How far ahead do I need to check my passport?

As early as possible, because renewals take time and many countries require your passport to be valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates. If you discover an issue a week before departure there may not be time to fix it, so this sits in the earliest phase of the checklist. You can confirm the specific rule for your destination with the passport validity checker linked in the task.

What’s different about an international trip?

Quite a lot — which is why the checklist has an International/Domestic switch. International trips add passport and visa checks, possible vaccinations, an eSIM or roaming plan, a power adapter, foreign currency and cards, local emergency numbers, tap-water safety and the country’s dialling code. Switch to Domestic and those drop away, leaving the bookings, packing and travel-day essentials that apply to any trip.

Does my progress save?

Yes — your ticked items, departure date and trip type are stored in your browser on the device you’re using, so you can come back and pick up where you left off. They aren’t synced across devices or sent anywhere, and you can wipe them any time with the Reset button. Clearing your browser data will also clear the checklist.

Are the timings strict?

No — they’re sensible general guidance, not rules. A short domestic weekend needs far less lead time than a complex multi-country trip, so treat the phases as a sensible default and shift tasks earlier if your trip is big or your destination has slow visa processing. The point is simply to make sure nothing important gets left until it’s too late to sort.

Travel Checklist

What should I do before a trip?

Work backwards from your departure date: 6+ weeks out, check your passport, sort any visa, and book; 3–4 weeks out, arrange insurance, an eSIM, currency and an adapter; a week out, check in, confirm bookings, tell your bank and weigh your bags; the day or two before, pack, charge up and plan your airport run; on the day, documents and a flight-status check. Enter your date above to see what’s due now.

6+ weeks out

Start prep

as early as possible

Passport

1–2 days before

Pack & charge

docs + status

Day of

Methodology: The checklist is a timeline of common, widely-recommended preparation steps grouped into phases by how many days remain before departure, computed from the date you enter. International-only tasks (passport, visa, eSIM, adapter, currency, emergency numbers, tap water, dialling code) are hidden in domestic mode. The phase timings are conventional guidance, not fixed rules, and many tasks link to the matching tool on the site. Your ticked items, date and trip type are stored only in your own browser; nothing is sent anywhere. How we test & calculate.

The trip-prep list that knows what’s urgent

Most travel checklists are a flat wall of tasks, which is exactly why things still slip through. This one is built around time: enter your departure date and it sorts everything into phases — what to do six weeks out, three weeks out, the final week, the day before, and on the day itself — then highlights the phase you’re actually in. So instead of wondering whether it’s too early to bother or too late to fix, you can see what genuinely needs doing now.

Built for real trips, big and small

A weekend at home and a month across three countries need very different preparation, so the checklist has an International/Domestic switch. International mode adds the things that catch people out abroad — passport validity, visas, vaccinations, an eSIM, the right power adapter, currency, emergency numbers and more. Domestic mode strips those away and leaves the bookings, packing and travel-day basics.

Every task, one tap from the tool

Where a task has a matching tool, it’s linked right there: check your passport validity, confirm whether you need a visa, weigh your bags against the allowance, build a packing list, and work out when to leave for the airport. Tick items off as you go — your progress, date and trip type are saved in your browser so you can come back to them.

Guidance, not gospel

The timings are sensible defaults rather than hard rules. If your destination has slow visa processing or your trip is unusually complex, pull the early tasks forward. The whole point is modest but real: make sure the things that take time to sort don’t get discovered the week before you fly, when there’s nothing you can do about them.

Frequently Asked Questions

The slow things should start as soon as the trip is real — ideally six or more weeks out for an international trip. That’s when to check your passport has enough validity left, look into whether you need a visa, and book flights and accommodation, because those are the steps most likely to derail a trip if left late. Enter your departure date above and the checklist highlights which phase you’re in right now.

Travel Checklist

When you book (about 6+ weeks out)

3–4 weeks before

1 week before