Tips for getting ready for 2014

Even though I'm not planning any big international trips in 2014, I have a checklist of items I like to look at at the start of each year, many of which will apply to both international and domestic trips. Here are some of the travel-related activities I like to start off the year with:

• Check passport for both available pages and expiration dates. If you're planning on traveling overseas, it's good to have at least two blank pages available in your passport. Additionally, some countries require you to have a certain amount available before your passport expires before you can enter.
  
• Start checking airfares. Kayak is one of my favorite airfare comparison search engines. If you are traveling internationally, I recommend Vayama which specializes in international flights; I used the latter to find an awesome airfare to India in 2009. You can also use Bing.com's price predictor to figure out whether you should buy now or wait for a better deal (this service was previously known as Farecast).
  
• If you are traveling internationally, determine whether you need a visa. Obtaining a visa can be tiresome and bureaucratic; I still have nightmares of the amount of time and paperwork required to obtain my husband's Indian visa in 2009.
  
• Check with your insurance to find out what your coverage is while traveling overseas. In general, it's a good idea to review your coverage every year and to understand what's available to you when you're away from home, especially when it comes to out-of-network charges.
  
• Borrow a guidebook/video from your local library or discount bookstore on any places you might like to visit. Guidebooks are constantly being revised and unless you know 100 percent you're visiting that place, it's probably not worth sinking a lot of money into the books. In the past, I've used my Kindle to look up information on the Internet or buy guidebooks when I'm actually "in country".
  
• Review your vaccinations and determine if you need any new vaccines (Yellow Fever, for instance, comes to mind for some parts of South America) or a booster (Pertussis is an example). You might also want to talk to your doctor about any necessary vaccinations or medical care/precautions for your self and/or your children. If you're visiting someplace where malaria is an issue, there are medications you can take beforehand and afterwards, for instance.
  
• If you are a member of Costco, you can check out their travel deals, including discounts on car rentals that are about $20 to $40 cheaper (in our experience) than nearly anywhere else we look and can sometimes feature additional benefits such as a free second driver and a discounted rate on a GPS. We routinely rent our cars using a Costco discount.
  
• If you are renting a car at your destination, talk to your insurance agent about what your car insurance covers. You might also review your credit card to see if you have some additional protection there. Many times rental companies offer additional insurance coverage for a charge that you don't need to take because you're already covered by your personal policy and/or your credit card.