7 things to check before you go on holiday

1. That your suitcase is ready for the trip

When you got home from your last holiday you probably put your suitcase away without giving it much of a look. It’s a good idea to get your luggage out at least a few days before your departure day so you can make sure the zips and wheels aren’t about to give out and that you remember the code for the lock.

If you realise you need to buy a new suitcase before take-off, check out which luggage did the best in our test. We’ve got results for cheap suitcases from The Warehouse and Kmart, all the way through to a Samsonite number that costs more than $1,000.

2. That you can track your bags along the way (if you want to)

If your bags go missing while you’re travelling, a little tracker can let you know where they’ve ended up. One of our product test writers, Bryan Wall, popped an Apple Airtag and a Tile Mate Tracking Tag in his bag before a trip to the UK – see whether he thought it was worth using trackers.

3. That you know how you’ll spend money overseas

We’ve looked at the pros and cons of all the options you might consider for spending while you’re overseas – cash, debit card, credit card, travel card and Wise. To make it easy, you can see how we’d do it if we were the ones taking off.

4. That you have travel insurance

Even the simplest holidays can have hitches, and when they happen it’s a great relief to have travel insurance. If you’re yet to get cover, our travel insurance comparison tool will give you an idea of what various policies cost and what they cover.

5. That you know what your travel insurance doesn’t cover and the limit of what it’ll pay

Reading the fine print in an insurance policy is never fun, but it’ll give you an idea of what to expect when things go wrong. As well as checking whether you’re covered for certain activities, such as riding a scooter, look for how much you can claim if things go wrong. You might find you’ll only get $1,000 if your $2,000 smartphone is stolen, or only $8,000 if all your luggage goes missing (including that $1,000 Samsonite).

6. That you won’t have to worry about home security while you’re away

If you don’t have a professionally installed and monitored security system, you can still get peace of mind by putting up your own cameras before you go. Security cameras will connect to your WiFi and can usually be controlled through an app, sending a notification to your phone if the camera detects motion. We’ve tested 39 security cameras, so you can see which ones are most reliable.

7. Whether you need to reduce the excess on your car rental

When you pick up the keys for your rental car, they’ll ask if you want to buy excess-reduction cover, which lowers the amount you’ll have to pay if the car is damaged. Your travel insurance might already cover the rental car excess, meaning, if you buy the extra cover you’re just making it cheaper for your insurer. But there could still be good reasons to get it – this article on car rental policies explains all.