The Secret Traveller
20 Tips For Long-Term Travellers
By The Secret Traveller
Taking a short holiday is easy. You do the minimum of planning, the minimum of saving, and you go away for a few weeks and have a lot of fun. No problem.
But long-term travel isn’t a holiday. If you’re planning on heading off for anything more than a month, there are a few things you need to think about.
Make A Budget
This is probably about the most important thing you can do. If you’re travelling for a long period of time it’s essential that you stick to a budget, otherwise your money will disappear as quickly as that beer sitting in front of you. Spend time making a reasonable budget, and then stick to it.
Save
Another essential. It’s the old saying: take the amount of money you think you’ll
Don't Over-Plan
It’s nice to have a rough idea of where you want to go and what you want to do, but the secret to successful long-term travel is to keep your options open. Some amazing opportunities will inevitably present themselves to you during this trip. Make sure you’re open to them.
Pack Sensibly
Just because you’re going for a long time, doesn’t mean you need a lot of clothes. You need enough to get you through about 10 days at the most. Then you’ll find a washing machine. Anything more than that will be a nightmare to carry around. Anything less and you’ll be pretty stinky.
Do Your Visa Research
Before you leave home, do a quick search to find out which countries you’ll need visas to enter. This is usually easier to
Go To The Doctor (And The Dentist)
Unless you really fancy having a root canal done in, say, Burma, or checking out the level of hospital care in Malawi, you need to go see your GP and your dentist before you leave home. That will clear up any problems that might be hanging around. You’ll also need a few vaccinations.
Quit Your Job
You travel to get away from the cares of home, so the ultimate way to travel long-term is to completely free yourself from any commitments, and that includes a job. It’s scary, but it’s worth it. You’ll never look back.
Take A Vacation From Your Vacation
The constant grind of life on the road can take its toll after a while – all those bus rides, all that haggling, all the weird food – it’s worth planning to take a holiday from your holiday. Book yourself into a nice hotel for a few nights, or just stay in one spot for a couple of weeks. It’ll re-energize you for the experiences ahead.
Figure Out How To Manage Your Money
How are you going to access your money overseas? Do you have a
Download Guidebooks
If you’re going to five or six or seven or even more countries, the last thing you want to be doing is lugging around a guidebook for each one of them. To lighten your load, download digital copies of the guidebooks to your Kindle or iPad.
Go Slow
The great thing about a long-term trip is that you can afford to take things slow. Find somewhere you like? Stay a few weeks. Or a month. Get to really know places. Get more involved than a normal tourist would.
Think About Seasons
When you’re planning your trip and sketching out an itinerary, it’s important to think about the seasons you’ll be travelling in. Some places get extremely cold during winter, with almost no sunlight; others are unbearably hot and humid in summer. Plan accordingly.
Avoid Traditional Accommodation
Hostels are a great way to meet people, but if you’re on the road for a long time it can be nice to stay somewhere with a kitchen, and a washing machine, and a few of the comforts of home. Check out couch-surfing options, or other house-share accommodation.
Choose Your Buddies Wisely
You’re travelling for a long, long time. You’re going to be hanging out with your travel buddies 24-7. You’re going to be living in each other’s pockets. These relationships could define the success or failure of the whole venture.
Work (Or Volunteer) Along The Way
A nice way of keeping yourself in touch with reality, as well as getting to know the place you’re travelling through, is to work or volunteer in another community. It’s also a handy way to top up your finances.
Cook For Yourself
Eating out is part of the travel experience, but you’ll find that after a few weeks you’ll be craving a home-cooked meal. Don’t be afraid to head down to the local supermarket, stock up on provisions and cook yourself something nice back at the hostel. This is also a budget-friendly option.
Keep Up With The News
I call it “the wilderness years” – the time you spend travelling
Exercise
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat. That’s what long-term travel can feel like sometimes. Break it up by going for a run, or a hike, or a cycle, to ensure you don’t come home the size of a house.
Do A Language Course
You’ve got all the time in the world, right? So spend a few weeks, or a month, doing a language course while you’re on the road. It’ll help you see a new side to your destination of choice, and raise you above the average tourist.
Write A Blog
Every day you see things that amaze you – so many things, in fact, that they soon blur into each other and you forget what happened where. One of the ways to combat this is to keep the modern form of a travel diary: a blog.
Share With Your Travel Buddies
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