travel to your selected honeymoon destination before I book the trip. Not all insurance companies will cover vaccines and preventative medicine for an overseas trip. The bill for my last vaccine/prescription was over $900. My employer paid those costs since I was traveling for work, so didn't have to worry about it. $900 each is a lot of money especially if you didn't know a bill like that was coming.

If you are on a medication, besides bringing an ample supply on trip, don't forget to bring a copy of your prescription or just have the names of your drugs written down. What if you lost your medication? You need to know what you are on and the doses so you can have it refilled at a local pharmacy.

As for general safety, I always check the State Department's website before I travel. I like to be aware of what's going on. You maybe headed to a very peaceful country but unknowingly during elections. An event like an election can disrupt travel through out the country, be called as a holiday (then everything is closed) and even in the most peaceful counties spark a little violence in some areas.

Also, if you are going to be away for more than a week or two, why not register with the local US Embassy or Consulate? You can do it online on the State Department's website and it's really easy. If something happens, then at least the have a record of you. Also, if you lose your passport, it makes it a little easier to get replaced. It takes 10 minutes to register but it will save so much time and sanity in the event something goes wrong while your away.

Lastly, make copies of your passport and itinerary and leave them with friends and relatives. It's just a good precaution. A co-worker had her purse and passport stolen on a trip and luckily we had a copy of all her travel documents in Seattle. We faxed over copies of her passport and visa, and she was able to get a new passport and exit visa in a few days.

I hoped this helped a little. Again, I am not a medical professional. I work in the Malaria prevention field, so I've picked up a thing or 5. :)