Tips for booking and planning

a long trip

As soon as December arrives, I will be boarding a plane headed towards Asia and if all goes as planned, I won’t be back until February. As the cold from the winter months is slowly but surely reappearing, I’m going to try and avoid it. I’m lucky enough to be able to work from wherever so why not actually give that a shot. Who would say no to relocating your office space to some tropical beach?  But anyway, whether you’re spending your time working or not, booking and planning a long trip is a whole other ballgame. So here are a few tips to help you through it. Promise you’ll send me a postcard?

write down your wishes

When I landed in New Zealand a few years back, I was rather clueless as to where I should go. Auckland, where I started off my trip, wasn’t too exciting and after two days I was ready to head somewhere else. So I grabbed a pen and some paper, sat down behind a computer and jotted down everything I wanted to see and do in New Zealand. I then looked up the best locations for some of things I wanted to do in order to create a logical route through the country. The final step is looking up transportation: are there buses? Trains? Do I need to take a plane? Start with your wishes and work out the other practical things from there on out.

be realistic

You can’t do everything. And even when you’re in Thailand and you feel like Laos is right around the corner and you’ve got that “oh why the heck not” mentality, that’s not how it works. When you’re running from one stop to then next you’re not going to be a happy camper. Plus, you might end up somewhere that you love and it’s much nicer knowing you can extend your stay. So when you’re making a travel schedule, keep in mind that there might be a couple of ‘setbacks’ so try not to over pack your agenda.

make a budget plan

A two-week getaway is easy to plan, but for anyone leaving for two months (or longer) has to plan out their expenses. What I usually do is I think of the total amount I’m able and willing to spend, and then divide it by the amount of days I plan on being gone. Keep travel and overnight costs in mind and come up with a sum you are willing to spend each day. You don’t always have to be strict and stick to that exact number, but it helps to have a clear overview so you won’t have to terminate your trip earlier than planned because you ran out of money.

cover the home front

If you’re planning on being out of the country for a while, what’s going to happen to your home? Are you able to rent it out through Airbnb to make some extra cash? Do you temporarily have to move out some of your things? What kind of travel insurance do you have? What happens when you break something or worse? Who is your contact person in case of an emergency? Is your passport still valid? These might sound like a bunch of boring issues, but it’s important you have them taken care of before you leave because once you’re gone, it’ll be too late.

be prepared for the destination

Are you heading to Cambodia for three weeks? Or India? And you do always want to be attainable? Buy a local simcard as soon as you arrive. It’ll only cost you a few dollars and you’ll always be available. You might have a different number to call and text with, but your Whatsapp number will remain the same. Just don’t configure your Whatsapp to your new number, stick to your old one. That way you will still have your previous chat history. Another thing I would recommend is booking a place to stay for the first night that you’re there. And upon arrival I always book a transfer from the airport to the hotel.

seek help for your plane ticket

A regular return flight ticket is easy to book on your own, but as soon as it gets more complicated, it’s best to seek for some help and advice. For example, you’re starting off your trip in Sri Lanka, then heading to India, after which you want to go to Bangkok and then straight through to Cambodia. You could book a whole bunch of one-way tickets but it’s gonna cost ya. You’re better off booking miles or tailored world tickets. I’m a huge advocate for travel specialists like Kilroy Travels. They are great at helping you put together and plan your perfect trip and sometimes they’ll even introduce you to routes and places you never even would have thought of.