Beyond the first steps that spring to mind when it comes to getting ready to go travelling, like getting a backpack and the things you’ll need to pack, there are plenty of other things which are useful to do before setting off. In fact, even when it comes to choosing a backpack there’s probably more choice than you think, with good-quality wheelies with hidden bag straps providing a great dual-usage option.
Step 1: 4 ways to help you decide when and where
Concentrating on when the weather is best in the destinations you’re keen to visit can have a big impact on what you get out of being in the place. Some countries are pretty temperate year-round with no issue, but in some places roads get washed away, the humidity is oppressive or some activities aren’t even possible at certain times of year. Shoulder seasons, the period between peak and off-peak seasons, can be workable and cheaper but if you’re really keen to get the most from a place then try to not go when the weather might hold you back
If you want to buy a round-the-world ticket then you often have to do just that and make sure that all of your stops are sequential in one continuous circle around the world. And if you want to book each of your flights separately and are wondering in which order to move around then also consider if you’ll be going to any English-speaking parts of the world. After months of communicating the best you can in another language it can sometimes be a welcome break to have the middle portion of your trip without that extra layer of complexity and refresh you ahead of the next part of your trip
Finding out when memorable festivals or events are taking place in destinations you’re interested in can help you to form a route around the world – whether that be because you want to be a part of them, or even if it’s to avoid them so that you see the places at a quieter time
Considering when you’ll be returning back home, with spring or summer often making the adjustment back to normality that little bit easier, can also help when thinking about when to jet off
Step 2: The checklist to complete a couple of months before you leave
Preparing to cancel things like your TV licence, home insurance, council tax and utilities is probably the last thing you want to think about, but it can mean you’re due refunds from some providers and that will be a welcome addition to your travel budget
Booking in a final dentist and optician check-up means you’re less likely to have any medical surprises whilst you’re away which could have been easily dealt with before you left
Deciding how you want to use your phone when you’re away will help you when it comes to setting yourself up. We want to mainly use ours only on WIFI, so we’ve downloaded Maps.Me to help us navigate offline across the world (Google Maps isn’t detailed in every country we’re visiting) and got a Three sim which has quite good global usage if we do want to pay for some data at points
At least 6 weeks before you go, book in for a free vaccination consultation at somewhere like Boots, as they’ll be able to tell you everything you need (including malaria tablets) – with some courses of injections taking several weeks. And, if you do get recommended malaria tablets then you can often find these cheaper online (even through Superdrug’s internet service), or your GP may give you some of the vaccinations for free, so you don’t have to get everything there and then
Checking the visas you’ll need for each country (the FCO advice for each place you’re going is great for this) a couple of months in advance will give you time to get the relevant documents together and for processing in plenty of time before you need your passport to travel. Make sure not to do this too early though, as some countries won’t give you a visa more than 60 or 90 days of arriving
Make sure to buy travel insurance when you book the first element of your trip, because then you’re protected if something happens to you before you leave, rather than just once you start
Ahead of booking your flights, making sure to sign up to air miles schemes means your next trip could be courtesy of the airline! Airlines across the world are grouped into alliances (more on that here), so rather than signing up for each separate airline’s membership programme you get the most benefit if you sign up to the membership programme of the airline you’re travelling furthest with - and then using your membership number from them for all airlines across that alliance
Researching the best credit or debit cards for spending abroad will mean you save as much as possible in unnecessary fees. Making sure to have at least two with you, with decent credit limits, will also be a lifesaver if one of your card gets cloned or swallowed by a machine as you go
Step 3: 3 things to do just before you go
Take photos of all your important documents and store them in the cloud. That means visas, your passport identity page, your vaccination documents etc as that can save a lot of hassle if your documents get damaged or lost
Book your first few nights’ accommodation - and if you’re tapping into flight miles, as mentioned above, always going to booking.com/British Airways when booking through that site will get you Avios on every night you book
US dollars are one of the most accepted currencies around the world, so getting about $50 to take with you for any emergencies can give you a good safety net. As well as exchanging a small amount of the currency you’ll need when landing, so you can get going straightaway
Written in one long list that sounds like a lot, but we’re hoping that getting these things in place before you go will give a smoother journey when you’re travelling, so you can live in every moment. If you have any questions about what we’ve written then feel free to ask away.
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