I'm writing this from the airport, between flights, at the start of a 10 week overseas trip.For most people, these days, it's rare to have the opportunity to take that much time to travel (in that statement, I am ignoring the 'backpacker approach', assuming that the likely reader of this article is more likely to be interested in a slightly more 'luxury' approach to travel, and to be at a stage in life where life has got more complex )
I have spent nearly three years planning for this ( I have done other, shorter trips during those years, whilst planning this), to make sure that I could make that much time possible - more and more, as I get older, I find that a week, or even two, is just not long enough away - either to effectively explore places that I want to see, or to actually wind down and get real value out of the time away, as mental recreation.The fact that it has been that long in the planning does not mean that it is planned to death - I like to explore, and I am not afraid to change things on the fly.So I am leaving Australia with a couple of weeks of the time away where I know that I will get from point x to point y, but I don't know how, where I will stay etc - that's an adventure yet to be had.
What long planning does, is provide the chance to optimise what I get to do, and the value that I get for my dollar.It lets me make decisions about what is included in this trip, and what I will save for another trip, based on real research and thought about what I want, not what some travel agent thinks I should be interested in. It also lets me make sure that the things that I want to have in the more luxury category exist, and that the things I want to have more as an adventure exist, without the two being in conflict, when included in a single trip.
For example, one of the choices that I have made this time, is to allocate the money to do all of the long haul flights in Business Class - so that I arrive reasonably well rested, well fed and comfortable, rather than trashed before I begin.But .I have done that by finding a travel booking agent who specialises in discounted round the world tickets, primarily in Business - that way I get my luxury, but I get excellent value too.
So, here are my five key points to planning a long overseas trip - equally valid whether the trip is a 'one off, adventure of a lifetime', or something that you plan to do at regular intervals:
YOUR ABSOLUTES
Work out what your personal 'not negotiables' are - e.g, must all long haul travel be business class?Must all hotels be above a certain 'star level', or apartment type hotels, not standard hotel rooms?Must any stay at any location be no shorter than, say, five days?
YOUR 'LOCATIONS TO VISIT' WISHLIST
Write a list of all the places that you would like to go if money was not a constraint, and why you want to go there, what you want to see, etc.Once you have the list, leave it for a few days, then review it, and try to prioritise it (from 1 = must see at all costs, to 10 = would be a nice to have, after seeing all the others).Make a note of whether any particular area of the world contains a high proportion of places rated as priorities 1 to 3.If there is one or more areas where that is true, those areas are the best target for your long trip - you can see the high priority items, and any lower priority locations which happen to be nearby, or conveniently 'on the way'
YOUR 'FLIGHT PATH / TRAVEL PATH'
Seriously consider whether your priority list would lend itself to a 'round the world' trip, or mainly to a single part of the world.Round the world tickets are often much cheaper than multiple independent trips, and can have very flexible conditions and anything up to 15 flight segments included in some cases.Will all transits be by air ?Will you take any train trips?River or ocean cruises?Or get a car and drive anywhere ?
YOUR SCHEDULE CONSTRAINTS
Consider whether any of the things that you want to do or see are seasonal or have locked possible dates - plan to book those first, then structure everything else around making them possible.If any of those collide solidly with what is always a busy time of year in your job/business, how far ahead (months or years) will you have to give bosses/clients warning to be able to take that time away ?
YOUR FINANCIAL OPTIMISATION
Can you pre-purchase anything for later, at a reduced rate (e.g, vouchers for accommodation, from , or other group buying sites with travel inclusions), that has flexible timescales for actual travel, and also potentially lets you take advantage of points in time when the Australian dollar is strong against the currency in the location that you are travelling to, or stronger in general?What is your realistic budget?How much can you save ahead of time?Can you pay for major parts of the costs long enough ahead to have already mostly paid for/paid off, those, by the time that you actually travel?Who will manage your bills and daily running costs at home, while you are away?Can you minimise those costs, to free up more for the travel?
Once you have considered those five points, a plan will be starting to form - you will know where you plan to go, what you definitely want to see, how long it will take to do effectively, how you want to do the travel, what sorts of costs you will need to cover, and how far ahead you need to set things in motion to make it all possible. With all of the resources of the internet at your disposal, you can then decide how much of it you will arrange yourself, and how much you will pay someone else to arrange for you - and how much of it you will simply leave unplanned, and deal with 'as it comes' just for the adventure, like I have.
Over the next few months, I will be chronicling this journey for you, and you can see just how that works out for me! First stop, Paris!
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