What to send clients before they travel: a pre departure checklist

Send one message five to seven days before departure. Late enough that everything is confirmed, early enough that an expired passport, a missing entry permit or a card that needs unblocking can still be dealt with. One message covering documents, check-in, baggage, the arrival, money, health and how they are going to get online, rather than five messages spread over a fortnight.

This is the cheapest thing an agency does and the thing clients quote to their friends. It also prevents most of the calls you would otherwise take while the client is in another time zone.

When to send it, and when not to

Five to seven days works for the main message. Before that, anything you send gets read and forgotten. Later than about three days, and there is no time left to fix a document.

Two exceptions. Anything requiring an application, such as an entry permit or a visa, has to be raised at booking and chased weeks out, not here. And a short reminder the evening before, with just the check-in link, the transfer details and the number to call, is worth sending on top, because that is the message they will actually have open at the airport.

Documents, starting with the ones that expire quietly

• Passport validity. Many countries require it to be valid for six months beyond the return date, some for three, and some also want blank pages. Check the destination's own official source for this trip, and tell the client the date rather than the rule.
• The name on the ticket matches the passport, including middle names and hyphens. This is easier to fix now than at a check-in desk.
• Visa or electronic travel authorisation, where the destination requires one. Online permits are not instant and the details on them have to match the passport exactly. Confirm the client has the approval in hand, not just the application.
• Onward or return ticket and proof of accommodation, which some countries check on entry.
• Copies that do not need a network. Passport, insurance, bookings and the approval emails saved to the phone's own storage, plus one paper copy in the luggage. A document in a webmail inbox is not available to someone with no data.
• Driving abroad needs an international driving permit in some countries, and it is issued at home, not on arrival.
• A child travelling with one parent or with grandparents may need a consent letter. Some countries ask, most do not, and it is worth knowing which this is.

Check-in, and what time to be at the airport

• When online check-in opens, which is commonly 24 to 48 hours before departure depending on the airline, and when it closes. Send the link.
• Some low cost airlines charge a fee for checking in at the airport. If the client is flying one of them, say so plainly.
• Both legs. The return is the one people forget.
• Boarding passes saved offline, in the phone's wallet or as a screenshot, not only in an email.
• What time to be at the terminal, using the airline's own recommendation for that route rather than a general rule, and any known works or queues at that airport.
• Seats, meals and assistance confirmed, particularly special assistance, which usually has to be requested in advance.

Baggage, because this is what they call you about

• The exact allowance in their booking, in kilograms and in centimetres, for the cabin bag and the personal item as well as the hold bag. The allowance on the airline's website is not always the allowance on their fare.
• Weigh the bag at home. Excess baggage at the desk is the most expensive thing in the airport.
• Power banks travel in the cabin, never in checked luggage, and some airlines now also restrict using them in flight.
• Liquids. The 100 ml limit still applies at most airports, and the rules at airports with newer scanners have changed more than once, so point them at the departure airport's own page rather than a general answer.
• Medicines in their original packaging, with a copy of the prescription for anything significant. Some medicines that are ordinary at home are restricted or banned at the destination, which is worth checking for any regular prescription.
• Plug type and voltage, and whether their devices need an adapter or a converter.
• A change of clothes and any essential medicine in the cabin bag, for the connection that goes wrong.

Getting from the airport to where they are sleeping

• Who is meeting them, the name, the exact meeting point, what the sign will say, and a phone number that works locally.
• What to do if nobody is there. The number to call first, and the instruction to use the official taxi rank or app rather than anyone who approaches them inside the terminal.
• The hotel address written in the local language and script, so it can be shown to a driver. This single line prevents more trouble than anything else on this list.
• How long the transfer takes and what a taxi should cost, so an inflated price is recognisable.
• Arrival paperwork, such as an entry card or a customs declaration that has to be filled in before landing or online beforehand.

Money and cards abroad

• The card's expiry date is after the return date. Cards expire mid trip more often than you would think.
• The bank's number for a blocked card, saved in the phone and written on paper. Most banks no longer need travel notice, but cards still get blocked, and the fix is a phone call the client can only make if they have the number.
• Pay in the local currency. When a card terminal or cash machine offers to charge in the client's home currency, declining it is almost always cheaper.
• Two cards, carried in two different places, and a small amount of local cash for the first day.
• Whether the destination is card friendly or cash first. Both extremes exist, and the assumption is what causes the problem.
• Cash machines attached to banks rather than the standalone ones in tourist areas, and a check of their own card's foreign transaction fee before leaving.

Health, insurance and the local emergency number

• The insurance policy number and the 24 hour assistance line, in the phone and on paper. An insurance policy nobody can find is not a policy.
• What the policy actually covers, in one line, particularly for activities such as diving, skiing or riding a scooter, which are commonly excluded.
• The European health card, where it applies, which covers state healthcare in the EU and is not a substitute for insurance.
• Vaccination certificates travelling with them if the destination requires proof.
• The emergency number for that country, written out. 112 across the EU and reachable in many countries beyond it, 999 in the United Kingdom, 911 in the United States and Canada, 000 in Australia, 110 for police and 119 for ambulance in Japan. Put the right one in the message rather than a link to a list.
• The nearest embassy or consulate, with its address and number.

Staying connected

Decide this before departure, not in the arrivals hall, because a client who lands with no data cannot look up the transfer, call the hotel or open the boarding pass, and the person they call instead is you.

• How they will have data on arrival, settled before they leave: a travel eSIM, a local SIM bought there, or their own operator's roaming with the price per day or per megabyte known in advance. Outside the EU, home roaming is where the frightening bills come from.
• If it is a travel eSIM, install it at home on Wi-Fi. Installation needs a connection, so the airport is the worst place to do it. Validity normally starts when the profile connects to a network at the destination, not when it is installed, so installing early costs nothing.
• Keep the usual line switched on, with data roaming turned off on it. Texts and bank verification codes keep arriving on the client's normal number while the data goes over the travel plan. We covered that in travel eSIMs and SMS codes.
• One line on what to do on landing, which is to choose the travel line for mobile data and turn data roaming on for that line only. If that is more than the client wants to deal with, setting up an eSIM for someone else is worth reading before they go.
• Download before leaving: offline maps of the city, the boarding passes, the hotel address, the translation pack, the booking confirmations.
• Who to contact if it does not work. If the plan came through you, the traveller should be carrying the provider's support address, not your mobile number. And if the plan is a local SIM bought on arrival instead, it is worth knowing what buying a SIM at the airport actually involves, because the shop is sometimes shut and the registration sometimes takes a passport and a form.

A message you can copy

Adapt the bracketed parts and delete the lines that do not apply to this trip. Keep it as one message.

• Subject: Your trip to [destination], [departure date]. A few things before you go.
• Hello [name], everything is confirmed and here is the short list of what to sort out this week.
• Documents. Passport valid until [date], which covers this trip. [Entry permit or visa] approved, copy attached. Please save a copy of the passport, the insurance and the bookings to your phone, and put a paper copy in your suitcase.
• Check-in. Opens [date and time] at [link]. Check in for both flights. Save the boarding passes to your phone rather than leaving them in email. [Airline] asks you to be at the terminal [x] hours before departure.
• Baggage. Your fare includes [hold allowance] and a cabin bag of [dimensions and weight]. Weigh it at home. Power banks go in the cabin, never in the hold. Liquids follow [departure airport]'s rules, which are on their website.
• Arrival. [Driver or company] will meet you at [exact meeting point] with a sign saying [name]. If you do not see them, call [number]. The hotel address in [local language] is [address], for showing to a taxi driver. The transfer takes about [time].
• Money. Check your card expires after [return date] and save your bank's number for blocked cards. When a card machine offers to charge you in [home currency], always choose [local currency] instead. Take a little cash for the first day.
• Health. Insurance policy [number], assistance line [number], both worth writing on paper too. The emergency number in [country] is [number].
• Getting online. Install your data plan at home on Wi-Fi before you fly. When you land, choose it for mobile data and turn on data roaming for that line only. Your usual number stays on for texts and bank codes. Any trouble with it, contact [support address] directly, they answer faster than we can.
• Have a wonderful trip, and send us a photo. [Your name], [agency], [phone].

The list is the product

Everything above is what a client cannot assemble alone the week before a trip, and it is the reason people keep using an agency at all. If you would like the connectivity line of the checklist handled for you, with the traveller's support coming to us rather than to your office, that is our partner programme.

Quick answers

How far before departure should the pre departure message go out?

Five to seven days for the main one, plus a short reminder the evening before with the check-in link, the transfer details and the emergency number. Anything requiring an application has to be handled weeks earlier.

Email or WhatsApp?

Email for the full message, because it survives and can hold attachments. A short message on whatever channel the client actually uses, pointing at it, for the parts they need at the airport. Sending the whole checklist as a chat message means the important lines scroll away.

Do we send the same message for every destination?

The structure stays the same and about half the content changes: the document rules, the emergency number, the local script address, the cash or card habit, the connectivity option. Build one template per destination you sell often and update it when something changes, rather than writing each one from nothing.