Your journey starts here

What every destination page covers

Every country page on First Day Abroad answers the same practical questions in the same order, so you always know where to look. The scope is narrow on purpose: the paperwork you need before you fly, and the decisions you make in the first hours after landing — the ones that are easy to get wrong in an unfamiliar airport at two in the morning.

• Entry requirements — Visa rules for your nationality, passport validity, arrival forms and the fees you actually pay at the border.
• eSIM and SIM cards — Where to get data on arrival, what a local plan costs, and whether it is worth arranging before you fly.
• Airport transport — Official taxi ranks, trains and buses into the city, with typical fares and journey times.
• Money and costs — Which cards work, how much cash to carry, ATM and conversion fees, tipping, and what everyday things cost.
• Safety, health and daily life — Emergency numbers, common scams, tap water, and the local apps worth installing before you land.

Pages are written from official and operator sources — government entry rules, timetables, published tariffs — with traveler reports where those run out. Every section lists what it was checked against and the date it was last verified, so you can see how current a detail is before you rely on it. Prices are quoted in the local currency, and the converter on the page turns them into yours.

Search for the country you are flying to, or browse the board above. Half an hour of reading before departure is what turns a nervous arrival into a first day abroad that is genuinely sorted.