Yesterday, it became 2 months until I leave for my year of travel. As I thought about how quickly 2 months go by, I started going through a checklist of everything I need/needed to do to prepare for my travels. Planning to travel long-term is exciting and extremely overwhelming. But if you have an idea of how to go about your planning, you'll be much less stressed out. So, I put together a checklist of everything important that will need to be done before leaving on a big trip.
Validate your passport
You're not going to get far without a valid passport! And if you don't have a passport yet, it is time to get one. Make sure that you have enough room in your passport for all of the stamps you'll be collecting.
Apply for needed visas
Not all countries will require a visa, but it is safer to just be prepared and search to see if the countries that you are visiting require one.
Go to the Doctors
It's important to make sure that you can medically handle this trip. This will also allow you to make sure you have all your vaccinations needed to enter certain countries. Schedule appointments with your dentist, eye doctor, general doctor, etc. to make sure you are all set to go.
Make copies of important documents
Passport, driver's license, visa, and anything else important. Make 2 copies of these; one to bring with you (and keep in a separate place from the originals) and one to leave at home with your parents or other family or friend that you trust. That way if you happen to lose the original, it will be a lot easier to get you a new copy.
Sell your stuff
This is a good way to get rid of all your extra belongings that you're not bringing along and a quick easy way to get yourself a bit more cash for your trip.
Re-direct your mail
If you can, re-directing your mail to your parents would be the easiest option. But for the most part, you should be able to re-direct any important mail to your email instead of getting a hard copy. This will make your life way easier.
Get travel insurance
This is so important. You never know when things will go wrong. And when they do go wrong (cause let's be real, they probably will) you want to be prepared for anything. Having travel insurance will help you get any medical attention that you need and help you get home in case of an emergency.
Get foreign currency
It is so much easier and way less expensive if you get the foreign currency at your bank before you leave rather than at the airport. Just have a small amount of currency with you when you land and you should be good.
Notify your bank of your travels
Let your bank know that you will be overseas for a long period of time. If you don't let them know, they may think that your account has been stolen, and they may freeze your account until you get in contact with them. This could definitely put a damper on your trip if you're trying to use your card and it freezes.
Notify your employer
This one, I have yet to do. And frankly, I am so nervous about this! You'll want to give your employer at least 2 weeks notice. If you are resigning from your position, I also suggest writing a letter of resignation. I'll let you know how this one goes for me.
And there you have it! I hope this checklist helps you as you plan for long-term travel! Also, I am (obviously) back from my blogging hiatus! It's been a few months without blogging, but as my trip gets closer, there's just so much more to blog!
