Extensive preparations are an important part of any successful trip. You need to sort out your affairs and get organized before you embark on your vacation. By making proper preparations you’ll eliminate any chances of forgetting an important task or item that may affect how well you’ll enjoy your trip. Unfortunately, many travellers still forget many details.

Here are five pre-travel preparations that are most often forgotten. Remember to do these five things and you’re on your way to a worry-free vacation.

1. Checking passport expiration

This is one of the most frequently forgotten pre-travel preparations. The funny thing is, it’s as simple as opening your passport to look at the expiration date. Remember that you also need to count how long your passport is going to be valid.

Some countries have a policy that a passport must have six months left before it expires before they are allowed to enter the country. If the expiration is in less than six months then there’s a huge chance you will either be disallowed from boarding your flight, or worse on arrival at the destination.

2. Visa preparations

Forgetting to check on the visa requirements of a country is another thing that is usually forgotten in the frenzy that accompanies travel preparations. Because of relaxed travel policies for tourists, especially on people of particular citizenry, many assume that they can just enter a country with only their passport in tow. There are many countries that require visas to be prepared before arrival, and often it can take months.

Do your research on the country you’re visiting before you book your flight and find out what their visa requirements are, if any. Once you find out, apply immediately. Getting a visa can take some time so you need to take that into account.

3. Get appropriate immunization

Since you’re already checking online for visa requirements you might as well also check on the immunization requirements for the country you’re visiting. There are certain vaccination requirements for each country that will help prevent you from contracting a disease. List the vaccinations required for that country and go visit your doctor. Vaccination needs prior preparation – sometimes several weeks before your trip, so do research on this as early as you can.

4. Getting Insurance

It is highly encouraged that you take out a travel insurance when you are going on a vacation in another country. Even though travel is relatively safe, you are still exposed to higher levels of risk. You wouldn’t want something to happen to you without an insurance cover to fall back on. Things like theft, illness, legal fees or damage to property are just some of the things that are covered by travel insurance.

Shop around and do your due diligence before you opt to buy. There are many travel insurance providers and prices range widely, so it pays to do your homework to get the best deal.

5. Cleaning the Fridge and Emptying Rubbish

This is something that I’ve been guilty of doing before in my early years of travelling. I took a two week vacation but forgot to remove highly perishable items from the fridge and from my cupboard. When I got back home, my flat had the unmistakeable smell of spoiled food. My first day back home was spent cleaning and throwing away decomposing food.

When you’re going on a long trip you need to turn your fridge off to ensure safety. This means that you need to completely clean out your fridge.

Don’t forget to empty the rubbish bin and throw it out.