Sure, the idea of traveling abroad is exciting, but where do you start? Where do you go? The options are endless… beach, mountains, seven wonders, modern marvels, adventure, relaxation, food, drinks, cheap, expensive, etc. Here’s a few tips to getting it done:
1. Make a list of your dream experiences, breathtaking sights, and must see locations. From the Amalfi coast, to the Great Pyramids, to Northern lights, just write it down! Travel shows, blogs, magazines, and social media are a great place to get inspired. A few on our list: seeing the Northern Lights (in a glass igloo, preferably), hiking Machu Picchu and riding on the Oriental Express, some of these we won’t do until we are old and rich (the old part part may come sooner than the rich since the male half almost died of heat exhaustion hanging patio lights this weekend).
2. Mark your work calendar. Sorry people, work is not an excuse not to travel. You should and better use every last minute of your vacation! Since we first went abroad together in 2014 (to Southeast Asia), we made a commitment to go on at least 1 big trip every year. We carve out about 2 weeks of vacation (consecutive) every year to go abroad, and we highly suggest 2 consecutive weeks! It’s the best way to officially disconnect from work, immerse yourself into a new culture, get in vacation mode, and get the most of your long ass flight to the other side of the world! Decide the frequency and timeframe that works best for your job. Richard is an accountant so we always plan our travel the second half of the month (after closing). We also always try to pair those two consecutive weeks with a holiday. Structured correctly around weekends and holidays, 10 vacation days can turn into a 15 to 17 day trip.
3. Prioritize your list and plan ahead. We prioritize our “dream vacation list” with a 2-3 year outlook, and we start planning almost all of our trips at least a year in advance (sometimes its two years if it’s a big one… like, Africa). Many of the best experiences sellout at least a year in advance (especially if you’re being inspired by travel shows and social media). Plan early! The further you plan in advance, also results in better deals (from airfare to hotels)! Also, the more notice and frequent reminders you can give your boss. Cost is an obvious factor when planning and choosing your destinations. We’re DINKS, but we still have a budget! If we have a lot of other expenses planned, we prioritize cost effective places, for example the year after we got married (aka spent all of our money on a wedding), we planned another trip to South East Asia. Why? Asia travel, in general, is VERY affordable. We budgeted $5-6k per person for two and a half weeks with great accommodations, private tours, and amazing experiences.
So lets recap, by now you have dreamed up your next vacation, selected a realistic destination based on time and costs, and now you need to fill in the details of your trip. This is the fun part!
4. Pick your strategy: Total immersion or see the “Hot Spots”. Immersion for 2+ weeks in a country or specific city; or skip around and see more countries, cities and hit all the top spots. We have always gone for the “Hot Spot” strategy, which does not provide a lot of rest and relaxation, but does provide for a lot of checked boxes and memories worth the sometimes frantic pace! We pick a major city in the area and fly round trip through the hub, e.g. HongKong, Singapore, Paris, London, etc. The flights are cheaper and there are more direct options! From these hubs, it’s easy to find cheaper regional flights to some harder to reach local countries. Should we ever decide to slow down and experience the full cultural immersion and/or relaxation that comes with slower travel we have a long list of places we want to go back to.
5. Research: fun, yet overwhelming. Regardless of which strategy you chose, research is unfortunately required and can be quite time consuming… so many choices, so little time. Luckily there are many resources, most importantly this one (send us a message through our page for further info on any of our experiences or assistance crafting a custom itinerary of your own, but also TripAdvisor, travel articles, etc. Start with googling “must sees in <insert destination>”. After compiling a list from several resources we head to TripAdvisor to find the best possible options to fit our budget and itinerary. Make a list, plan a route, and start booking some shit!
Let’s be honest, it’s a lot of work and time and money, but it is completely worth it! Cheers to the travel bug, and your future endeavors.
Wheels Up!
The Turners
