We all know that pre-trip excitement—you’ve got your itinerary locked in, epic activities planned, bags packed, and you’re practically sprinting to the airport. But you know what’s not exciting? Scrambling to figure out last-minute details while battling weak airport WiFi.
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So, to save you from that chaos, we’ve rounded up the

6 things we ALWAYS do before traveling to a new country.

After hopping around 40+ countries, we’ve mastered the art of stress-free travel prep—so you can skip the panic and focus on the fun!

We don’t want to overload you with info all at once, so consider this Part 1—where we’re spilling our first two top tips! Stay tuned for more. 😉

Tip #1: Know Your Airport Transport Options and costs! 🚖🚆

Out of everything, this is the one that stresses me out the most.

Some countries make it easy—just hop in an Uber and go. Others? Not so much.

Sometimes, you have to take a taxi, but you must also dodge the unofficial ones lurking like sharks. Turkey, for example. Ubers there are just regular yellow taxis, but after hearing way too many horror stories, we were repeatedly warned not to take them.

🧐 So our word of advice:

look it up ahead of time so you’re not surprised when you arrive. Also, look up online how much it should cost to go from airport to city centre so you’ll know if you’re being scammed.

🚗💨 When we really don’t want to deal with the hassle

(like after a late-night flight when our brains are fried), we just book a ride with Welcome Pickups. We did this in Istanbul, and they were punctual, professional, and also spoke English. Zero stress, 10/10 would recommend.

Tip #2: Find the least Greedy ATMS and use a minimal-fee Travel Card​

Let’s be honest—most of us have never read the fine print on our credit or debit cards. But lucky for you, I have! (Because I’m that person.) And trust me, those sneaky fees add up FAST when withdrawing cash abroad.

📊 Here’s a quick breakdown:

Say you pull out $200 from an ATM. Your bank might hit you with a $5 foreign transaction fee, then slap on a 2.5% currency conversion fee (another $5). The ATM itself? Oh, it’s taking its cut too—around $6. And if you unknowingly accept DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion), boom—another few bucks gone.

Long story short? That innocent $200 withdrawal could cost you nearly $20 in extra fees. Yikes. 😬

Okay, so that totally sucks—but how do you avoid it? 🤔

📌 Step 1: Find the least greedy ATM

Before withdrawing, do a little research on which ATMs charge the lowest fees. For example, when we were in Sicily, most international-branded ATMs charged a brutal 6€ fee. But we found a local bank’s ATM that only charged 1€!

That’s like choosing between getting robbed politely or just losing your pocket change.

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📌 Step 2: Use a debit/travel card that doesn’t rip you off​

We swear by WISE—it’s saved us so much money.

They charge almost no transaction fees, give you the best exchange rate (literally the one you see on Google), and let you hold over 50 currencies. Plus, signing up is a breeze and you can easily do all your transactions from within their app!

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📌 Step 3: DO NOT fall for DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion)

If the ATM asks, “Would you like to be charged in your home currency?”—slam that NO button like your wallet depends on it (because it does).

Always choose to be charged in the local currency, or else you’ll get stuck with a terrible, marked-up exchange rate.
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Follow these steps, and boom—you’ve just outsmarted the travel money leeches. 💰🚀

For those of you who made it to the bottom of this email, congratulations! 🎉🎉🎉

That means you’re now one step closer to stress-free, budget-friendly travel. 💰✈️

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll share even more tips to make your trip prep a breeze!
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Ryan & Nan

WaylessTravelers