TripAdmin Trip admin pack Trip Admin Pack · USD 19
Your passport expires seven weeks after you land
Everything to do before a two week trip to Vietnam, in the order it has to happen.
The flights and the first hotel are booked and the rest is admin. Checking the documents against the itinerary found one item that would have stopped the trip at the airport: Callum's passport has six months and nine days of validity on the date you land, and several countries in the region require six months from entry.
Callum's passport expires 23 September 2027. You land 3 March, which is six months and twenty days, so it is probably fine. It is close enough that it must be checked against the current official requirement rather than assumed, and renewal takes weeks.
Documents
Check these first
| Document | Status | Detail | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Callum passport | Check | Expires 23 Sep 2027. Six months and 20 days on arrival | Verify the rule this week |
| Gwen passport | Fine | Expires March 2030 | None |
| Visa or entry permit | Check | Requirements vary by nationality and change | Check official source |
| Travel insurance | Missing | Not yet purchased | Before the balance is paid |
| Flight confirmations | Held | Both, outbound and return | Save offline |
| First hotel | Held | Three nights, Hanoi | Save offline |
| Remaining accommodation | Not booked | Eleven nights | Section 03 |
| Driving licence | Not needed | No car hire planned | None |
| Vaccination requirements | Unknown | Not researched | See a travel clinic |
Three rows are marked check rather than a status, because entry requirements, visa rules and health requirements are set by governments, change without much notice, and depend on your nationality. This pack cannot tell you what they are.
Countdown
Eighteen weeks, by when
- This week
Passport, visa and health requirements checked
All three at official sources. Everything else depends on these.
- This week
Travel clinic appointment booked
Some vaccinations need multiple doses over weeks. Booking in February is too late.
- Nov
Travel insurance purchased
Buy it when the trip is booked, not before departure. Cover for cancellation starts from purchase.
- Nov
Remaining eleven nights booked
Section 03.
- Dec
Internal flights or trains booked
Three legs. Prices rise and the overnight train sells out.
- Jan
Check passport has arrived if renewed
Only if section 01 required it.
- 1 Feb
Card providers told you are travelling
Both of you, all cards you will carry.
- 16 Feb
Currency and a backup card
Two weeks out.
- 23 Feb
Online check-in opens
Long haul, usually 24 to 48 hours before, so this is a reminder to look rather than a task.
- 28 Feb
Everything saved offline
Confirmations, passport scan, insurance policy, addresses. Assume no signal on arrival.
- 1 Mar
Airport transfer confirmed
Departure is 07:40, so this is a 04:30 start.
- 2 Mar
Depart
Four items have a hard deadline and three of those are in the next fortnight. Everything after December is a reminder rather than a task.
Gaps
Eleven nights with nowhere to stay
| Nights | Where | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 to 5 Mar | Hanoi | Booked | Three nights |
| 5 to 7 Mar | Ha Long or Cat Ba | Not booked | Often sold as a package with transport |
| 7 to 10 Mar | Hue or Hoi An | Not booked | Depends on the internal flight |
| 10 to 13 Mar | Hoi An | Not booked | |
| 13 to 16 Mar | Ho Chi Minh City | Not booked | Return flight departs from here |
| 16 Mar | Return | Booked | Departs 22:10 |
The return flight leaves from Ho Chi Minh City and your only booked accommodation is in Hanoi, 1,100 miles north. The internal travel between them is the dependency that determines every remaining booking, and none of it is arranged.
Packing
The list, and the four things people forget
- Passports, plus a photo of each on both phones
- Insurance policy number and emergency line, saved offline
- Plug adapter, type A and C
- Any personal medication in original packaging with a copy of the prescription
- Two payment cards, held separately
- Small first aid kit and rehydration sachets
- Long sleeves and trousers for temples
- Printed address of the first hotel, in local script if possible
| Commonly forgotten | Why it matters here |
|---|---|
| Offline maps downloaded | Data may be limited and you land at 21:15 |
| Cards held in two places | The single most useful travel habit there is |
| First hotel address written down | You will be asked for it on the arrival card |
| Return flight time | 22:10 on the 16th, which is a full last day |