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All You Need to Know to Travel Around the World
We are glad to have you here so we can share all you need to know to travel around the world. The first thing you need to know is: You’re about to live one of the best experiences of your life!
Nowadays a trip around the world trip is much more feasible than years back.
- Information is easier to find
- Flight companies offer lots of cheap flights, so is not that expensive anymore
- Most of the places you will go, you will find a variety of accommodation for all travelers
- There is Internet mostly everywhere (that makes your journey much easier)
- There are more people willing to discover the world, so you rarely be alone.
Besides these factors that make traveling easier, you will still need a good plan to achieve it. That is why we would like to share our experience with you, so you can get an idea of how to start preparing your amazing travel around the world.
Things to Consider Before Travel Around the World
We decided to start this adventure after the last couple of years working in London. To achieve it, we had to think of a plan that could get us closer to our dream. We ended up selling lots of our stuff, cutting on expenses, and sacrificing some of the comforts. If you think is not worth it, then, you should see where we are now, writing this from an idyllic island in the Philippines.
“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.”
To travel around the world, you will need to sort some things out before you leave.
If you have a job that you really love and you want to keep it you should know this. Nowadays companies are much more flexible than they used to be. Some companies offer their employees the possibility of working remotely (oh yes, imagine yourself answering your emails from a remote beach in the Philippines). Other companies also offer what is called sabbatical time- you stop working for a year and they keep your job position for a period of time that you need to agree in advance.
Also, since we did not have a mortgage, it was easier for us, but if you do, you can think of rent it out as some people do; register it on Airbnb or any another platform.
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.
How Can I Afford to Travel Around the World?
Surely something like this has come up to your mind: “I would love to do a long trip but it is impossible to afford it”
You will need to have a look at your financial status and consequently, about what kind of style trip you can afford and what countries you want to visit. Some countries are doable with a budget of less than 800$ per month or even less if you are willing to sleep in cheap accommodation and eating street food (in some places is so delicious!) The style of your trip will also determine how much money you will need, if you enjoy traveling but not sleeping in cheap and basic accommodation then of course you will need more money.
We’ve been through this before and we created a plan to get closer to our target. In this post, you can see some Saving tips: how I saved 10.000$ in a year to travel
Planning Your Route
This is one of the most important and exciting parts of planning your travel around the world. Think of all the places you have always dreamed of, those places you used to watch on TV and said to yourself “ I wish I could be there”. Now it’s time to make your dream come true. Start by placing your favorite destinations on a map and make a logic route. Be conscious though, that the more places you choose, the most expensive it will be. Flights and moving from one point to another will be an important addition to the cost, so we’ll recommend opting for fewer places, quality time over quantity.
What we did, was to do a research on the places we wanted to visit and then we created a list of the destinations with the approximate length of stay and the budget needed.
This is the tool we use to book our flights, and if we find a good deal, sometimes even the hotel:
Try to create a logic route, so costs from one point to another won’t break your pocket. For example, focus on one area before taking a plane to the next destination and then realizing you wanted to visit something that was nearby your previous destination.
How Much Time Should I Spend on Each Place?
The time you spend on each place depends on you and the kind of feelings and impression you get of the place. Traveling slowly is more interesting for us than moving fast from one place to another. We like to enjoy our stay by getting to know the place well, exploring hidden spots and leaving with the feeling that we have done everything we wanted to do there.
For instance, we were living in the Philippines for three months ( it wasn’t planned), and we that experience we knew exactly the fair price of the transport, so we could negotiate properly when they tried to make us pay three times more. We also found some of the best places to eat, discovered so many sights that weren’t in the guides…
That is how we truly enjoy traveling (of course, it is a personal opinion) So, dear friend, no hurry just enjoy the journey.
Prepare Your Passport
Any travel around the world (and to the corner) starts by checking your passport is up to date. In some countries, you need to have at least 6 months left before it expires in order to enter the country. And be adviced that, you never know what can happen (we met people that planned to go back home after 6 months and they are now living their dream for 6 years!)
So just in case, the longer you have until the expired date the better. It is one of the most important things when traveling ( Apart from being safe, of course). So keep your passport safe! Remember, your passport is your ticket in and out of the country. Always keep it safe and bring copies of it with you.
Do Some Visas Requirements Research
There are different types of visa depending on the country of arrival and your country of residence. You must check this with enough margin of time in case you need to apply 3 months in advance. Some visas are called “visas on arrival”, which means you can apply for it when you arrive and you will receive it right away.
Check the visas of the countries you are going to visit on the government websites in advance. In some countries, you will be asked to provide the proof that you are going to be leaving the country before your Visa expires.
This proof will be a flight ticket showing the date you are flying out and the destination, so we recommend to do some research ahead to avoid surprises in your trip as this can prevent you from getting inside these countries
Deal with Your Banking Stuff
Something really important when you are traveling is to have peace of mind about your money. At all times, you need to be able to use your card and withdraw money from any part of the world. Contact your bank to let them know you are traveling and make sure you will be able to use your card abroad. Also, download your bank app on your phone so you can see your movements and contact them in case of an emergency.
It is also a good thing to call them before you leave to let them know you will be traveling around the world for some time. In terms of what bank is best, there are so many options. We chose Revolut because is the one who meets our needs. We don’t have to pay fees abroad the first 200$ when we withdraw money, and we can exchange currency with no commission which is pretty cool. Also, it allows you to manage your banking on your phone. We reckon, having a PayPal account is also quite handy since you can pay or transfer money directly from it in case you need a backup.
Medical Advice
Before traveling to any country, it is important to do some research. You should be well informed on what medical advice you should follow and book an appointment with your GP and nearest international vaccination center if needed. There, you will be assessed and they will provide you with all the information and requirements before traveling to other countries.
For any consultation about a country situation, check the website www.fitfortravel.com that gathers all the updated information you need to know. Make sure you have all your vaccinations up to date and that you take the vaccination card with you as you might need to show it when you arrive at some countries and your access can be denied if you don’t have it.
What is the Best Travel Insurance to Travel Around the World?
If you have ever wondered if you really need a traveling insurance when traveling, the answer is YES! You never know when there is an assassin banana waiting for you Things can go wrong and can ruin your fabulous trip and not only that, it can even be worse.
For that reason, the best you can do is to buy a good travel insurance that has a wide coverage. For example, we got our travel insurance with World Nomads. After doing our research we found out that it was the one that best fits our travels at the moment. We have had some unpredictable issues in the past and being able to call your insurance and get a response quickly is one of the most important things.
Also, you can email them and do the claims online, so you don’t even need to call them. To avoid disappointments or misunderstandings always read the terms and conditions of your policy. You can get your quote for your travel insurance here:
Talking about being safe on the road and preparing for your trip around the world, you may want to check on how to prepare your First Aid Kit.
How to Move Around Places
When you are planning a travel around the world, you still need to keep moving from places of course.
The way you move around depends on where you are and what options you have available. Sometimes there might be only one, and not very appealing (oh yes, 14 hours in a local bus through a bumpy dirt road, with no aircon) but don’t worry, that’s part of the adventure :)
We normally prefer to travel cheap, which means to get low on commodities and longer journeys. For example, if we could choose between taking a flight from Bangkok to Koh Tao for 50$ or, taking a 13 hours bus for 12$ and then a ferry for 8$… we would go for the second one.
Also, in some places where we can choose between taking a cab or public transport, we rather take public transport and travel as locals do.
This normally requires less money, but much more flexibility, as the timetables might not be ideal or you might have to wait for hours.
The cool thing about traveling in public transport is that you will have the chance to meet other people, talk to locals, and live closer to the local life.
Our recommendation is that you download the app Maps.me since you can use it offline anywhere
In some countries, you can use Grab or Uber for taxis, so you can download these apps too.
What to Pack for a Travel Around the World?
What do I need to pack for my travel around the world? How am I gonna fit all my life in my backpack?
Well, first you need to determine what kind of traveler you are, or you want to be. Are you someone who can’t live without the hairdryer wherever you go, or can you live with a wild hair for a year without bothering at all?
We’ve met lots of travelers on the way: some had huge suitcases ( struggling in the middle of the jungle where wheels where not actually showing any usefulness) and some people carrying just a 22L backpack.
We like to travel light and comfortable. For the kind of travel we planned, a suitcase was not making any sense.
For that reason, we decided to go for a backpack, one of 36 L (Patricia’s) and 38L (Sergio’s) It’s hard to think that you can fit in everything you need for a year in those bags, but it’s really worth it.
The smaller the bag is, the fewer things it will fit inside, and therefore the less weight you will have to carry.
Secret Tip: If you want to travel light but you struggle deciding what you will need, do this: Think of what you would need for a weekend getaway. All the things you are not sure of taking, leave it. That is exactly what you should take. Forget about the bulky “just in case”. It doesn’t make a difference packing for one week or for a month or a year, you would only need to do your laundry more often.
Check the article we wrote about how to pack like a pro, in which we detailed what we packed and some more interesting stuff.
