What to Bring to a Travel Clinic Appointment

Your itinerary — the more detail, the better

Bring a written or printed summary of everywhere you plan to go, in order. Include:

• Destination countries and specific regions (rural vs. urban exposure is clinically very different)
• Duration in each location
• Planned activities: safari, hiking, freshwater swimming, humanitarian or healthcare work, backpacking vs. resort-based travel
• Accommodation type: hotel, hostel, camping, or staying with local families
• Any planned medical or dental care abroad

A clinician who knows you are hiking in rural Southeast Asia for three weeks recommends meaningfully different preparations than one who thinks you are spending a week in a major city hotel.

Vaccination records

Bring every piece of documentation you have — your childhood immunization card, a printout from your pharmacy, or an export from your health app or patient portal. Your clinician will check which routine vaccines are current (tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis, MMR, hepatitis A and B, varicella, and others) and which destination-specific vaccines may be needed 2Ref 2Wodi AP, Issa AN, Moser CA, Cineas S (2025).Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Recommended Immunization Schedule for Adults Aged 19 Years or Older — United States, 2025.Routine adult immunization schedule used during pretravel review; catch-up guidance for adults with incomplete records.

Some countries require proof of certain vaccines — yellow fever in particular — for entry. Your clinician may issue an official International Certificate of Vaccination (the yellow card) if the vaccine is given at your visit.

If your records are incomplete or lost, note that too. A blood test can confirm immunity to some diseases, potentially avoiding a repeat vaccine series.

Current medications and health history

Bring a list of all current prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, and supplements, including doses. Some travel medications interact with common drugs. Also note:

• Any known allergies, particularly to eggs or gelatin (components in some vaccines)
• Chronic conditions: asthma, diabetes, heart disease, immune conditions
• History of prior reactions to vaccines
• Pregnancy status or any chance of pregnancy

If you have seen specialists recently, having their contact information or a brief note on your condition is useful. Some live vaccines cannot be given to people on certain medications or with certain conditions.

Timing: when to book

Try to schedule at least four to six weeks before departure. Some vaccine series require multiple doses given weeks apart (hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, rabies pre-exposure). Malaria prevention medication may need to be started before you arrive in a risk area 1Ref 1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).CDC Yellow Book 2024: Health Information for International Travel.Pretravel consultation guidance including timing (4–6 weeks before departure), vaccine timing, and malaria prevention scheduling3Ref 3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023).Malaria — CDC Yellow Book 2024.Malaria prevention medication timing before travel; importance of early consultation to allow medication start and monitoring for side effects.

If your trip is sooner, still go — a clinician can prioritize what is most important for the time available. Bring your travel dates clearly noted.

Questions to prepare in advance

Write down your questions before the visit so nothing gets forgotten. Common ones include: whether you need malaria prevention; what stand-by medication to carry for diarrhea; how to manage altitude sickness if relevant; whether your health insurance covers international emergency care; and what a traveler's medical kit should contain. If traveling with young children, bring their vaccination records too — pediatric recommendations sometimes differ.