7 Ways I’m Preparing For Long-Term Travel – Travel The World

Last Updated on 16th May 2024

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Matt and I are currently in the process of planning our trip around the world for next year and while we’re still in the very early stages of getting everything sorted, it’s all I can seem to think about.

Our obsession with travelling means that we talk about our plans every single day and we’ve been doing so much research to ensure our trip is going to be as amazing as possible.

So here are 7 ways I’m preparing for our trip around the world.

1. Create a spreadsheet

As I said, we’re still in the very early stages of planning everything but as I’m a notorious planner and a slight control freak, I’ve started putting a spreadsheet together of all the useful information we’re gonna need to know before we go and while we’re away.

I’ve split the spreadsheet into the most important points we need to think about, including the continents we’re planning to go to, accommodation ideas, transport information and all the finance stuff we need to plan for.

I think this spreadsheet will be our bible in the next year as it’s gonna be jam-packed full of incredibly useful information.

2. Research, research, research

I think it’s fairly obvious that a trip around the world involves an awful lot of planning and the best way to be as informed as possible is to do a sh*t tonne of research. Naturally, you can never plan for everything but I think it’s important for us to be as well-informed as we possibly can and that’s why we’re carrying out as much research as humanly possible.

This involves reading so many blogs, forums and online travel magazines. I’ve also invested in a few travel-related books and notepads so that I can make notes and do as much research as I can.

3. Save – preparing for long term travel

An around-the-world trip ain’t cheap you know so this year we’re saving our asses off so that we can visit as many places as possible.

I’ve also made a finance spreadsheet (v grown up, I know) so that I can track all of my incomings and outgoings for each month which allows me to see how much I can feasibly put away into savings. I’m planning on doing a whole post all about how exactly we’re saving for our travels in the coming months but for now, I just wanted to give you a brief insight into how we’re doing it.

Limiting spending on things like food, clothes and nights out allows us to save more money each month and even though our social lives aren’t completely redundant, we know that by making a couple of sacrifices now will mean that our trip will be so much better for it.

4. Quality family time

We’re not entirely sure exactly how long we’ll be travelling for; it could be six months or it could be six years (lol) so because we don’t know how long we’ll be gone for, it’s incredibly important that we spend as much time with our families as possible before we go.

My family mean the literal world to me so this year I’m really making an effort to see them as much as possible and make some awesome memories with them before we head off. My grandparents also aren’t getting any younger so it’s really important to me to see them as much as I can before we go travelling.

5. List of items we’ll need

This sort of falls under the spreadsheet umbrella but we really need to start thinking about all the things we’ll need to take with us.

Obviously, this probably means I’m gonna have to leave my beloved makeup palettes and designer shoes at home (boo) but I know that this will be so worth it once we’re seeing the world. We also need to think of essential items like travel insurance, vaccinations and an incredibly sturdy backpack to ensure all of our stuff is kept as safe as possible.

6. Learn a language – preparing for long term travel

This is obviously not something that’s essential when travelling but it’s something that Matt and I have been looking into in preparation for going travelling. I’ve always wanted to learn a new language and I thought now was the perfect time to start as knowing a few useful phrases in languages such as Spanish could really help us while we’re in different countries.

7. Relevant travel documents

This isn’t something we have to worry about too much just yet but in the next few months, we’ll have to make sure all of our travel documents are up to date.

Our passports may need renewing before we go, just to ensure they don’t run out while we’re away and we’ll also have to make sure we apply for any visas we may need in plenty of time before our departure.

Pin for later – preparing for long term travel

Do you have any other tips on preparing for a trip around the world? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter at @imjustagirl_16.