Traveling for an extended period of time can be a planning headache for anyone, regardless of age. However, as you get older, you generally have more restrictions and needs when it comes to traveling. But just because you may need to do a little more preparing up front shouldn’t deter you from enjoying vacations or having fun trips on your horizons. So to help you feel more confident and comfortable on your future excursions, here are three planning tips for retirees going on extended vacations regardless of destination.

Make Sure Your Health Insurance Is In Order

Depending on where you choose to travel to, you may have to do a little homework about your health insurance to ensure you’re covered in case an emergency arises. Kate Bruscke, a contributor to USA Today, shares that many health insurance carriers, including Medicare and Medicaid, won’t cover you if you’re outside of the country. For this reason, it’s crucial that you get some kind of healthcare coverage while traveling abroad.

To do this effectively, Bruscke advises travelers to check with your current provider to see what they will and won’t cover while you’re outside the country. Once you have this information, you can then begin seeking out supplementary providers to cover your other needs. Bruscke also recommends purchasing this supplemental coverage from an established, reputable and well known company to protect yourself from any scams.

Cover All Your Bases When Planning Your Trip

While the planning phase of preparing for your trip may be a little more involved than when you were younger, properly planning out your trip can save you a lot of trouble while vacationing. According to Jason Steele, a contributor to ThePointsGuy.com, getting help with reservations, flight plans, discounts, disability options and more before you even begin traveling can help make the entire process much easier to manage. And if you get all your planning done effectively, you’re left with a great vacation requiring little to no stress along the way.

Packing and Transporting Life-Saving Equipment

If you require certain medications or equipment to function throughout your day, ensuring these items are properly packed for transport is going to be one of the most important things you do when preparing for your travels. APlaceForMom.com suggests you bring extra medication or medical equipment just in case there is a discrepency with your itinerary that requires you to be gone longer than you thought. You should also ensure you’re legally cleared to be carrying your medications to ensure you don’t run into any issues with the law in foreign countries or at transportation hubs.

Although these travel planning tips may seem like no-brainers, it’s very easy to get caught up in the excitement of an impending vacation and forget to take care of some very important things. Keep these tips in mind the next time you’re planning to take an extended vacation to ensure you have the best and most stress-free experience possible.