Know Before You Go: How to Prepare for International Airport Hopping

I was fortunate enough to have flown internationally once with my Dad when I was much younger so I had some experience to build from when flying on my own. It didn't eliminate all of the nerves, but it did help me figure out what areas I needed to learn more about before I left.  International travel can look like a terrifying task, especially if you have never been out of the country, or if you have never flown, but you can survive. Here's five things I did to improve my international airport hopping.

5. Toiletries, Use 'Em. Buy some dry shampoo and put it in with your tooth brush, tooth paste, and add a tiny container of face wash as well and make sure you have easy access to them. I actually packed an extra change of clothes all the way down to socks in my backpack to change into halfway through my airport hopping. Simon and Martina (Eat Your Kimchi) also advise taking wet wipes so you can scrub down in between flights. Feeling clean is the easiest way to prop up your spirits and keep the stress levels down. Plus then you don't feel like a dirty corpse when you finally reach your destination. 

4. Bring Cash and Pre-Approve Your Card for Foreign Use. If you've got a layover in a foreigner airport over dinnertime, you're probably going to want to grab a bite and you're probably going to have to use local currency. If you're not able to use or exchange your currency for the local stuff, you're going to have to use your card. To pre-approve your card you either call or go to your bank (and I'm sure there's some sort of online option as well) and give them your travel itinerary. This means if you say you're going to be in Italy, but it's being used in England on the tenth they know that something is wrong. 

3. Map It Out. Once you've booked your flight research each airport you'll be visiting. Knowing where each terminal is in relation to the next as well as how to get from one terminal to the next will save you from running around like a crazy person once you land. Also calculate all the time changes, and keep them with you, that way if a flight is delayed you'll have an easier time figuring out whether or not you need to speak to an airline employee about your connecting flight or how fast you'll have to run from one gate to the next now that you have fifteen minutes instead of fifty. 

2. The Language Barrier. You're about to land in a different country, you have a connecting flight and you're freaking out because you just realized you don't speak or read the local language. Stop with the "what ifs" right now. International airports are designed for foreigners. Most signs will be in three or more languages, and I've never been to an airport where one of those wasn't English. If you're still having trouble ask for help. Airport employees at costumer service counters will speak English. If you're scared about making it all the way across the hundred gate terminal to your next flight alert an attendant on your current flight to your situation, and if you do miss your connecting  flight due to airline delays head straight for your airline customer service, they will help you get on the next available flight. 

1. Be Prepared for Anything. I've had flights canceled, delayed, not show up,  I was even stranded in a different country for three days because of a terrorist threat once. This is not the time to freak out. On site airline employees already have more than enough to handle in these situations which are completely out of their control. Telling them their company sucks and you're never going to fly with them again isn't going to get you better costumer service. Having a panic attack will only add to the number of emergencies they already have on their plates. Take a deep breath--you're not Tom Hanks in "The Terminal." You're going to get where you need to go, and your airline is going to do everything in it's power to get you there as quickly as possible.