I should have been working on all of these things two weeks ago. Instead it all starts today, but thankfully it’s going smoothly so far. We’ve traveled to three places abroad successfully. While we certainly don’t know everything, we’ve learned a lot about how to pack for over seas travel (bring your own ear buds – they ones they provide in flight are awful) and what to expect out of a long international flight (neck pillows to the rescue), and how to get around effectively. Pro-tip: giant suitcases are a NO, trust me on this. If you could have seen us hobbling along with sore backs and arms on the trains and cobblestoned streets of Brussels with a gigantic suitcase in tow, you would have pointed and laughed. You would have been justified in doing so, because we looked as ridiculous as we felt.
Still, as learned as we are, we have yet to take what most would consider very important precautions. This time it’s the “better safe than sorry” approach.
Staying Connected with Pre-Paid Sim Cards and/or “WhatsApp”
Pre-paid sim cards and rental phones are usually available in any airport from Vodacom. We used them when were in Malta, and frankly I don’t think we’ll ever look back. They allow us to stay connected most all the time which means that I can message via Google Chat, Facebook or really any online communication system I want. We still put our phones in airplane mode when we’re not using them to save data in case of roaming while at the same time saving our ever precious battery life.
Incase no pre-paid sim card is available and there is no wifi to be had for Google Chat or Facebook, there’s always WhatsApp. WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS – and believe me when I tell you that texting is ridiculously expensive over seas. That’s why WhatsApp is where it’s at, and why I’ll have it installed just incase.
RFID Blockers and Money Belts
In all of my research on traveling to South Africa, it seems that Cape Town is one of the safer places to go, however there is still the matter of frequent muggings, card scanning and professional pick-pocketing (not that these are not also prevalent in the states). This has prompted me to shop for and buy RFID blocking card and passport holders and a Pacsafe RFIDsafe 100 Anti-Theft RFID-blocking Travel Waist Wallet. With these new purchases; as long as we’re careful about only using ATMs
inside buildings with privacy…and as long as we are mindful of our surroundings I think we’ll make out alright.
Travelers Insurance
I took it a step further this time around and also paid for basic travelers
insurance which helps in the event of lost luggage, cancelled or missed
flights, changes in schedule and some types of theft as well as emergency
medical issues. The top rated travelers insurance through Consumers Advocate as of right now is Allianz. For $192 we are pretty well covered for the length of our trip (11 days). That’s much less expensive than I thought it would be, and it’s much safer for us to have it rather than leaving things to chance like we’ve done in the past. I’ve never purchased any sort of travelers insurance before, so I’m not 100% sure I chose the absolute best insurance. I do feel strongly that I didn’t choose the worst. Let’s hope we won’t need to find out how good or bad it is.
Booking Fun Stuff Ahead of Time
While there’s a ton of really amazing “once in a lifetime” things to do in Cape Town that appear to be available with out pre-planning, there are a few things we wanted to make sure we wouldn’t miss out on. Today, while I sat with my coffee and a bagel, I booked us on the Marine Big Five Adventure from Cape Town which is a full day whale watching charter boat where we’ll hopefully see right whales, dolphins, great white sharks, seals and penguins. I also reserved spots for us on a full day chocolate, cheese, olive oil and wine tour through Stellenbosch. The vineyards in South Africa are plentiful and beautiful – we’re even staying in a hotel that happens to be on a wine farm! Those two things are our honeymoon gifts to each other.
I am beyond excited. Three days and a wake-up left to go!
JezzabellGem Does Earth 
I wish more of my stateside friends knew of What’sApp its the only way I speak to my family overseas. :]
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It’s a really great app! I found out about it last year when we traveled to Belgium, and I’ve been using it ever since.
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