How to Plan for a Year Abroad
There are very few things in life as fulfiling as getting the opportunity to travel and see things and places you’ve only ever dreamt about. With the world as it is today, namely that many of you have the freedom to work remotely, people have started to really take advantage of not being tied to a specific desk, office or even country. However, as exciting as this is, there are a few things to consider before you jet off, some obvious and others less so. Let’s look at some of the things you should organize and plan before making this huge leap.
Plan an Outline
A good first tip is to roughly plan an outline of your trip with your travel agent or service provider. Oftentimes, booking your flights in advance can save you time and money because prices can increase depending on demand. When you have an outline, you will also be less likely to get stuck or make rash decisions. Write down your must-see towns, cities and countries, and then check hellotickets.com to reserve any tickets you might want to get in order to avoid you having to wait on the day.
With your outline, you can also let your loved ones know roughly where you’ll be and when, meaning that they know you’re safe and also that they could possibly join you on one leg of the journey. Another benefit of knowing your rough outline is that you can pack accordingly. With longer travel, in other words anything longer than a traditional 2-week holiday in one place, you need to keep your luggage to a minimum in order to allow for travel freedom. Especially if you are an avid travel photographer or have other hobbies, you’re going to have to take your equipment along for the ride, which is where planning does come in handy.
Get Your Papers in Order
Getting your paperwork in order is the most crucial part of ensuring smooth international travel. One of the many things you won’t know if this is your first big trip is that your passport has to be valid for at least six months from your planned departure of a country. For example, if you want to travel right now in September of 2024, your passport has to be valid until at least March of 2025, if not longer. Be sure to check those details far in advance and ensure that you apply for a new passport if yours is going to expire soon. There are few things more difficult than trying to organize a new passport from a whole other country. Save yourself the trouble of being stuck at immigration with an invalid or outdated passport.
Next, make sure that you apply for the right visa at the right time. Check if your destination requires a visa for entry as this can derail your plans greatly, specifically your flight and accommodation costs may be non-refundable. Research the visa application process for each country you plan to visit since every country has different rules and agreements with respective countries. Even if you are lucky enough to have a passport from an EU country, places like India still require you to apply well in advance and airlines will not allow you to even board the plane if you don’t have the right visa on you. Imagine disembarking the plane in Tasmania to see some of the most incredible and photogenic spots in Tassie, only to be asked to get right back on or, even worse, to be taken into the immigration office. That’s not a good start or end to any trip.
The first two aspects, namely your passport and a visa, are non-negotiable, while things like travel insurance, international health insurance and driving permits are up to you. Think ahead whether you will at any point be renting a car. If there is even the slightest chance that you may be driving on your trip, be sure to apply and receive your international driver’s license before your departure. You can also purchase travel insurance that covers health, trip cancellations and loss of belongings if you feel like you need it. Keep a copy of the policy and emergency contact numbers with you. Make copies of your passport, visas, travel insurance and any other essential documents just to have them on hand. The world is online, but sometimes it’s a good idea to have a hard copy of your most important documents. Better safe than sorry in this case.
Making Work Work
The final thing that’s super important to cement before your trip is how you’ll be working on the go. Depending on where you find yourself, you’ll be surprised just at how many spots on this earth still don’t have reception or Wi-Fi for that matter. If this is what you’re after, a quiet trip with no cell connection, then that’s perfectly fine, but the majority of people taking a year to travel usually still have to do some form of work for income. Be sure to let your employer or clients know that you’ll be offline for a while if that’s the case, and also be clear about your working hours and availability. Time differences can be quite challenging, so make sure that you plan everything in advance and let anyone affected by it know beforehand. A full-time 40-hour work week may be tough to swing, so see whether you could possibly switch to 20 hours a week while you’re away and rent out your normal living space in the time you’ll be traveling to make up for the difference in part-time work.